Ronald Reagan's "The Notes"

"CBS Early Show" anchor Jeff Glor speaks with Doug Brinkley about the latest book he's edited, "The Notes: Ronald Reagan's Private Collection of Stories and Wisdom."

Jeff Glor: What inspired you to write the book?

Doug Brinkley: A few years back I wrote an article for The New York Times titled "Ronald Reagan's Pen Pal." It was based on an incredible cachet of Reagan letters I found in Philadelphia. I also wrote The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc about, in part, Reagan's D-Day Plus 40 years speech. That was followed by my editing The Reagan Diaries.

As a U.S. presidential historian, in other words, I was spending quite a bit of time in Reaganland. Out in Simi Valley, Calif., I heard rumor about Reagan's famous notecards being around. My dear friend Joanne Dranke found them when doing some library learning in preparation for the Reagan Centennial. All of Reagan's notecards were handwritten. It was quite a find.

JG: What surprised you the most during the writing process?

DB: I forgot how funny Reagan could be. He liked those Bob Hope zings.

JG: What would you be doing if you weren't a writer?

DB: I would have become a wildlife biologist or ornithologist or zoologist.

JG: What else are you reading right now?

DB: I'm writing a biography of Walter Cronkite for HarperCollins. It will be published in Spring 2012.

So I've been devouring books on Edward R. Murrow and the History of TV. Also because Cronkite was such a space buff I'm reading books about Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong was my boyhood hero.

For more on The Notes by Ronald Reagan visit the Harper Collins website.