Eisenhower

Book Description

Stephen E. Ambrose draws upon extensive sources, an unprecedented degree of scholarship, and numerous interviews with Eisenhower himself to offer the fullest, richest, most objective rendering yet of the soldier who became president. He gives us a masterly account of the European war theater and Eisenhower's magnificent leadership as Allied Supreme Commander. Ambrose's recounting of Eisenhower's presidency, the first of the Cold War, brings to life a man and a country struggling with issues as diverse as civil rights, atomic weapons, communism, and a new global role.

Along the way, Ambrose follows the 34th President's relations with the people closest to him, most of all Mamie, his son John, and Kay Summersby, as well as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Harry Truman, Nixon, Dulles, Khrushchev, Joe McCarthy, and indeed, all the American and world leaders of his time. This superb interpretation of Eisenhower's life confirms Stephen Ambrose's position as one of our finest historians.

Customer Reviews:

excellent.......2007-09-27

Excellent account of Eisenhower's life. Very easy to read. Didn't wnt to put it down.

Eisenhower - From Beginning to End.......2007-05-26

I was 9 years old when "IKE" was elected to the highest office of our land. At that age all I knew was "IKE" was the hero of WWII and collected his campaign buttons, which I wish I still had. At 63 I saw Mr. Ambrose's book and thought it time to acquaint myself with the man who had been my President through my formative years.
"I was not disappointed." Mr. Ambrose, though being very pro-Eisenhower, had a handle on the soldier and statesman. There were things that "IKE" did, according to Ambrose, that I didn't agree with but that no less was his decsions. Living in the 50's and during "IKE'S" tenure, I was no worse for the wear. The biography gave me a better insight into those years. It was my conclusion that Eisenhower did more to keep this counrty solvent and from war, which cannot be said of most of his sucessors.
Excellent read from page one to the last page.....

Ike, Ike, Baby.......2007-05-25

When Dwight David Eisenhower left the presidency he was one the few men to leave more popular than when he entered, but most observes believed that he had abdicated nearly all his duties to his subordinates. Since then things have changed. With access to the declassified papers of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, historians now see Ike as a man in control of the decision making process, delegating only the implementation of his policies. The dean of these revisionist historians was the late Stephen E. Ambrose. A military historian and a former editor of "The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower" who was recruited to this project by the former President himself, Ambrose was well-qualified to write this study.

Ambrose originally wrote a two-volume account that was published in the early 1980s to a good deal of public acclaim. This one volume work is a condensed version. Despite suffering some controversy towards the end of his life over his slipshod citations methods (a long-time characteristic of his work), Ambrose has produced an important and original work of history. Although new work in the field has dated potions of this book (Carlo D'Este's military biography, which concludes with the end of World War II, is better and more detailed on the first half of Ike's life) this book is still the best single volume biography on Eisenhower.

In the presidential years it is no surprise that Ambrose concentrates on world affairs. Ending the Korean war was the first foreign policy issue that Ike had to address. Despite the unsatisfactory end of this conflict, many American leaders still favored the use of military force in other hot spots. Each time a crisis broke out, be it Dien Bien Phu, the repeated incidents in the Strait of Taiwan, or Berlin, Eisenhower opted for a peaceful resolution. Ambrose gives him good grades for his sound judgment but also for keeping his diplomatic options open during these tense moments.

The civil-military relationship is another area where Ambrose gives Eisenhower a positive assessment. The President was reluctant to approve massive new arms appropriation programs, fearing the damage deficit financing would due to the economy. He also worried that a huge military-industrial complex would turn the United States into a police state. If that happened it would not really matter who won the Cold War. In order to achieve the proper balance between ends and means, Eisenhower came to depend on nuclear weapons, getting "more bang for the buck." Depending on nukes resulted in his administration favoring the Air Force, which led to stringent criticisms from the other services. Ike ended up firing Matthew Ridgway as Army Chief of Staff. Another Chief-of-Staff Maxwell Taylor wrote a critical book about Eisenhower's defense policy after he retired. Civil-military relations were actually quite polarized in the 1950s and I think Ambrose is wrong in giving Eisenhower good marks on this topic.

Domestic politics was an issue Eisenhower had to address one way or another and Ambrose covers this topic as well. In these matters, he tends to be more critical of his subject. At a conference I attended, I saw Ambrose discuss his writing. He said he "loved" Eisenhower and knew that he had to be critical of him in some area for anyone to take his book seriously. That criticism comes mainly in the area of civil rights. The President met with black leaders only once during this eight years in office. He never understood the desires of black Americans for full access to the privileges of citizenship and sympathized more with white southerners. Still, he did his job and finished desegregating the military, signed the first civil rights bill since reconstruction, and enforced a court order to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Ambrose, though, is right when he argues that Eisenhower could have done more if he had wanted to do more.

Economics receives little attention in this book, even though Ambrose approves of what Eisenhower did. The American economy grew and Ambrose believes it was because Ike kept the budget balanced. In the end, Eisenhower gave the people what they wanted: peace and prosperity. Something they had not had since 1929. Given the importance of economics to Ike's success--the absence of an in-depth study is serious weakness.

Ambrose's admiration of Eisenhower is readily apparent and sometimes gets in the way. His biography of Richard Nixon is better, because Ambrose did not like his subject and that forced him to concentrate on his professional objectivity.

These issues aside, this biography is a wonderful study of Eisenhower. Ambrose says we were "damned luck to have him." Indeed, we were.

The Best on Eisenhower.......2006-11-03

The 1950's were definitely NOT boring. Read EISENHOWER and see what they were all about. Ambrose writes beautifully. FIRST RATE!

Somewhat lacking in what made Eisenhower so great.......2006-01-02

If you are looking for a biography which describes a development of a great individual, this book leaves a lot wanting. For example, only about 10 pages are dedicated to Eisenhower's all important West Point years. His years at West Point were extraordinarily dear and important to his development, as indicated by his desire to be buried at West Point. What made Eisenhower such an extraordinary General and President despite not having extraordinary intelligence and talent? I do not think the book answers this question clearly.

The book, however, is comprehensive. His important relationships with key individuals in his life are well contemplated and analyzed. Finally, Stephen Ambrose is a fluid writer and reading this book was a pleasant experience. Overall, this is worthwhile book if you want to know most things about Eisenhower. Just don't think it will allow you to have an intimate understanding of the development of an extraordinary individual.

The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader

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Was Eisenhower an Effective President?
Stevenson Supporter Learns Truth!
Reassessment of the Eisenhower Presidency
Fred Greenstein famous title--well, famous for academics
Aha! Ike wasn't just a golf-playing war hero!

The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader
Fred I. Greenstein
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0801849012

Book Description

Drawing on extensive interviews and archival research, Fred Greenstein reveals that there was great political activity beneath the placid surface of the Eisenhower White House. In a new foreword to this edition, he discusses developments in the study of the Eisenhower presidency in the dozen years since publication of the first edition and examines the continuing significance of Eisenhower's legacy for the larger understanding of presidential leadership in modern America.

Customer Reviews:

Was Eisenhower an Effective President?.......2006-07-14

This was a path-breaking book when it first appeared more than twenty years ago, reflecting a rehabilitation of Dwight D. Eisenhower as president. It is an example of "revisionist history," something that should not be considered a negative term. Greenstein argued that the image of Eisenhower as an amiable "do-nothing" president who smiled and played golf while crises threatened to destroy the nation was incorrect. He worked hard behind the scenes while giving the appearance of inaction, and in most instances his indirect approach to leadership was highly effective.

I have found this study valuable in my own work on the history of the U.S. space program. While Greenstein did not spend much time exploring the history of the space program in this study his analysis can be extended to that arena. In the context of the Sputnik crisis of 1957 and the development of early U.S. space policy, Eisenhower was almost alone in concluding that the Soviet American competition in space was a non race. He didn't see the need to treat it as a crisis. And there is much to recommend this position. But if the former image of Eisenhower as a "do-nothing" president was inaccurate, the revisionist interpretation of Greenstein and others of him as a master of hidden-hand politics is somewhat wide of the mark. With American prestige clearly at stake in the Cold War, it is puzzling that the chief executive should have been so reluctant to recognize this fact of life.

I found this an important statement of Eisenhower and his leadership style. It is a benchmark in the historiography of the subject. Enjoy!

Stevenson Supporter Learns Truth!.......2003-01-05

In the preface to this landmark book on the Eisenhower presidency, Greenstein talks about how he had begun a project on presidential leadership, with a quick stop at the Eisenhower Library to get confirmation that Eisenhower was as hands-off as possible, a doddering old fool who let his underlings run the country whilst Ike played golf. But as Greenstein looked at the research in front of him, he discovered Eisenhower was much more of a hands-on president than most accepted. He worked behind the scenes, however, hence this "hidden-hand" description.

Greenstein's book on Eisenhower is significant for all students of Eisenhower. Most revisionist scholars of Eisenhower were also Stevenson supporters in the '50s, and have come away with a better understanding of how Ike worked, and his handling of major crises. (Anyone who thinks the 1950s was "Leave it to Beaver" or "Happy Days" is poorly mis-informed and needs to take himself to the public library to look at all the brinksmanship reported in the newspapers and newsmagazines of the time.)

In this book, Greenstein offers his argument, and then goes through a series of case-studies to look at how Eisenhower worked actively behind the scenes to accomplish his goals.

This is indeed a landmark book for scholars. The general reader, however, may be overwhelmed by the academic use of language. For them, the two-volume book on Eisenhower by Ambrose may be a better book to read.

Reassessment of the Eisenhower Presidency.......2000-04-22

Greenstein was not the first but has certainly assembled the most coherent argument for a fundamental reassessment of Ike's presidency.

Common wisdom held Ike to be a somewhat dodering, benevolent and detached president who routinely mangled english syntax in his press conferences. He is seen as surrounded by powerful men who ran government as THEY saw fit.

Greenstein shows repeatedly that Ike was a deft behind-the-scenes mover and shaker who held all the reins of power in HIS hands. He consistently refused to engage in "personalities" and would deal with political challenges with tact and persuasion, often hidden from public light. His handling of McCarthy, often seen as a do-nothing approach, is re-examined in a new light. Eisenhower is seen pre-empting McCarthy consistently while also refusing to publicly engage him, which in Ike's mind, would have served to legitimize him (McCarthy) in many eyes.

Finaly, Ike has been critized for relying too much on a rigid and formal system of staff and infomation processing. His background in the Army, many critics contend, made him a stickler for procedure. This much is true. However, he used his considerable charm and intellect to draw on a wide group of people (all white and male) to augment his formal structures. Many blame the dismantling of the fromal advising structure by Kennedy to his lack of information during the Bay of Pigs.

A good book for Eisenhower specialists, policital scientists studying the organizational presidency, and presidential students of all stripes.

Fred Greenstein famous title--well, famous for academics.......2000-02-23

Well, if you want to read the experience from academia, go right ahead. For a better insight, see Michael Beschloss or Ike's own biographer, Stephen Ambrose. This book was a hit in the scholastic arena but never caught on in mainstream

Aha! Ike wasn't just a golf-playing war hero!.......1999-10-14

Greenstein processes many of Eisenhower's papers not previously available, and comes to the conclusion that Eisenhower was a deft, behind-the-scenes manipulator. This book has helped solidify Ike's increasing reputation as President, with some in-depth look at his approach to McCarthy.

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A Thorough Study of Ike At War
Intricately detailed.......
Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, President and...
This is a different look at the events of WW II

Eisenhower at War 1943-1945
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0517065010
Release Date: 1991-08-07

Customer Reviews:

A Thorough Study of Ike At War.......2005-11-17

"Eisenhower at War 1943-1945" is a long, detailed and thorough study of Dwight Eisenhower's career in the Mediterranean and Europe during World War II.

I like books which confront the reader with ways of viewing things not previously thought of. This book meets that test. I had always thought of Eisenhower as a commander directing armies of conquest. This book shows him, as he is often depicted, as a Chairman of the Board, a negotiator who worked to achieve a concensus among often squabbling rivals. Caught between his subordinates and politicians who were not his direct superiors, Ike often had to walk the tightrope over a chasm of dismissal and defeat. The amateur often thinks of strategy, but this book clearly shows Ike as the professional, rationing available supplies among the dream list of targets. I find that the treatment of the coordination of moves of the Western Allied with those of the Russians introduces a whole new perspective on war planning. The sections on the closing maneuvers of the war explain in great detail the competing interests and viewpoints as the wary allies jockeyed for postwar position and tested each other's resolve.

Although over eight hundred pages, David Eisenhower avoids becoming so bogged down in details as to lose the reader's interest. Although writing about his grandfather, this book is not a "homer." While generally favorable, the doubts of some, such as Gen. Marshall, do find their way into the narrative.

"Eisenhower At War" is a must for any student of Gen. Eisenhower or World War II.

Intricately detailed..............2002-06-18

With 825 pages devoted to a period of three years, David Eisenhower, the grandson of DDE, has ample space to provide an intricate look at his grandfather at war. This book is primarily focused on the preparation and execution of Normandy through to the formal capitulation of Germany.

The author, presenting the rivalries between allied generals, the political machinations of Roosevelt, Churchill and the Combined Chiefs of Staff, and the seemingly unfathomable Stalin, shows the extreme patience, diplomacy, and fortitude required of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expedition Forces, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, to win the war in Europe.

Eisenhower: At War, 1943-1945, expertly dissects the relationships between allied parties while describing the utter destruction of Germany. It is thorough and frequently thrilling. Patton, Bradley, and Montgomery receive appropriate attention as does Normandy and the Ardennes offensive most commonly referred to as the Battle of the Bulge. I recommend the book highly and rate it an enthusiastic 4 stars.

Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, President and..........2000-09-20

grandpa. I've been meaning to read At War for some time specifically to to get David Eisenhower's perpective. It's a perpective most historians would kill for. As a kid David had the run of the White House. The familiarity he gained from comtemporaries of his grandfather-generals, aides, heads of state, friends & even other historians was invaluable. His admits this. The book look daunting at first glance, but is quite readable & I was able to stay with it for hours at a time. ha-mevaker is correct. This is a political rather than a military view of the war in Europe. Military matters are of course the backdrop for the political intrigues Ike is subjected to. The personal stories are appreciated & humanize the whole horrible war: The young private from Abeliene simply walking up to Eisenhower"s H.Q. & demanding of the guard to see Ike. He got his audience with the general as well as a signed note as proof to his buddies. The book is peppered with little stories like that. The Eisenhower-Montgomery feud is covered extensively. Surprisingly, David is more even handed & perhaps more understanding of Monty's motives than other American historians have been. By D-Day Britain was finished. She was bankrupted, & would never regain her former glory. Montgomery knew this well. The men lost could not be replaced. Yet he wanted one last moment in the sun for Great Britain, that of a spearhead into Germany & the capture of Berlin by the English (& himself). In this plan he was over-ruled by Eisenhower, his superior, a general with no battlefield experience. He was a great patriot & it galled him that by this point the British Empire was the junior partner in the U.S./British alliance. Churchill was proponent a defeating Germany thru Italy & did not support the Normandy invasion. He experienced the carnage of World War I trench warfare feared a repeat if a frontal assault was attempted. Eisenhower greatest strength was he wasn't fighting the last war as many of the people around him were. He was fighting the war he had before him & he did it quite well.

This is a different look at the events of WW II.......2000-06-26

This is the first part of what David Eisenhower's intended political biography of his grandfather. The main thrust of the book is how Eisenhower's decisions in WW II were made, and the tensions that existed in the USA/British alliance during the war. The Anvil/Dragoon controversy is given full length because it was one of the most contended points of the allaince. The fighting of the war is distinctly in the background. It isn't clear to me how much personal analysis David Eisenhower put into the fighting aspect of the book. In a number of places it seems that he relys on the historians. Because of this, I think that it is important to keep in mind that this probably isn't an important book in terms of military history, even though it is very important in terms of understanding the political aspects of the war. Almost all the other books on WW II ignore the political aspects.

Early Cold War Overflights 1950-1956: Symposium Proceedings: Vol. I: Memories & Vol. II: Appendixes

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Early Cold War Overflights 1950-1956: Symposium Proceedings: Vol. I: Memories & Vol. II: Appendixes

Manufacturer: Diane Pub.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0756734908

Product Description

Proceedings of a symposium on the U.S. & British overflight effort conducted between 1950 & the end of 1956. Organized by public historians from the Intelligence Community & DoD, its purpose was to shed light on an important, often misrepresented & little known aspect of the Cold War, & to recognize the veterans of these operations & collect their memoirs for the historic record. The memoirs in Vol. I add significantly to the history of peacetime strategic reconnaissance & dispel popular presumptions of an Air Force or military conspiracy. Appendixes in Vol. II include: biographies of contributors; overflight documents; aircraft characteristics; historical background of overflights in Asia; selected readings; & Eisenhower's legacy.

In The Time Of The Americans: FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Marshall, MacArthur-The Generation That Changed America 's Role in the World

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Another spectacular history from Fromkin
The Reluctant Superpower
Captivating Proof that Individuals Help Change the World!
One of the best books on 20th Century American History
magnificant tale

In The Time Of The Americans: FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Marshall, MacArthur-The Generation That Changed America 's Role in the World
David Fromkin
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679767282
Release Date: 1996-04-30

Book Description

Coming of age during World War I and attaining their finest hour in World War II and the Cold War, these men -- FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Marshall, MacArthur -- transformed America from an isolated frontier nation into a global superpower. As he tells their stories, Fromkin, author of A Peace to End All Peace, shows how this generation not only made America great but largely succeeded in making it a force for good.

Customer Reviews:

Another spectacular history from Fromkin.......2001-11-26

I read Fromkin's A Peace to End All Peace in preparation for travelling to the Middle East earlier this summer. This book continues his ability to bring history to life, with details on the diaries, conversations, and interactions of both the known major players in the World Wars, as well as those that were influential but behind the scenes.

I was already fairly conversant in the major events of the time, but even so, Fromkin's retelling is set in a class by itself by his portraits of the leaders of the time: Wilson, FDR, TR, Churchill, MacArthur, Ike. By bringing together painstaking research as well as acectodes, it's amazing to see how much just one man can electrify and fire up a nation -- FDR yanking America out of the Depression, or Churchill stalwartly leading Britain through WWII as notable examples.

This book is sort of an in-between point between Fromkin's almost too-detailed history in A Peace to End All Peace and his recent ultra-summarized history of the world (150 pages, well worth your time) in The Way of The World. I'd recommend them all highly, but in order from most-summarized to least.

The Reluctant Superpower.......2001-08-04

In this marvellous book, David Fromkin tells the story of how the United States made the journey from introverted isolationist to global superpower. He begins his account with the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, whose accession to office as a result of the assassination of President McKinley must be regarded as one of the most significant accidents in history. The tension between TR's "big stick" internationalism and Woodrow Wilson's more idealistic version is vividly described, and Fromkin does an excellent job of showing how the ideas (and policies) of FDR, Truman and their generation were both indebted to and yet reactions against the ideas of the great scholar-President. America's reluctant path to the centre of the world stage is presented as a mixture of fait accompli, idealism and enlightened self interest. It is a great story, and Mr. Fromkin does it justice. Warmly recommended.

Captivating Proof that Individuals Help Change the World!.......2000-05-27

This is a wonderfully written book detailing how five exceptional American individuals literally transformed America from a country characterized by isolationism and a narrow, parochial perspective into the major player on the world stage. All five came to age in an America still locked in the self-absorbed issues of the 19th century, yet each grew with the needs of the times to become instruments for monumental change.

The most interesting aspect of this book is the fashion in which the author sets out substantive proof for the "exceptional man" thesis in history. So here we had five such individuals interacting contemporaneously and profoundly changing the world as a result. Of course, this isn't to suggest that they somehow aggressively pounded the world into their chosen image, for nothing is farther from the truth. This was a time when many titans strode the stage, men like Hitler, Churchill, Stalin, Mussolini and Hirohito. Yet the fact that these five succeeded in vanquishing Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito demonstrates the extent of their accomplishment.

Yet these five men successfully confronted the most urgent and manifest challenges of their time, from FDR's New Deal and transformation of the national government into an active instrument for change. It is no accident that three of the five, Eisenhower, Marshall, and MacArthur, were military professionals, each of whom played an unique and indispensable role in defeating the Axis powers. That each then continued to contribute after the end of the hostilities is more proof of their sense of personal responsibility and need to serve the nation in whatever manner they could. each had a sense of time and place, as well as an appreciation for the unique historical circumstances he found himself in, whether it be MacArthur in Asia, who over decades became a kind of American Centurion, or Harry Truman, thrust onto the national and then world stage most unexpectedly.

In a time like ours, when we are surrounded by public pygmies like Clinton, Gore, the Bushes, Newt Gingrich, and those nine comedians over in Supreme Court land striving to be giants, it's instructive to remember that we weren't always hampered by such venal, self-interested, and morally corrupt leaders. Indeed, it is refreshing, hopeful, and perhaps even a bit nolstalgic to remember that America is not necessarily the eternal land of manipulative mental midgets, and that it once was a place whose titans strode and literally saved the world. Read this book and remember.

One of the best books on 20th Century American History.......1998-04-19

Frompkin pulls all of the major players together and tells a story that fills in the blanks left out of the history books. He also describes why and how these men came together to end, once and forall, European wars. We can truely thank these men for the past 53 years of European peace. We can thank Frompkin for telling the story.

magnificant tale.......1997-12-08

This book is a riveting account of the lives of thoughs who changed American politics and foreign policy in the twentieth century. Anyone interested in the rise of America in the world and the roots of her assention to global dominace after World War Two must read this book. Fomkin is a skill writer and historian who takes the tales of significant events and shows how they changed our nation.

Shadows, Skulls, Spooks: Shadows Do No Harm, Shadow Governments Kill

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Real food for thought
Shadows Skulls Spooks -- two books

Shadows, Skulls, Spooks: Shadows Do No Harm, Shadow Governments Kill
Donald Jay Denton
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
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Binding: Paperback

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Shadows II, Skulls II & Spooks II

ASIN: 1419637231
Release Date: 2006-06-28

Book Description

In Nineteen fifty-five a Shadow Government was established by Executive Orders, and operated covertly with success for twenty years during the very warm Cold War. Then under pressure from Congress in Nineteen Seventy-five, new Executive Orders were issued to make the Shadow Government, with its Black Chamber operations, vanish. This secret operation remained nonexistent history until exposed in Two thousand and three. This is a story about sixteen naÃ¯ve young people. Upon graduating from high school on one Memorial Day, they enlisted and became highly trained and qualified Master Assassins by the following Memorial Day. They were recruited to be deadly tools of the trade for a â€œOne Nation under Godâ€ Shadow Government. The young people were displacement specialists for dispatching humanities hemorrhoids from the â€œnasty now and nowâ€ into the â€œsweet bye and bye.â€ They helped balance out the political â€œWorld Orderâ€ of things, and the valuable economic benefits of the U. S. of A. around the world.

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Real food for thought.......2007-06-05

Beyond the first few chapters this was an exciting and spellbinding book that I couldn't put down. There are lots of intriquing twists & turns about events that happened in my lifetime...very interesting....is this fact or fiction or some of both?

Shadows Skulls Spooks -- two books.......2007-05-23

Shadows, Skulls, and Spooks is a two-book fascinating tale of 16 talented young men recruited into a secret Shadow Government operation -- the Pooka Brigade -- trained to be efficient killers and then assigned to kill to protect our Country's regional, political, and economic interests. Half of the first Brigade survived and the best of them went on to assemble another Pooka Brigade (covered in Book II).

Established and, 20 years later, terminated by Executive Orders, their Black Chamber units functioned in extreme secrecy. You will feel the tension and intrigue as they carry out their unbelievable assignments.

Sigurd D. Medhus

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The Nixon Family Revealed
"iron and courage," and a lot of love

Pat Nixon: The Untold Story
Julie Nixon Eisenhower
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0671244248

Customer Reviews:

The Nixon Family Revealed.......2006-06-30

The life of former first lady Pat Nixon, 1912-1993, is beautifully detailed in a fascinating biography written by her daughter, Julie Nixon Eisenhower.

Altho it was first published in 1986, it is worth reading again as we compare the presidency of Richard Nixon and George W. Bush. As for their wives, Pat Nixon and Laura Bush are both inspiring women, tho different personalities.

Julie's research and observations about her mother's amazing abilities, her courage and grace, her love for all people and especially her family, is deeply moving. This is an excellent portrait of the Nixon family, especially about her beloved mother, Pat, and it is very personal.

The White House years during the Vietnam war were filled with turmoil. I remember watching President Nixon tender his resignation on television and seeing his family trying to hold back the tears. Reading about the administration trying to control "leaks", the corruption that existed and the biased media, is not unlike today's political frustrations, more than forty years later.

Thank you Julie Nixon Eisenhower for a well written portrayal of your family. So many books have been written about the Nixon presidency,your family, etc. however, you have given the American people a valuable tool in which to make their own judgements. You are unafraid to write the truth as you view it and I, for one, deeply appreciate this thoroughly enjoyable book.

"iron and courage," and a lot of love.......2003-07-17

This is one of the most engrossing books I have ever read; fast paced, extremely moving in parts, painstakingly researched, and written in a solid, straightforward style .
Pat Nixon was born in 1912, and after her mother's death when Pat was 13, she had a hard existence that taught her the survival skills to work her way through her education during the Depression, the many political campaigns that sometimes ended in failure, and the stress and isolation of being First Lady during times of war, revolt, and impeachment.
It is also a love story; it was love at first sight for Richard, but it took many ardent, romantic letters and several years of wooing to win the heart of this strong and fiercely independent woman...for him, she was always "part of everything beautiful I see," and he never tired of telling her how proud he was of her.
There are excerpts from many letters, journal entries, and interviews with friends and family, as well as conversations between mother and daughter. Also fascinating are the glimpses into the lives of the powerful and famous, like J.Paul Getty, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, Leonid Brezhnev, and many more.

The early chapters will be interesting for those who like me, live in Southern California, as a snapshot of what life was like in the first half of the 20th century; the descriptions show how much it has changed, and it is also significant to take note of the growth of our government since the days when Nixon was vice president in the '50s. The recounting of the violence and unrest of the '60s in the middle chapters vividly brings to life that troubled time, which we tend to gloss over and forget. There is much history in this book, that provides a good perspective to the world conditions of the present era.
Mrs. Eisenhower does not shy away from the downward spiral of the Watergate crisis, and is very blunt about how it affected her family; she truly does tell us "The Untold Story," and lays out many facts, succinctly and with candor. Written in 1986, it has many marvelous photographs, and clear, readable print. The editing is terrific; there are no dull passages, and no awkward phrases. I am in the habit of giving books away once read, but this is one I will keep.

Mrs. Nixon passed on the 22nd of June, 1993, exactly ten months before her husband. They both rest side by side, surrounded by aromatic roses, blue agapanthas, and the sound of birdsongs, in the garden of the extraordinary Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. The peace and beauty of this memorial site is overwhelming, and so fitting for this courageous, loving woman.

Modern Republican: Arthur Larson And the Eisenhower Years

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Modern Republican: Arthur Larson And the Eisenhower Years
David L. Stebenne , and Arthur Larson
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0253348072

Book Description

-- Winner, 2007 Ohio Academy of History Publication Award --

-- ForeWord Magazine "Book of the Year" Award, Honorable Mention in Political Science--

Arthur Larson was the chief architect of moderate conservatism--one of the most influential and least studied political forces in U.S. history. During the Eisenhower administration, Larson held three major posts: Under Secretary of Labor, Director of the United States Information Agency, and chief presidential speechwriter. In each of these roles, Larson's most important achievement was to explain clearly and cogently what the administration stood for on matters foreign and domestic. Larson's views were put forth most forcefully in A Republican Looks at His Party, published in 1956. Larson and his book provided the Eisenhower administration with "the vision thing." His limitations and disappointments also help explain Eisenhower-era conservatism. They illuminate the extent to which there was a gap between what the "Modern Republicans" believed and what they said and were able to accomplish, and why those beliefs, values, and achievements did not always mesh.

Larson's ultimately unsuccessful efforts to prevent the rise of the New Right are especially enlightening, for they help to clarify why the party of Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s gradually became the party of the more conservative Ronald Reagan by the 1980s. Modern Republican will enlighten readers who want to understand more fully the historical context of today's divisive political arena.

Average customer rating:

I like Ike.

IT'S OK..............

Disappointing Look at a National Hero

More a reflection on the author than on the subject

A good, brief biography of Eisenhower the president

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Tom Wicker , and Arthur M. Schlesinger
Manufacturer: Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0805069070

Amazon.com

"I have been in politics ... most of my adult life. There's no more active political organization in the world than the armed forces of the United States." So said Dwight Eisenhower, the subject of journalist-novelist Tom Wicker's thoughtful--and often critical--Dwight D. Eisenhower, shortly after leaving the presidency.

Eisenhower was never above politics, as his admirers claimed; Wicker shows that he was a political creature through and through, as Patton suspected while serving under him in World War II. ("Ike wants to be president so badly you can taste it," Patton said.) He held all the contradictory positions of a politician, too: a dedicated cold warrior and anti-Communist, he famously decried the power of the "military-industrial complex," resisted American involvement in Vietnam while setting the stage for it, and called himself a "liberal Republican" while doing little to attend to pressing domestic issues, especially in the realm of civil rights. He refused to stand up to Joe McCarthy and chose Richard Nixon as his running mate for reasons of political expediency.

Wicker gives Eisenhower middling marks: "The worst did not happen in his time, but neither did the best." His survey may not cheer Ike's fans, but it's balanced, highly readable, and useful for those seeking a window on American political life half a century ago. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

A bona-fide American hero at the close of World War II, General Dwight Eisenhower rode an enormous wave of popularity into the Oval Office seven years later. Though we may view the Eisenhower years through a hazy lens of 1950s nostalgia, historians consider his presidency one of the least successful. At home there was civil rights unrest, McCarthyism, and a deteriorating economy; internationally, the Cold War was deepening. But despite his tendency toward brinksmanship, Ike would later be revered for keeping the peace. Still, his actions and policies at the onset of his career covered by Tom Wicker, would haunt Americans of future generations.

Customer Reviews:

I like Ike........2007-08-30

Wicker shows the complexities of our 34th President. Eisenhower was a great wartime commander. He led men into battle and exercised diplomacy in his wartime alliance. He was a so-so president who did some memorable things. Ike started the intrastate highway system, warned against the military-industrial complex, toppled two legitimate governments (Iran, Guatemala) and came close to a nuclear test ban treaty. He was a man many Americans treated as a father figure. He won two terms as President. Many people would have voted him a third term if the law allowed it. He was against the Brown vs. Board of Education decision but used the military to back up the judiciary.

Wicker spent a week with Eisenhower in 1962. Even though his admiration of President and General Eisenhower in there, his book is a fair accessment of this great American. Eisenhower may not have been a great President, but he was far better than most of our chief executives.

IT'S OK.....................2007-08-09

FIRST OF ALL, I TEACH HISTORY FOR A LIVING, SO I KNEW QUITE A BIT ABOUT THE SUBJECT MATTER BEFORE READING WICKER AND AMBROSE'S BOOKS. AFTER READING BOTH PIECES OF WORK, I CAN STILL DECLARE "I LIKE IKE." NO QUALITY, RELIABLE PIECE OF HISTORICAL WORK SHOULD HAVE A PERSONAL SLANT BY THE WRITER HIMSELF. IS THIS BOOK PERFECTLY WRITTEN? CERTAINLY NOT. IS IT WORTHY OF BEING READ; CERTAINLY. I HAVE TO ADMIT THOUGH, IT DOES HAVE A VERY NEGATIVE SLANT TOWARD IKE, ALMOST A PERSONALLY NEGATIVE SLANT.

HOWEVER AFTER READING AMBROSE'S WORK ON IKE, YOU ALMOST FEEL AS IF IKE WAS THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. AMBROSE WHITEWASHED IKE'S FLAWS COMPLETELY. I THINK AMBROSE WAS ENAMORED WITH IKE. HELL, WHO WOULDN'T BE? THE MAN LED THE BIGGEST BUNCH OF HEADCASES (PATTON, MONTY, CLARK, MACARTHUR, AND DE GAULLE) IN WWII (OUTSIDE OF THE AXIS POWERS) TO VICTORY! IKE WAS A TREMENDOUSLY FLAWED INDIVIDUAL, BUT WHO ON EARTH ISN'T? I AGREE WITH THE OLD SAYING, "A MAN IS NEITHER GOOD NOR BAD FOR ONE ACTION." OR SEVERAL ACTIONS WITH IKE!

I BELIEVE THAT MAYBE READING BOTH OF THESE GIVES YOU A BETTER PERSPECTIVE ON IKE RATHER THAN JUST PICKING ONE OVER THE OTHER. ONE PRESENTS IKE AS THE ANTI-CHRIST, AND THE OTHER PRESENTS IKE AS CHRIST REBORN. I'LL LET YOU DECIDE WHICH IS WHICH. IT WON'T TAKE YOU LONG.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO THINK THAT THIS BOOK IS "TOO CRITICAL OF EISENHOWER", THE FACTS ARE WHAT THEY ARE! HE DID NOT INTEGRATE THE ARMED FORCES, TRUMAN DID. EISENHOWER DID HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH HIS BRITISH SECRETARY AND WAS TRYING TO LEAVE MAMIE, NO MATTER HOW AMBROSE TRIES TO DOWNPLAY IT. EISENHOWER WAS TREMENDOUSLY WEAK IN URGING CIVIL RIGHTS REFORM WHEN HE SPOKE TO SEVERAL KEY SOUTHERN SENATORS AND TOLD THEM THAT HE WAS ONLY SENDING IN FEDERAL TROOPS TO LITTLE ROCK BECAUSE HIS "OFFICE DEMANDED IT, BUT IT WAS GOING TO BE THE MILDEST OF CIVIL RIGHTS REFORM POSSIBLE." IF ANY PRESIDENT HAD THE PUBLIC SUPPORT TO BRING ABOUT RADICAL CIVIL RIGHTS REFORM, IT WAS IKE. HE WASTED THAT OPPORTUNITY COMPLETELY. IKE ALSO HUNG MARSHALL (A CLOSE PERSONAL "FRIEND" AND MENTOR) OUT TO DRY WHEN MCCARTHY BEGAN TO ACCUSE G.C. MARSHALL OF BEING A COMMIE IN THE EARLY 50'S. HE SOLD MARSHALL DOWN THE RIVER TO FURTHER HIS OWN POLITICAL CAREER. TRUMAN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH IKE DID NOT GO SOUTH BECAUSE AS AMBROSE CLAIMED, "IKE WAS A REPUBLICAN", IT WENT SOUTH BECAUSE IKE WAS EXTREMELY RUDE TO TRUMAN'S WIFE, BESS, ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, AND BECAUSE TRUMAN BELIEVED IN LOYALTY TO YOUR FRIENDS (MARSHALL) NO MATTER HOW MUCH IT MIGHT HURT YOUR POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS. IF ONE REMEMBERS CORRECTLY, TRUMAN ACTUALLY APPOINTED A REPUBLICAN TO THE SUPREME COURT DURING HIS PRESIDENCY. SO THE "REPUBLICAN ARGUMENT" DOESN'T HOLD WATER AND IF AMBROSE HAD READ ANYTHING ON TRUMAN, HE WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT. IKE ONLY DISTANCED HIMSELF FROM MCCARTHY WHEN IKE FELT MCCARTHY MAY ACTUALLY SAY SOMETHING NEGATIVE ABOUT IKE PERSONALLY, SINCE HE WAS THE FORMER HEAD OF THE ARMY THAT MACCARTHY WAS ACCUSING OF BEING LED BY REDS. BOTH BOOKS ARE FLAWED, AS WAS IKE THE MAN.

Disappointing Look at a National Hero.......2006-06-19

There really could have been so much more said of this man, this General who led our troops during the Second World War, who entered politics in order to preserve the peace. In this short volume (the series is generally short and introductory in nature) the author, Tom Wicker, misses so many chances to engage his reader into discovering Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Something I found especially difficult to ignore was the glaring omission of any mention (I believe there was but one fleating reference) of the Interstate Highway Act...something which arguably did more to change the face of American life and culture than any other measure of the time.

Wicker does manage to capture a bit of character in discussing the 34th President of the United States. We are introduced to a man who served his country as both a military commander and as Commander-in Chief, who, following his first-hand experiences in war beleived that war should always be the option of last resort. Eisenhower's Farewell Address, warning his country against the dangers of an organized military complex, still is remarkable today.

However, what Mr. Wicker does most successfully is present Eisenhower's failures. As president, Eisenhower was unwilling to spend political capital on divisive, politically-charged issues such as the growing tension of the Civil Rights struggle and the anti-communist witch hunts spurned by Senator Joseph McCarthy and HUAC (the House Un-American Activities Commitee). A more compelling figure might have stood up and directed his country through such difficult times; Eisenhower failed to act.

Unfortunately, so does Wicker. The pages here feel as though the author slept through most of the writing. The book skims the surface of any real substantive discovery of what Wicker refers to as "the most popular president of modern times."

More a reflection on the author than on the subject.......2005-05-16

In his great biography of Dwight Eisenhower, Stephen Ambrose states that how Eisenhower's presidency is evaluated says more about the person doing the evaluation than it does about Eisenhower. Tom Wicker looks at Eisenhower's presidency through jaundiced eyes. He concludes this short biography by stating that Eisenhower was a great man but, not a great president. What is not clear is what kind of president Eisenhower was. If not great, was he, sort of like Truman, near great? Was he middling perhaps, or was he a poor president? Although Wicker does not provide that information, it is clear that he, at best, thinks Eisenhower's presidency was middling.

No matter what the event, Wicker takes a critical view of Eisenhower's action. He quotes Ambrose, for example, as follows: "Eisenhower's admiring biographer Stephen Ambrose reluctantly concluded that the president's failure to lead in this instance [support for the Brown v. Board of Education decision] was 'almost criminal.'" First of all, as admiring as Ambrose may have been, his biography was scrupulously fair and often critical. Wicker's characterization of Ambrose's conclusion as reluctant is an attempt to bolster Wicker's harsh criticism of Eisenhower. However, Wicker, unlike Ambrose, fails to give Eisenhower credit for the first Civil Rights legislation since Reconstruction.

If Wicker had been fair, he would have noted that the Civil Rights legislation was sponsored by Eisenhower and that Eisenhower was deeply troubled that citizens (black Americans) were being denied the right to vote. Eisenhower strongly wanted a powerful voting rights law and civil rights legislation did, in fact, pass. It was watered down but certainly, not due to anything the administration did. Rather it was congress, including some very liberal Democrats, who watered it down because the civil rights bill provided for penalties against voting rights violators without affording these violators a jury trial. Yes, many liberals watered that provision down. However, Wicker looks upon this as a failing of the president. In fact, his strong support for a voting rights bill was leadership and ultimately, under the Johnson administration, this provision was stregnthened. It was Eisenhower who put the issue on the table so that it ultimately led to the stronger legislation a few years later.

Wicker excoriates Eisenhower for an incident in the 1952 campaign in which he deleted a defense of general George Marshall. Eisenhower was appearing in McCarthy's home state of Wisconsin and Eisenhower's aids told him that defending Marshall, who had been attacked by McCarthy, would be an insult to McCarthy. Eisenhower would have been the first to admit that, in retrospect, he was not proud of what he had done. However, what Wicker fails to report is that earlier, in a venue other than Wisconsin, Eisenhower strongly defended General Marshall.

In foreign affairs, Wicker blows what he perceives to be failures way out of proportion. He seems to think that Eisenhower's exercise of covert activity in Iran and Guatemala was of biblically disastorous proportions. Meanwhile, he gives Eisenhower credit for keeping us out of war but, the very existence of a crisis in which war was averted, seems to reflect badly on Eisenhower. In fact, we were perilously close to nuclear war on several occasions. It is quite possible that nobody other than Eisenhower could have resisted the pressures to launch a first strike. That did not happen due to Eisnhower's great leadership. Getting us through the perilous 50s the way he did should make Eisenhower at least one of the near great presidents.

Finally, in viewing the failure to reach arms control with the Soviets, Wicker states that Eisenhower attempted to reach an agreement due to Stevenson's pushing the issue in the 1956 presidential campaign. In fact, early on, Eisenhower sought innovative ways to limit arms including, a proposed agreement to have unlimited surveillance of the US by the Soviet Union and of the Soviet Union by the US. Each country would provide airfields for survellance flights to the other. Eisenhower resisted calls from Democrats and Republicans alike for more armaments. In double talk, Stevenson was urging production of more missles due to an alleged "missle gap" at the same time he was calling for arms control. Eisenhower, on the other hand, was resisiting the pressure to engage in an arms race. So, by reading Wicker, you would not know that Eisenhower was an innovative leader on this issue and that Stevenson was speaking out of both sides of his mouth.

The presidential biographies, in this series, are relatively short. Wicker's is a good 15 pages shorter than several others in the series. Wicker would have done well to add 10 or 15 pages to go into a little depth about Eisnhower's heroic leadership as Supreme commander of the Allied forces in WWII. In fact, if he had done so, he could have even raised the rumored sexual affair with Kay Summersby. Of course if he had done so, unlike biographers Ambrose and Geoffrey Perret who both concluded that the two did not have sex, Wicker's jaundiced view would have led to the opoposite conclusion.

I believe that, although this biography does a good job in reporting the facts of Eisenhower's presidency, Wicker's harsh analysis is unfair and, ultimately flawed.

A good, brief biography of Eisenhower the president.......2003-10-30

One reviewer complained that this was not a complete biography, and that is certainly correct. It is a biography of Eisenhower as president, in a series devoted to covering the American presidents. That is the focus of the series, and most of the books in this series ought to share that focus. Apart from a biography on William Henry Harrison and Garfield, the emphasis on all these books should be on the presidential career of each individual.

I will confess that I am an admirer of General Eisenhower, but not of President Eisenhower. He certainly did count many achievements to his credit during his two terms of office, but his administrations were marred by some utterly dreadful events, and not a few failures to take strong moral stands by Eisenhower himself. His administration also established several unfortunate precedents, such as overthrowing foreign governments. Wicker focuses more on the failures than the achievements, but the most he can be accused of here is a slight--and I think it is very slight indeed--lack of balance. In the more recent presidents, we tend sometimes to see what we want to see, and many simply do not want to see the failures of his years in office.

The general assessment of Eisenhower as president is that he had some real achievements in foreign policy but fared far worse in domestic policy. On the former, he is credited with keeping the United States out of war (and getting us out of Korea) during the increasing tension of the Cold War. He also, in what I believe was his greatest moment as president on the foreign front, intervened strongly when France and Britain attempted to seize control of the Suez Canal in conjunction with an Israeli invasion of the Sinai. As Wicker correctly points out, however, this has to be balanced with the tragedy of the Gary Powers incident, which sabotaged a probable arms treaty with the Soviet Union. Worse, Eisenhower supported some morally reprehensible covert operations in Iraq (where we deposed a popular leader and replaced him with the Shah), Guatemala (where we deposed a democratically elected government), and in Cuba (where Eisenhower's folks undertook the planning for what later became the Bay of Pigs--Kennedy's greatest failure being not to reject the plan entirely). Eisenhower also is responsible for our initial involvement in Vietnam, which would deepen tragically in the Kennedy and Johnson years.

Wicker does a fine job of covering the domestic issues, although I think he draws back from a rather obvious conclusion (though many other writers do not): Eisenhower, although himself a moral, good individual, was at best morally timid and at worst a moral coward. In the terms used my countless ministers in my own Southern Baptist church, Eisenhower engaged in sins of omission. He lamented the Brown v. Board of Education, and failed to support it or implement it, although he did intervene in my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas when our governor Orville Faubus refused to allow the integration of Central High School. But overall, Eisenhower had a dreadful record on Civil Rights, and we know from numerous personal comments--many of which Wicker records--that he was personally not very sensitive on racial matters (and that is putting it somewhat mildly). Also, despite personally deploring Senator Joe McCarthy and his tactics, Eisenhower did not intervene for several years of his presidency and did not condemn McCarthy publicly. Especially tragic was his failure to defend his patron George Marshall, one of America's great public servants (both in running WW II from Washington and later in his tremendous service in the State Department) from explicit charges of treason by McCarthy. On the other hand, Eisenhower did oversee the creation of NASA (though he wouldn't promote it the way that Kennedy did upon becoming president, for whom going to the moon was a mania). Wicker does point out briefly his great achievement in overseeing the building of the Interstate Highway system, and spends rather more time on his largely ineffectual attempt to convince the American populace that no missile or nuclear gap existed between the US and the USSR. Ironically, during the Eisenhower years, it was the Democrats who were pushing for more military spending, with Ike convinced that the US had more than enough to deter and defeat the Soviet Union in any forthcoming war. Significant mention is made of Eisenhower's farewell address, the first significant farewell since Washington's. In that he warned of the expanding influence of the Military-Industrial complex, a warning that we have not yet heeded.

Wicker also does a good job of discussing the bizarre lack of support that Eisenhower gave Nixon, a lack that undermined Nixon's campaign in an excruciatingly tight election that might have cost him the presidency. It remains one of Eisenhower's most perplexing failures. Although I myself would have preferred Kennedy to Nixon, there is good reason to believe that Eisenhower negatively affected the outcome of the election, from a Republican point of view.

Book Description

Completing a monumental project that began with publication of The War Years in 1970, this final set of volumes of The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower contains 1,783 documents drawn from Eisenhower's second term as president from 20 January 1957 to 20 January 1961. In these years Eisenhower worked hard to hold the focus of American national politics on the two major objectives he had set for his presidency in 1952: to sustain the policy of containment without precipitating a war with the Soviet Union and to reduce the role of the federal government in U.S. domestic affairs. In both cases, events at home and abroad intruded -- diverting attention to immediate problems, endangering the peace, and forcing the White House to devote most of its leadership to the crises of the day.

As president during this tense period, Eisenhower maintained an extensive and revealing correspondence with prominent individuals as well as with personal friends. These letters, together with the occasional entries made in his diary, shed considerable light upon the major national concerns of the 1950s. The volumes also include private and secret correspondence previously unavailable to scholars. Some of these items have been only recently declassified, and many appear here in print for the first time. Taken as a whole, the Eisenhower papers from 1957-61 provide firm documentary evidence of the manner in which Eisenhower dealt with the complex internal and external problems faced by all of our modern political leaders.

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