Together with his wife and fellow economist Annelise Graebner Anderson and Kiron K. Skinner, Martin Anderson made an important historical contribution in editing collections of Reagan's writings and voluminous correspondence with ordinary Americans: "Reagan, In His Own Hand" (2001) and "Reagan: A Life in Letters" (2003). These books demonstrated Reagan's pithy insights and sense of country better than any political argument ever did.

The Andersons in 2009 wrote "Reagan's Secret War: The Untold Story of His Fight to Save the World from Nuclear Disaster," which focused on Reagan's efforts to develop a missile shield to protect the nation from nuclear attack and ultimately to abolish nuclear weapons.

Martin Anderson was present at the incident that led to Reagan's epiphany on missile defense. The two men toured the headquarters of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado on July 31, 1979. Reagan was shown how radar could track an incoming missile but not stop it. "We have spent all that money and have all that equipment, and there is nothing we can do to prevent a nuclear missile from hitting us," Reagan said on their flight home to Los Angeles, Anderson recounted in "Revolution."

Although the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) that Reagan proposed as president was derided by many scientists as unworkable, it helped bring the Soviets to the bargaining table, where Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev agreed on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty of 1987 that became the template for future arms agreements between the United States and Russia.

Anderson continued to the end of his days to advocate U.S. missile defense, now focused on intercepting nuclear warheads launched by terrorists or a rogue nation.

During the Reagan presidency, Anderson served as an effective go-between for Reagan and Paul Volcker, the blunt-spoken chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Volcker, appointed by President Jimmy Carter, was distrusted by many Republicans and had been bureaucratically denied a White House pass. He wrote Anderson in complaint. Anderson took the letter to Reagan, who saw to it that Volcker got his pass.

More important, Reagan and Volcker became allies in the Fed chairman's efforts to curb runaway inflation. The policy worked, leading to a record 90 consecutive months of economic growth after a brief but deep recession.