Eisenhower, Dwight David

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
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Binding: Paperback

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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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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.

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Disappointing Look at a National Hero
More a reflection on the author than on the subject
A good, brief biography of Eisenhower the president
Workmanlike
Not really a biography but a good introduction

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Tom Wicker , and Arthur M. Schlesinger
Manufacturer: Times Books
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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:

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.

This is a good, brief book on the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Wicker, although admiring of Ike as a man, is unsympathetic to him as a president. But I would argue that he is fair. If one wants a full-length biography of Eisenhower, one could turn to Stephen Ambrose's two-volume biography, or Carlo D'Este's superb biography of Eisenhower's military career.

Workmanlike.......2003-09-25

Some might argue that the job Tom Wicker has done here is a perfect fit for the Eisenhower presidency - workmanlike, efficient, strong enough to keep your interest but not compelling enough to make the reader feel like an expert on the President or develop a strong viewpoint about him. ... I would have liked a little more. (Something, for instance, on the Interstate Highway system would have been helpful. Or his views/feelings on postwar culture.)

Not really a biography but a good introduction.......2003-04-05

Tom Wicker spent thirty years writing on politics for the New York Times. Having worked as a young reporter in the 1950s, he combines memories of actual events with secondary sources to produce a short, lively monograph on Eisenhower's presidency.

Older readers can remember the media Ike: the winning smile, the bumbling answers at press conferences, the incessant golf. The electorate loved him, but contemporary observers were not impressed. They looked on him as a career soldier who despised politics, leaving handling of foreign policy to the slightly frightening John Foster Dulles and domestic policy to no one at all.

Wicker admits that this was once his view but no longer. However, he adds that Eisenhower's growing reputation owes nothing to domestic affairs. Perhaps his major success in this area was the Interstate Highway Bill of 1955, which is still financing our interstate roads. Trivia buffs note: this was the last major Republican program that required new taxes.

Wicker joins two generations of historians in condemning Eisenhower's refusal to speak out against McCarthy or in favor of civil rights. All agree this was politically astute but morally deplorable.

The 1954 Supreme Court decision on segregation came as an unpleasant shock to Eisenhower, but he was in good company. Most northern officials were lukewarm (an admirable exception was attorney general, Herbert Brownell). Holding racial views similar to Lincoln's, Eisenhower disapproved of mistreating Negroes but believed their capacities did not measure up to those of the white race. Wicker's discussion spends more time on Chief Justice Warren than the president, but it's an eye-opener. Legend gives Warren credit for the decision, but this is wrong. He didn't join the court until the case was nearing its end. On his arrival, it was already 5-4 in favor of desegregation. His accomplishment was convincing opponents to switch their votes. Such a controversial decision required unanimity, Warren pointed out. A split Court would encourage southern resistance, bringing disorder to the country and casting doubt on the Court's legitimacy. Good patriots all, they switched, including the hidebound southern racist, Stanley Reed. Does anyone believe this could happen today?

Among America's long line of political scoundrels, Joseph McCarthy stands out for sheer vulgarity. Many supporters in the Senate including Richard Nixon thought he was slightly creepy. That his wild accusations of rampant communist subversion ruined many careers without turning up any new spies was public knowledge. The New York Times and Washington Post pointed this out. Conservative Time Magazine heaped ridicule on him.

But no elected official dared cross McCarthy. Contemptuous in private, Eisenhower took care never to make his feelings public although newspapers regularly found hints between the lines. The Senate censure in 1954 happened only because of McCarthy's increasingly insulting behavior and a modest decline of anticommunist hysteria. It was a slap on the wrist, and McCarthy remained in charge of his committee, so no one can explain why he suddenly fell silent. Wicker has no explanation, and he concludes with the usual regret that Eisenhower failed to take a courageous moral position.

Historians always attack politicians for refusing to take courageous moral positions, forgetting that doing so is invariably disastrous. Perhaps the greatest example is Lincoln's emancipation proclamation in September 1862. Although a feeble antislavery gesture, it was unpopular in the north. Democrats happily pointed out that Lincoln had converted a war for the union into a war for the Negro, and they crushed Republicans in the election two months later.

Foreign policy is almost entirely responsible for Eisenhower's improving reputation. Even those of us who remember the 1950s forget how close World War III seemed. Many national leaders and several of the Joint Chiefs wanted to get on with it as soon as possible. America's foreign policy seemed in the hands of elderly secretary of state John Foster Dulles, a pugnacious, evangelical who had been lecturing foreigners on American virtues since the Wilson administration. He made almost everyone nervous with enthusiastic talk of liberating eastern Europe, regaining China, and using atomic weapons if provoked excessively. It turns out Dulles was firmly under Eisenhower's thumb, and this rhetoric mellowed as years passed. The president himself was far more peaceable than anyone thought at the time. He gets enough credit for ending the Korean war but too little for refusing to strike back at China's threats to Formosa (his military advisors were raring to go). When he aborted the English-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956, he was not reading opinion polls. Americans generally approved the invasion.

Most impressive of all, he kept the military firmly under his thumb. Despite the usual 1952 campaign rhetoric about defeating communism, Eisenhower held the defense budget level when he wasn't reducing it. His finest hour (although no one thought so at the time) came after Russia launched Sputnik in 1957. His announcement that orbiting a satellite was not a big deal produced universal dismay. Editorials denounced his short-sightedness; cartoons pictured him with his head in the sand. His poll ratings dropped to their lowest. Despite additional Russian space spectaculars, he did not change his mind, quashing all efforts to launch crash military programs. John F. Kennedy spent much of the 1960 campaign denouncing the administration for underestimating the communist threat, cruelly starving the armed forces, allowing the Russians to achieve military superiority. JFK was a far more aggressive cold warrior than his predecessor.

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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Eisenhower Deserves a Better Biography
An Outstanding Biography
An Outstanding Biography
Readable and interesting
A quick 600 pages

Eisenhower
Geoffrey Perret
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Eisenhower
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There's a War to Be Won: The United States Army in World War II
The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader
Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life

ASIN: 0375500464
Release Date: 1999-10-26

Amazon.com

It's no surprise that the biographer of Douglas MacArthur and Ulysses S. Grant clearly conveys the military talents that enabled Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) to ensure the Allies' victory in World War II, but Geoffrey Perret is equally perceptive when dealing with the personality behind the famously genial grin. Perhaps marked by his father's coldness and grim religious zeal (though his mother was a lively, cheerful woman), Eisenhower never expressed his feelings easily, even to his cherished wife, Mamie. His intelligence and scholarly gifts got the poor boy from Kansas into West Point; his administrative and training abilities made him too valuable at home to be employed for active duty in World War I, much to his chagrin. Professional fulfillment and fame as the general who won WWII couldn't change the self-controlled habits of a military lifetime, and Perret depicts Eisenhower as reluctantly drawn into politics by a sense of duty. Covering his presidency, Perret doesn't let him off the hook about such touchy matters as U.S. involvement in the 1954 overthrow of Guatemala's elected government or the biased hearing that lifted physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer's security clearance. But the author obviously likes Ike, and he helps his readers understand why most Americans in the 1940s and '50s did too. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

This new, in-depth life of Eisenhower offers fresh perspectives, not only on World War II and the Korean War but also on the Cold War, the civil rights movement, McCarthyism, the U-2 crisis and Vietnam.

Geoffrey Perret's Eisenhower gives us, for the first time, the whole man. It brings together a huge amount of material, much of it made available to researchers only in recent years. The result is nothing less than an original, authoritative and provocative portrait of Eisenhower, as both soldier and president.

Far from being the easygoing and pliant figure often depicted by his critics, Eisenhower is revealed here as a complex, tough-minded and highly capable man, one who rose to the top of the world's most competitive profession, the modern military. His career as a soldier would prove to be an excellent preparation for most, though not all, of the major challenges he faced as America's thirty-fourth president.

Eisenhower's letters and diaries—many of them never seen by previous biographers—have contributed profoundly to this groundbreaking work. So, too, have dozens of interviews with people who knew him well. These fresh sources have made it possible to resolve many intriguing questions that have, until now, been matters only of speculation and rumor:

Did he have an affair with Kay Summersby, his wartime driver?
Why did he have so much trouble with Field-Marshal Montgomery?
Did the Columbia University trustees appoint him by accident, as campus whispers claimed, in a bungled attempt to offer the university presidency to his brother Milton?
Just how did he bring the Korean War to an end within months of becoming president?
What did he really think of Richard Nixon?

Geoffrey Perret, the author of Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life of Douglas MacArthur, as well as There's a War to Be Won, an acclaimed history of the United States Army in World War II, is uniquely qualified to write this new life of Dwight D. Eisenhower, a work that is worthy of its remarkable and controversial subject.

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Geoffrey Perret's Eisenhower gives us, for the first time, thewhole man. It brings together a huge amount of material, much of it madeavailable to researchers only in recent years. The result is nothingless than an original, authoritative and provocative portrait ofEisenhower, as both soldier and president.

Far from being the easygoing and pliant figure often depicted by hiscritics, Eisenhower is revealed here as a complex, tough-minded andhighly capable man, one who rose to the top of the world's mostcompetitive profession, the modern military. His career as a soldierwould prove to be an excellent preparation for most, though not all, ofthe major challenges he faced as America's thirty-fourth president.

Eisenhower's letters and diaries -- many of them never seen by previousbiographers -- have contributed profoundly to this groundbreaking work.So, too, have dozens of interviews with people who knew him well. Thesefresh sources have made it possible to resolve many intriguing questionsthat have, until now, been matters only of speculation and rumor:

Did he have an affair with Kay Summersby, his wartime driver?
Why did he have so much trouble with Field-Marshal Montgomery?
Did the Columbia University trustees appoint him by accident, ascampus whispers claimed, in a bungled attempt to offer the universitypresidency to his brother Milton?
Just how did he bring the Korean War to an end within months ofbecoming president?
What did he really think of Richard Nixon?

Geoffrey Perret, the author of Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life ofDouglas MacArthur, as well as There's a War to Be Won, anacclaimed history of the United States Army in World War II, is uniquelyqualified to write this new life of Dwight D. Eisenhower, a work that isworthy of its remarkable and controversial subject.

Customer Reviews:

Eisenhower Deserves a Better Biography.......2006-02-06

Simply put, this biography is average. I read a lot and while this isn't the only Perret biography book I've read, I can't help but feel that the author has no respect for his readers. I myself, enjoy an author who treats the reader as an equal and I can't help but feel that Perret views all of us as literary-morons with a third grade reading level. I feel the prose is substantially lacking in grace and eloquence in addition to the most important thing: subject matter. Eisenhower was a player on the world's stage at some of the most crucial moments in human history (ex: D-Day) yet after reading this book I didn't feel that my curiosity about Eisenhower's life was satisfied. I couldn't really tell you what I learned after reading this book besides coming to the conclusion that I wasted my time flipping through some dull page-filling text. There has to be a better biography of Eisenhower out there, this one just isn't worth the time or minimal effort required to read it.

An Outstanding Biography.......2004-04-16

In "Eisenhower" Geoffrey Perret gives an outstanding biography of a very interesting and important historical figure. Here we meet Ike from birth to death.

The reader is treated to an introduction to the Eisenhower family, to the father who could never be close to his sons, the mother who had little influence over them and the brothers with whom Ike grew up and continued his mutually supportive relationship through their highly successful careers.

The relationship with Mamie, their lost son, and son John, all reflect Ike's personal strengths and limitations.

Perret does equally well in telling the stories of the junior officer and the commander as well as those of the President and senior statesman.

Eisenhower's evaluations of many of the characters who crossed his path add to the allure of this book. Ike's admiration, followed by his contempt for MacArthur, his dislike of FDR, his lack of respect for Truman and his lack of affection for Nixon, all add to the insight into Ike's times. Omar Bradley, George Marshall, John Foster Dulles, Henry Cabot Lodge and Joseph McCarthy are just a sampling of the world characters who played on Eisenhower's stage.

Perret thoroughly reports each phase of Ike's life in a way as to maintain interest throughout. He comments on Eisenhower's rights and wrongs in a way which provokes thoughts, without seeming to be opinionated. I believe that this is what makes this biography superior so many others..

An Outstanding Biography.......2004-04-16

In "Eisenhower" Geoffrey Perret gives an outstanding biography of a very interesting and important historical figure. Here we meet Ike from birth to death.

The relationship with Mamie, their lost son, and son John, all reflect Ike's personal strengths and limitations.

Perret does equally well in telling the stories of the junior officer and the commander as well as those of the President and senior statesman.

Readable and interesting.......2003-08-06

This biography, written with an obvious affection for its subject, focuses largely on Ike's activities in WWII and immediately after. I would have liked a little more about his early life - Perret uses only about 1/5th of the book to get to Ike as a senior officer preparing for US entry into the war in 1940. That was, after all, the first 50 years of his life. By moving through them so quickly, I don't think that Perret gives as much insight as he could into the man.

The war years and just after are covered well. Perret gives sketches of the other major figures Ike dealt with. MacArthur is portayed as an egomaniac and comes off rather badly; Patton and Marshall are seen more positively. Perret is rough on Ike's alleged lover, Kay Summers, who he concludes lied, but he's roughest of all on Bernard Montgomery, who is presented as insubordinate, afraid to commit troops to battle, and incompetent to use them properly when he does. I don't recall anything positive that Perret has to say about Monty.

The post-war years are interesting, but I was not really satisfied with the coverage of the Presidential years. The story hits the main points - Little Rock, the Sherman Adams scandal, the Checkers speech, Sputnik, the U2 incident, but doesn't give enough of an insider perspective to give any new insight on most of them. One thing that is covered fairly thoroughly, and the only real surprise I got from this section, is finding out how weak Ike was in standing up to McCarthyism, even when McCarthy and his supporters went after Ike's old friend George Marshall.

In summary, this is hardly a great biography, but it is easy to read despite the considearable size, and has enough value that you'll get a good return for the time spent reading it.

A quick 600 pages.......2002-08-07

Very well written, it lends itself to being read in a few days. It portrays Ike as a very complex and multifaceted man, much more than I had expected before reading it. I remember, not being able to wait until Ike goes to war in Europe. But actually the African Campaign is the most tedious reading in the book. The most entertaining part of the book, was the political intrigue of the presidency, which I enjoyed immensly. Still, I wish that there had been more about Ike's relationship with Nixon and more explanation of his mysterious final address, in which he spoke of the growing power of the military-industrial complex.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Soldier, President, Statesman (Contributions in Political Science)

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Dwight D. Eisenhower: Soldier, President, Statesman (Contributions in Political Science)

Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0313259550

Book Description

This volume of twenty-four new essays enriches our understanding of Eisenhower as a leader and provides valuable historical hindsight on the issues and situations he faced during his two terms as president. Written by a group of scholars and other experts, including his campaign manager, administration officials, and government personnel, it offers a broad spectrum of opinion and analysis and a wealth of insider information not available in standard presidential biographies.

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Gone but not forgotten
The View from the Top
Crystal clear mobilization and communication
Excellent book for those interested in WWII history and a great figure.
A Gem Of A Memoir

Crusade in Europe
Dwight David Eisenhower
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Five-star General Dwight D. Eisenhower was arguably the single most important military figure of World War II. For many historians, his memoirs of this eventful period of U.S. history have become the single most important record of the war. Crusade in Europe tells the complete story of the war as Eisenhower planned and lived it. Through his eyes, the enormous scope and drama of the war--strategy, battles, moments of fateful decision--become fully illuminated in all their fateful glory.

Yet this is also a warm and richly human account. Ike recalls the long months of waiting, planning, and working toward victory in Europe. His personal record of the tense first hours after he had issued the order to attack--and there was no turning back--leaves no doubt of Eisenhower's travail and reveals this great man in ways that no biographer has ever surpassed.

Customer Reviews:

Gone but not forgotten.......2007-04-19

This book is required reading for those interested in World War II history, it took me 20 years to get around to it and am glad I did. Written when most of the principles were still alive (Monty, Clark, Bradley), it is less than frank and open. However, it is an interesting compendium of WWII history as told from the Cat Bird's Seat. Ike was not a great general, but he was a hell of a manager of men and logistics. This is a very good book and all folks interested in WWII need to read it.

The View from the Top.......2006-04-30

Eisenhower's "Crusade in Europe" is a must read for anyone with an interest in WWII. In this book, you can see the European war from the perspective of the man who led the war. What many considered Eisenhower's greatest asset, the diplomatic manner that helped the Americans and British function as one Allied team, is also very apparent in this book.

Eisenhower's story, written just a few years after the war ended, gives the reader a great high-level perspective on the war. He mentions his staff work with the War Department at the beginning of the war before being posted to Europe, and then the balance of the book covers the Mediterranean and European campaigns against the Germans. This isn't a comprehensive history of the war in Europe (for example, he covers Operation Market-Garden in three paragraphs), but instead more of a general overview from Eisenhower's perspective.

Many consider Eisenhower's diplomatic skills - his ability to lead a multi-national organization - as his greatest asset and the reason he was chosen to lead the Allied Armies in Europe. Eisenhower carried this over into his book: he is never critical of any of his subordinates, defends all of their actions and beliefs (even when Eisenhower disagreed or overruled them), and never even mentions specific names in the couple of instances where he says that commanders were relieved. While this is certainly a laudable trait in a leader, it doesn't make this a particularly insightful book.

Although "Crusade in Europe" lacks that hard-hitting punch, Eisenhower does tell some entertaining and fun personal stories. Because of these stories and Eisenhower's unique perspective on the war, I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in World War II.

Crystal clear mobilization and communication.......2005-12-29

Maybe someone would correct me, but it is my impression that he really wrote this - it does not have the feel of the ghost writer that often comes in to provide the voice-over for the great man.

The personality that comes through is quite similar to that which Eisenhower conveyed in public. Able. Able to create consensus. A listener. Casual. Hands in back pockets. Stern if need be. Analytical. Concerned for his troops.

But most of all the sense emerges of Eisenhower being a modern organization man.

The job for America beginning in 1940 [when Eisenhower is still a colonel] was to mobilize. Eisenhower proved adept at understanding this, and gradually - but not too gradually - bringing the forces to bear. He appreciated amphibious war, tank war, and air war. He came to appreciate all these over many years of basically boring assignments. He also was dedicated to the notion of an allied force, and ready to negotiate through fields of politic and diplomacy to make that work, while enforcing a system of single command in Europe. He worked well with George Marshal [his mentor and patron], Winston Churchill, Bernard Montgomery, George Patton, and Omar Bradley.

And all these things come through crystal clear in Crusade in Europe like a memo from one same man in a mad battlefield.

There is a style of work that culls general's writings, histories, and biographies to find wisdom of war that can be useful today for business leaders. Gee, I wonder why. Somehow, as far as I know, the great World War II leader Eisenhower has not been identified for this treatment. Which is kind of funny. Lee and Patton have been cited so, almost unto nausea. But neither of them have the traits of the modern organization man.

Eisenhower was asked to create a general line of action mere days after Pearl Harbor.

Not brazen was Ike. Looking at the charter to lead. "The question before me was unlimited in its implications and my qualifications for approaching it were probably those of the average hard-working Army officer of my age."

He'd gained over years of staff work an understanding of technology as applied to war making. "..I had been forced to examine world-wide military matters and to study concretely such subjects as the mobilization and composition of armies, the role of air forces and navies in war, tendencies toward mechanization, an the acute dependence of all elements of military life upon the industrial capacity of the nation. This last was to me of especial importance because of my intense belief that the large-scale motorization and mechanization and the development of air forces in unprecedented strength would characterize successful military forces of the future. ... I knew that any sane preparation for war involved also sound plans for the prompt mobilization of industry. The years devoted to work of this kind opened up to me an almost new world." P.19

This is where the story gets going. And he carries the narrative steadily until Hitler's final defeat.

Excellent book for those interested in WWII history and a great figure........2005-11-01

This book written by the great man himself was written in 1948 and covers Eisenhower's time from being assigned the invasion known as Operation Torch (the invasion of North Africa) to the liberation of Europe.

For those interested in WWII, this is a great book to read and compare with Winston Churchill's WWII history for a command eye view of WWII. Unlike the contemporary view of Ike as a man of lesser intelligence, on the contrary, this book was written without the assistance of ghost-writers. Simply said, this book is very enjoyable to read. Clearly, Ike was a man of great intelligence and ability. That fact ought to have been demonstrated with his management of the European War, and the fact that he leapfrogged many other notable staff officers in the pre-war period. Moreover, Ike commanded the greatest army and most complex coalition in history. Furthermore, interestingly, he was the President of Columbia University for two years before running for president! It is interesting how after all those accomplishments, he was labeled a dunce by the contemporary media.

At any rate, this book is full of great observations and interesting tidbits about the leaders who commanded the liberation army of Europe and Africa. This is more than a pure military history. For my taste, this book is more interesting because it discusses the problems of command, the logistics of war, and also, and more interestingly, the personalities behind some of the momentous events of the 20th Century.

An interesting read by one of the great figures of the 20th Century. The book is a model of writing and circumspection. Truly enjoyable, I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in how complex events are managed and thought of by those partaking in the event.

A Gem Of A Memoir.......2005-09-06

"Crusade In Europe" is General Eisenhower's memoir of the period from the early days of World War II, during which America waited for its involvement to begin, through the early post-war dealings with our erstwhile allies. As the premier figure among the Western Allies, his story and observations are crucial to an understanding of the Great Crusade.

Ike takes the reader along with him through each stage of the Crusade. We view events from a perspective which lets us see aspects which we otherwise might have missed. Having attracted attention for his performance in Army maneuvers in Louisiana in 1940, Ike was called to Washington immediately after Pearl Harbor because of his recent experience in the Philippines. He was immediately assigned to work on plans for the Pacific. At this point the reader is reminded that, in contrast to the later Germany First Policy, the American public, for a time, screamed for revenge on Japan before dealing with Germany.

Assigned to command Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa in 1942, Ike was charged with obtaining Allied Cooperation and was plunged into the morass of French politics. The disappointing involvement with Gen. Giraud presented an intra-allied problem, as did cooperation of Adm. Darlan, who while too helpful to rebuff, brought with him the stigma of association with a collaborator. The age-old Arab-Jewish hostility further complicated the administration of the liberated territory.

With North Africa cleared out, Ike was charged with the conquest of Sicily. Management of the Patton-Montgomery rivalry was a major challenge of the campaign. Success having been achieved, the Patton slapping incident forced Ike to reprimand a close friend while threatening to deprive him of one of his most effective Army commanders.

Speculation that Ike would return to the Washington as Chief Of Staff while Gen. Marshall commanded Overlord, the invasion of Europe, distracted Ike's attention from problems at hand. Ike's eventual appointment to command Overlord forced him to leave the Mediterranean while the Italian campaign was still in doubt. Upon arrival in England he immediately switched gears to plan the size, timing, supply and location of the invasion of France.

With the invasion ashore, Ike skillfully managed his coalition of impetuous commanders in their march across Europe. Ike brings the reader into the thought processes and conferences leading to decisions on the liberation of Paris, Operation Market-Garden ("A Bridge Too Far") and the Battle of The Bulge.

Americans are familiar with Patton's claim that, with supplies, he could capture Berlin and win the war. Ike relates that Monty bothered him with similarly impractical suggestions. He then explains why the proposals were doomed to failure. Spirited arguments with the British over Project Anvil (Invasion of Southern France) come within the reader's vision through Ike's eyes.

The greatest criticism of Ike's wartime leadership is reserved for questions about whether the Western Allies should have advanced further to limit the Red Army's area of occupation. Ike assesses the claims and presents support for his decisions.

After V-E Day, Ike's role shifted more into that of a statesman as he attempted to obtain cooperation with the Russians over the administration of occupied Germany.

Some things come clearly through the pages of this book. The reader is constantly impressed with the importance of supplies, bringing to mind the adage that "Amateurs speak of tactics, professionals speak of logistics." Despite later controversies, Ike's admiration for Gen. George Marshall is made clear on the pages of this book. Written in 1948, I find the statement that Ike disagreed with many of FDR's domestic policies to be surprising and a hint of his later political initiatives. "Crusade In Europe" is written in a very clear, easy to read and follow, style. It never becomes bogged down in boring details. Among memoirs, this is a gem.

Ike's Spies: Eisenhower and the Espionage Establishment

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The essential read on the Subject
A Useful Account for Today's World

Ike's Spies: Eisenhower and the Espionage Establishment
Stephen E. Ambrose , and Richard H. Immerman
Manufacturer: University Press of Mississippi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

The essential read on the Subject.......2004-01-09

Ike has always been underestimated as an American President. Occurring as he did, during an era that to history has been seen as boring, and between essential administrations like Truman and JFK, Eisenhower has seemed to disappear to America. Here is a book that finally tells the whole story about Eisenhowers defense team and its use of espionage and covert ops to stop and roll back communism the world over. Ike was a confrontationalist, not a détente' man. This book, by the very esteemed popular Historian Mr. Ambrose, helps to convey the wide range of activities. From the planning of the Bay of Pigs to the overthrow of the Iranian and Guatemala governments Ike brought America to pinnacle of Cold War politics, daring to confront the communists in the same manner they confronted the third world, namely armed intervention. This is a wonderful account and the only one that can be found detailing Ike's covert career from WWII to 1960.
Seth J. Frantzman

A Useful Account for Today's World.......2002-07-19

This book is very helpful in understanding the challenges of today's world. Intelligence is a vital requirement for three objectives: Knowing what your opponents are doing; deceiving your opponents about what you are doing; and using covert means to change or replace your opponents.

As Ambrose makes clear, Eisenhower was introduced to the world of intelligence by Winston Churchill and rapidly became fascinated with it. His chief intelligence officer Kenneth Strong, a British General, kept him remarkably informed throughout the Second World War. Ambrose argues, and he is almost certainly right, that only the combination of great intelligence about the Germans and the most successful deception plan in history made the invasion of France possible in 1944. He also notes that deception had also been brilliantly used in 1943 to convince the Germans that the allies were going to invade Sardinia or Greece rather than Sicily. The result was a reallocation of German forces to the wrong places, which weakened their forces in Sicily.

Customer Reviews:

The real IKE.......2007-06-27

Stephen Ambrose has written some of the best WW@ history ever and this is no exception. Here we see the REAL general Eisenhower, the doubts along with the confidence, the heartaches along with the triumph. For a rare glimpse of the higest levels of command in the most important moment in the twentieth century, this is it.

I Like Ike.......2006-12-14

This is one of Stephen Ambrose's first efforts after working with Dwight Eisenhower on Eisenhower's personal papers (The Supreme Commander first published in 1970). It is obvious that he was still very much infatuated by Ike's persona at this point in time. As such The Supreme Commander can tell almost as much about Stephen Ambrose as it does Dwight Eisenhower. As other reviewers noted, the criticism of Eisenhower's Hurtgen Forest campaign, the army's replacement policy, and the segregated army of WWII that appears in Ambrose's later work, Citizen Soldier, is missing in The Supreme Commander. Thus one can track Ambrose's maturing as a historian with the passage of time.

Still, even this early offering by Ambrose has his unique narrative style and helps to much to explain how a newly minted brigadier general on December 7, 1941 bypasses many more senior general officers to become a five star general of the army, and the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces, Europe by June 6, 1944. There were many general officers that had a better grasp of tactics, e.g. Patton or perhaps strategy, Alexander or Bradley but none had the understanding and patience that Eisenhower had in building and maintaining coalition forces in a prolonged conflict. He gathered able officers from all nationalities and supported the combined effort not national ambitions. This often frustrated other American generals such as George Patton but it was the course to take. He often supported and backed his commanders even other were calling for the heads - again see Patton. Eisenhower knew who he needed for ultimate victory and insisted upon having their services.

Eisenhower wasn't perfect. He made mistakes such as the deployment of forces that led to the debacle at the Kasserine Pass in North Africa, and his over confidence in December 1944 that the Germans were through and could no longer launch a major offensive. However, he learned from his mistakes and attempted to profit from them. For example turning the early diaster of the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 into an opportunity in January 1945 to squash what remained of the German Wehrmacht in the West.

All in all, a good but not perfect early effort by Stephen Ambrose and an enlightening one as it shows how he develops into one America's favorite historians of 20th century events.

Ike in WWII.......2000-08-05

Ambrose edited the Eisenhower Papers project for many years and finally turned his talents on writing a military biography of Ike. The Ike opus is infinitely superior to Ambrose's earlier biography on Henry Halleck and his research and knowledge about his subject is obvious throughout.

The only "criticism" I have is that Ambrose is blatantly biased in Ike's favor and makes no bones about it. The first words in his introduction are, 'Dwight Eisenhower was a great and a good man," which is undoubtedly true, but a biographer should take more pains to disguise their own feelings. There is very little criticism of Ike in Ambrose's work, which borders on the hagiography. Perhaps a bit more of Harry Truman's invective towards Eisenhower could have infused these pages.

Still, Ambrose is a wonderful writer and his works are always fun to read and informative. This is an excellent look at Eisenhower in World War II, even if it is a completely uncritical examination.

another fine effort from Stephen Ambrose.......2000-04-05

I was not aware of the fine writing of Ambrose until I read "Citizen Soldiers" and in "Supreme Commander" he does yet another job of putting the reader right there besides Ike as he learns, commands and most importantly earns the trust of all who comes in contact with him.

Many of Ike's compatriots questions his skills as a soldier but all are certainly of his positive human skills at bonding a diverse group to attain the goal of defeating the enemy, in this Ambrose describes well. And from this experience at war time an outstanding president is groomed. I think Ambroses' "Eisenhower: A soldier and President" will have to be my next purchase.

One point I'm a bit disappointed is the fact that Ambrose does not spend much time dealing with Ike's rols in the debacle of Hurtgen Forest, the problems with Repple Depple, and the problems with the problems caused by Segragation in the Army, several of the areas that Ambrose had detailed discussions on in "Citizen Soldiers". But all in all, an excellent read.

A Brillant Overview of Eisenhower's Leadership.......2000-03-30

Stephen Ambrose skillfully tells how Eisenhower developed into one of the greatest military leaders in history. Eisenhower was able to lead the Allies to victory WWII because of his ablitiy to keep the alliance together. Eisenhower understood that the only way to achieve success was to build a consensus among differing viewpoints on how to conduct the war. He had to understand British strategies, goals, traditions, and hardships and meld them together with American objectives. He realized that the British have all ready been punished thru years of war, where as the Americans had justed entered the war and had not endured the hardships in the degree in which Britain had. Eisnehower was faced with many strong-willed military and political figures like Roosevelt, Churchill, Montgomery, Bradley, de Gaulle, and Patton, each of whom had their own views on how to conduct the war. Eisenhower was able to work with this men, which was no small feat. It is diffcult to see how another person would be able to lead such a diverse group of people.

The Military-Industrial Complex: Eisenhower's Warning Three Decades Later (American University Studies Series X, Political Science)

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The Military-Industrial Complex: Eisenhower's Warning Three Decades Later (American University Studies Series X, Political Science)
Gregg B. Walker , and David A. Bella
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