The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader [Paperback]

Fred I. Greenstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0801849012 | ISBN-13: 978-0801849015 | Edition: Second Edition, First Printing

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Some books, like some scientific theories, have the capacity to alter people's whole way of looking at the world. Such a book is The Hidden-Hand Presidency. To read it is to discover, among other things, that everything you ever believed about Dwight Eisenhower as president of the United States is wrong.

(Economist )

A fascinating exposition of Eisenhower's leadership techniques.

(Political Science Quarterly )

An important corrective to standard treatments of Ike as president.

(Journal of Politics )

A deliberately circumscribed book, but the sharp focus serves its intellectual intensity.

(National Review )

By his painstaking analysis, Greenstein should convince even the most unrelenting critic of Eisenhower's that the man had greater skills as Chief Executive than have been recognized.

(New Republic )

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; Second Edition, First Printing edition (May 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801849012
• ISBN-13: 978-0801849015
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #518,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( E ) > Eisenhower, Dwight D.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Reassessment of the Eisenhower Presidency April 22, 2000

By John C. Mckee

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.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Stevenson Supporter Learns Truth! January 4, 2003

By A Customer

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Was Eisenhower an Effective President? July 14, 2006

By Roger D. Launius VINE™ VOICE

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!