Harry and Ike: The Partnership That Remade the Postwar World (Lisa Drew Books) [Hardcover]

Steve Neal (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lisa Drew Books | Publication Date: August 28, 2001

Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower worked more closely between 1945 and 1952 than any other two American presidents of the twentieth century. They were partners in changing America's role in the world and in responding to the challenge of a Soviet Europe, yet they are remembered more for the acrimony that ended their friendship. Both were men of character, intelligence, and principle, and as the nation learned in the 1950s, they could also hold a grudge.

Drawing on letters, diaries, and interviews with close associates, this is the first examination of the warm friendship, bitter rupture, and eventual reconciliation between two remarkable Americans. From the author of "The Eisenhowers: Reluctant Dynasty" and "Dark Horse" comes a unique volume focusing exclusively on the relationship between Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman.

Harry and "Ike" grew up 150 miles apart in the heart of America. They met during World War II, when Truman became commander-in-chief after FDR's death. Together they would oversee not only the great Allied victory but also the restructuring of the U.S. military and the reconstruction of Europe. Together they would forge history's most successful alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Their initial relationship was so respectful and warm that Truman offered to step aside in the 1948 presidential election if Ike would agree to run on the Democratic ticket. Preferring to remain out of politics, Eisenhower declined and instead became president of Columbia Uni-versity. Truman helped make Ike a wealthy man by granting him a special tax break for his memoirs. Eisenhower later prepared to remove himself from contention for thepresidency in 1952 if Robert A. Taft supported Truman on NATO. But Ike's friendship with Truman would not survive the 1952 presidential campaign, and for nearly a decade the former allies were engaged in an epic feud. It was not until the funeral of John F. Kennedy that the two men put aside their differences and reestablished a semblance of their previous bond.

In exploring the complexity of character, intelligence, and principle, Neal provides a fresh perspective on two giants of the twentieth century, and on the American presidency.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chicago Sun-Times journalist Neal (The Eisenhowers: Reluctant Dynasty, etc.) makes quite a reach to document a close relationship that never was. Eisenhower and Truman who agreed on little would concur that their two presidencies played a large role in shaping the postwar world. They would no doubt be astonished, however, to find themselves called partners. Neal makes much of the fact that the two men (who did not meet until 1945) were raised within 150 miles of each other. He also labors to apply the label "partnership" to Eisenhower's service under Truman following WWII, first as Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (1945-1948), and later, following a two-year stint as president of Columbia University (1948-1950), as Supreme Allied Commander for NATO/Europe and Commander of U.S. Forces, Europe (1950-1952). As Neal himself recounts, Ike, a national hero courted by both parties, refused Truman's invitation to run for president as a Democrat in '52 and instead went Republican. During his campaign, for the sake of political expediency, he refrained from defending his and Truman's mutual friend, George C. Marshall, from unfounded attacks by Senator Joe McCarthy, which infuriated Truman. After Ike's election, Truman received not a single White House invitation and was never consulted on any issues. The two men met rarely thereafter, and when they did it was usually at funerals: the first of them Marshall's in 1959, the last of them Kennedy's in 1963. There is an interesting study yet to be written about Harry and Ike, but it will not include the word partnership in its subtitle.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

After helping lead the Allies to the victory that freed Europe in World War II, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower played another important role in aiding his commander in chief, Harry Truman, to launch the Marshall Plan, reorganize American armed services, and establish NATO. Their fruitful collaboration came to an end during the 1952 presidential campaign that put Eisenhower in the White House as a Republican successor to Democrat Truman. Partisanship brought the erstwhile friends to a "mutual contempt" that held until they reconciled near the end of their lives. The author, political columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and a former White House correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, documents the long association of two men who between them held the presidency from 1945 to 1961 and whose common vision helped to shape the postwar world in its early years. Scholars, however, will find little beyond some new details on an era they already know well, while Neal lacks the narrative gift to keep general readers absorbed and doesn't quite clinch the case that "Harry and Ike were the partnership that saved the West." While this book is the first to highlight their relationship, fuller portraits of either man are available in many other books, including Neal's own The Eisenhowers: Reluctant Dynasty (LJ 9/15/78). An optional purchase. Robert F. Nardini, Chichester, NH

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; First Edition edition (August 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684853558
• ISBN-13: 978-0684853550
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #394,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( T ) > Truman, Harry
  • #16 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( E ) > Eisenhower, Dwight D.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Political and Military Skill First Support and Then Separate, September 2, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Harry and Ike: The Partnership That Remade the Postwar World (Lisa Drew Books) (Hardcover)

The relationship between Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower is a natural for biography, and this book does a superb job of portraying the initial alignment and later divisions between the two men. In many ways, I was reminded of the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson as I read these pages. The war-time and tricky post-war environments made it natural for them to cooperate. As both entered the political arena in a partisan way, their public discord was bound to grow. After both had left the White House, each could gradually come to accept the other, particularly after the death of John F. Kennedy.

Although the careers of the two men had many divergences, their geographical and family roots were fairly similar. Although former president Truman was a career politician, he had served in an artillery unit in World War I, which was a rarity among U.S. presidents after Theodore Roosevelt. Each was hand-picked by FDR for a role beyond his own expectations because they were men of intelligence who were ambitious without being threatening. Those qualities probably made it easier for them to work together after FDRs death, as well as General Eisenhowers belief that military people should remain silent about political matters and support their commander-in-chief.

The book begins with brief biographies of the men prior to 1945. Then it focuses on their relationships between 1945 and 1952, when former President Eisenhower was elected to his first term. Their degree of cooperation and agreement over this time period was significant. General Eisenhower was opposed only to the dropping of the atomic bomb in their early relationship, and did not make much of the difference of opinion. Former president Truman was so taken with Eisenhower that he offered to support him as a democratic candidate for president in both 1945 and 1947. Upon meeting then General Eisenhower in 1945, former president Truman wrote to his wife, Bess, as follows: He is a nice fellow and a good man. Hes doing a whale of a job. They are running him for president, which is o.k. with me. Id turn it over to him now if I could.

When General Eisenhower retired from the Army in 1948 to become president of Columbia, former president Truman smoothed the way for a tax break with the IRS that saved General Eisenhower over $300,000 in taxes. When former president Eisenhower was in office, he did not do the same for former president Trumen.

General Eisenhower was very helpful to Truman in winding down the occupation of Europe, unifying the armed forces, and demobilizing the forces under arms. When Korea broke out, he came back into service to help establish NATO, lobby Congress for U.S. troops in Europe, and to support European unification and rearming of Western Germany.

During the campaign in 1952, the two became embittered over former president Eisenhowers unwillingness to defend General Marshall from Senator McCarthy. Former president Truman said, But since he [candidate Eisenhower] has gone into politics, he does not seem to be the same man. Former president Truman began making aggressive attacks on former president Eisenhower, who responded in kind in speeches and through surrogates. By the 1952 election, what had been a cordial relationship had become a frigid one. As a result, former president Truman was essentially ignored by former president Eisenhower until 1958. He was even subpoenaed by the HUAC about possible pro-Communist activities, which former president Truman disliked and ignored.

The remainder of the book simply describes the gradual steps towards reconciliation that followed.

The book has many strengths in explaining this alliance that worked so well at a critical time in our nations history. Its main weakness is that it sheds little light on the transition in former president Eisenhowers mind from loyal general to partisan politician. The switch is portrayed, but not well explained. Within less than a month, former president Eisenhower is shown going from denying he will be a candidate in correspondence with former president Truman to having a draft Eisenhower program going for him in New Hampshire . . . while still serving as head of the joint chiefs of staff.

Anyone who is a fan of either Harry S. Truman or Dwight D. Eisenhower will enjoy this book, and learn new things about each man. Anyone who wants to better understand the post-World War II policies of the United States will also benefit from this book.

After you finish enjoying this very interesting book, I suggest you think about where you could partner with someone very capable to accomplish more.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Information, November 11, 2001

By 

Philip Steele Krone "[e-mail]" (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harry and Ike: The Partnership That Remade the Postwar World (Lisa Drew Books) (Hardcover)

Steve Neal presents new information from recently released primary source material and demonstrates the ability, integrity and patriotism of Presidents Truman and Eisenhower despite their differences. Few people are aware of their reconciliation, not unlike that of Presidents Adams and Jefferson also mentioned by another reviewer in these columns.
One example of a little gem in the book describes President Truman's anger at Senator John Sparkman, the 1952 Democratic vice-presidential candidate, during that campaign. This volume has many well documented anecdotes that have not been told before and Steve Neal has both an ear and a voice for politics that few possess.
As an individual who has spent most of his life involved in politics and public affairs I found this a fascinating, informative and enjoyable read. My wife and I have chosen to send it as a Christmas/Hanukkah gift this year because of its originality and intelligibility.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a satisfactory explaination, January 11, 2003

By 

Doug (South Bend, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harry and Ike: The Partnership That Remade the Postwar World (Lisa Drew Books) (Hardcover)

Harry was wild about Ike, until Ike gave him hell, sending Harry on a crusade in Illinois. I have read a dozen or so books by and about Harry and Ike, none of which adequately explained the root causes of their falling out or their eventual reconciliation. This book fills that gap. Ike was politically naive, as Harry feared. I agree with the author that Ike would have been a better President if he had followed the advice of more of his friends, including HST, and less advice from his political handlers. This is an excellent book.