Best-selling author Steven Hayward said Ronald Reagan realized the national issues he was forced to deal with during his presidency were impossible to defeat alone. Hayward will address students Thursday, Oct. 22, at noon in the TSC Auditorium as one of three speakers in the political science department’s project on “Liberty and American Constitutionalism” directed by public law professor Anthony Peacock.The project has been designed to “explore the meaning of liberty in the American constitutional system, with specific emphasis on the Founders’ commitment to limited and responsible government that promotes individual liberty, free markets and a strong national defense,” according to its description found at www.liberty.usu.edu.Hayward’s book, “The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution: 1980-1989,” was published in August and is the second novel written by Hayward on Reagan’s presidency. He has also written books covering the lives and attributes of Winston Churchill and Jimmy Carter. Hayward has also had multiple articles published in The Wall Street Journal. His interest in writing a book about Reagan’s presidency was heightened when he realized books already published concerning his administration were constructed around the Cold War and neglected to tell the decade’s “policy story,” Hayward said. He said because Reagan’s classified documents and diary have been published, Reagan can be seen in a new light and Hayward wanted to act as his spotlight. After Reagan’s personal documents were studied and a new perspective on his administration was formed, a revision of previous beliefs was in order, Hayward said. He said while writing his second book on Reagan many of his views have been altered, big and small. This always happens when he has done intensive research on a particular subject or person, he said. “I was surprised at how hard he worked and how much more he knew than we perceived at the time,” Hayward said. “I am very critical of his role in the Iran-arms sales that generated the Iran-contra scandal.”Hayward and Peacock will appear on KVNU’s For the People show Thursday afternoon from 4 to 6 p.m.