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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What Ike's son learned, June 13, 2003
By A Customer
... John Eisenhower is conspicuous among those of us who have had more than one career. A graduate of West Point, John followed his famous father into the army, and as a junior officer was witness to some historic moments of World War II. Subsequently, he emerged as a historian in his own right. Mr. Eisenhower's narrative of the Battle of the Bulge, "The Bitter Woods," and his history of the Mexican War, "So Far From God," reflect his broad interest in the military history of the past two centuries.
Although Mr. Eisenhower has seven books to his credit, he has not written specifically about his father until now. (There are, after all, many Eisenhower biographies, of which my personal favorite is that by Carlo d'Este.) "General Ike," as the subtitle makes clear, is not a full biography, but a series of essays that focus on Ike's dealings with important figures of the war years, most notably Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, and Generals George Marshall, Bernard Montgomery, and George Patton. Mr. Eisenhower's portraits inevitably cover some ground that is familiar to students of World War II, but they also include fresh insights.
One of the more trying periods of Ike's career came before the war, when he served as chief of staff to Douglas MacArthur, then head of a U.S. military mission to the Philippines. Mr. Eisenhower insists that his father's diary entries in this period exaggerate his differences with MacArthur, but most readers will conclude that the Army did well to keep Eisenhower and MacArthur far apart during World War II. But Mr. Eisenhower has kind words for both men, concluding that "Ike Eisenhower could never have played the role of Emperor of Japan as well as did MacArthur, and MacArthur could never have contended with Churchill and Montgomery, men he did not control, so well as Ike."
Dwight Eisenhower's long friendship with Patton is a matter of record, as is Ike's support for Patton in the wake of embarrassing wartime episodes, including two instances in which Patton abused soldiers whom he viewed as malingerers. But, Mr. Eisenhower points out, Ike's tolerance lasted only as long as Patton's talents seemed essential to winning the war. When, after Germany's surrender, Patton delivered a speech in which he suggested that Nazis were not that much different from America's Democrats and Republicans, Ike sacked him. Mr. Eisenhower was visiting his father at the time and quotes him as saying, "I'm not firing George for what he has done; I'm firing him for what he'll do next."
Ike found Marshall the easiest of his illustrious contemporaries to work with. Although Marshall had wanted to command the invasion of Europe, once Roosevelt settled on Ike as supreme commander, Marshall gave him unstinting support.
Mr. Eisenhower shares his father's respect for Marshall, but has some personal insights. It seems to me that forbidding himself the warmth of wide friendships outside his immediate family made Marshall's a barren life. To the outsider he seemed determined never to be friends with his subordinates. He never made any effort to develop a personal relationship with Ike off duty, no matter their mutual respect professionally.
Ike's most difficult wartime relationship was, of course, that with the prickly Montgomery. Much of the friction grew out of Montgomery's desire to lead a single, deep thrust into Germany as opposed to a broader advance that would make full use of the Allies' advantage in numbers. Mr. Eisenhower's discussion of this issue is one of the strong points of his book, and serves to underscore the great power that Ike, as supreme commander, had over the allocation of scarce resources such as gasoline.
The book abounds in anecdotes, and one of the better ones relates to Montgomery, who was notorious for his refusal to allow smoking or drinking in his presence. When, after his victory at El Alamein, Montgomery chose to entertain a captured German general, von Thoma, at dinner, he was roundly criticized in the British press. Churchill fended off the criticism with the remark, "Alas, poor Thoma. I too have dined with Montgomery."
Mr. Eisenhower addresses - somewhat gingerly - the question of whether his father was a "great general."
He dismisses Mongomery's insistence that a great general must experience battle at all command levels, noting that this criterion would have eliminated men such as Caesar and Robert E. Lee. The author notes, with respect to Ike's strategic grasp, that he had graduated first in his class at the command and general staff school at Fort Leavenworth. But Mr. Eisenhower suggests that his father's great gift was his ability to manage strong-willed associates for the common good:
"His relations with . . . Montgomery serve as a case in point. Time and time again, Ike put up with the foibles, discourtesies, and downright arrogance of his official subordinate, while at the same time insisting that his major decisions be carried out."
Much the same might be said of his dealings with Patton.
Mr. Eisenhower was fortunate to have been close to his father at some crucial junctures of World War II. Students of the war are now fortunate that he has committed his recollections to print.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Taut and very well written, August 1, 2003
John Eisenhower's book on the Mexican War persuaded to me to purchase this book and I am glad I did. Eisenhower writes extremely well and always in an entertaining, informative style. This ability to convey details in a personal way enhances this splendid look at Ike in the pivotal period 1940-1945. Though John didn't see too much of his father during this turbulent times, he obviously knows much behind the scenes information which he now imparts to the reader. This isn't a full-scale biography of Ike (consult Ambrose for that), but rather contains different chapters on famous military personalities in Ike's orbit. These include the pompous MacArthur, who said of Eisenhower in the Philippines, "He was the best clerk I ever had," Patton, Bradley, Churchill and Monty. General Montgomery was, of course, an insufferable prig and egomaniac, and John details the delicate path Ike had to traverse in keeping the Brit in check. He also reveals many of Ike's thoughts and movements prior to June 6, 1944, D-Day for the Allies. I highly recommend this book to all who admire Eisenhower, to any WWII buff or anyone who admires taut, well-written historical prose. A great read.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Military Leadership at its Best, September 16, 2003
John Eisenhower, the son of Dwight David Eisenhower (General Ike)has done us all a service by writing a book about his father. The entire book deals with Ike's relationships with other important military and political leaders. John Eisenhower says he wrote the book primarily to correct misapprehensions and mistakes that other writers have made in discussing Ike. The reader will meet people who we never knew existed such as General Fox Conner, a competent and decent army officer who early on recognized Ike's leadership potential and did his best to promote his career. We will learn about Ike's complicated relationships with famous persons such as Douglas MacArthur, John "Black Jack" Pershing, and the French General Charles DeGaulle. Ike apparently held DeGaulle in great personal regard and put him on a list of the five most important men he knew. Ike's wartime relationship with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill deserves special mention. Early on Churchill understood how critical Anglo-American cooperation was to a successful outcome in World War II. As such, he bent over backwards to see that Eisenhower and the Americans were given first-class treatment by the English. Eisenhower had much regular contact with Churchill and it struck me that he was closer to him than President Roosevelt and other American political figures. One of the most interesting sections of the book recounts Ike's dilemma in dealing with British Army General Sir Bernard Montgomery. Montgomery believed that he alone had the strategy which could have forced an earlier end to World War II. He constantly feuded with Eisenhower over strategy and supplies. At one time, Eisenhower came close to asking the British to place someone else in command, but than things were smoothed out. The problems did not end even after the war was over. Years later, Montgomery wrote his own memoirs criticizing Eisenhower's conduct of the European campaign after D-day. A normally patient man, Ike was infuriated with Montgomery. This is a good book for students of World War II history and those who believe that history is determined more by individuals than by events.
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