Advising Ike: The Memoirs of Attorney General Herbert Brownell (Hardcover)

~ (Author), John P. Burke (Author)
Key Phrases: practicing law, new chief justice, mutual defense treaty, New York, Supreme Court, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A modest, upright man and an anti-ideological Republican, Brownell, as he emerges in this book written with University of Vermont political scientist Burke, portrays the more casual and genteel politics of the past. Readers will agree with John Chancellor's observation that "the trouble with people like Herbert Brownell is . . . there are not enough of them." Born in Nebraska in 1904, Brownell went from Yale Law School to a legal and political career in New York City. After a stint as a state legislator, he managed Thomas Dewey's successful New York gubernatorial campaign in 1942 and proceeded to work on the presidential campaigns of Dewey and Eisenhower. As Attorney General, Brownell moved to de-politicize and professionalize his department. He claims that Eisenhower made no deal with Earl Warren regarding the Supreme Court appointment, describes how he convinced Eisenhower to participate in the Brown desegregation case and maintains that the president's caution on civil rights "may have been ultimately more productive" because the problem "was not amenable to quick remedy." Beneath Eisenhower's "benevolent demeanor," Brownell argues, "was a knowledgeable and astute political mind." Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

More than 35 years after leaving office, Brownell recalls serving as campaign adviser and attorney general for the man ``head and shoulders above all the other political figures I have ever encountered'': Dwight D. Eisenhower. In many ways, Brownell's autobiography--with an assist from Burke (Political Science/University of Vermont)--could serve as the credo of the ``Wall Street wing'' of socially moderate, internationalist Republicans once epitomized by Thomas Dewey (whose two runs for the presidency Brownell guided as campaign manager) and Nelson Rockefeller. In several years as a New York State assemblyman in the 1930's, the reforming young lawyer and Nebraska native learned not to ``denounce one's opponents too strongly or two personally''; indeed, his only real pique here is vented at fiercely partisan Democrats Harry Truman and FDR, including the dark hint that the latter might have lost the 1944 election but for coverups of his health and of alleged negligence at Pearl Harbor. Although these memoirs also cover the Dewey campaigns and Brownell's 62 years of private law practice, the most compelling sections deal with the Eisenhower years. Brownell is most revealing about the hush-hush communications and climactic secret meeting that led the general to seek the 1952 GOP nomination; how Ike came to appoint Earl Warren to the Supreme Court; and the author's own key support for the awakening civil-rights movement. Throughout, Brownell displays intelligence, respect for public service, and shrewdness in assessing how his nonpolitician boss built a cohesive team and retained the affection of the American people. But his narrative is inhibited by a lawyerly reluctance to reveal anything too damaging to his ``client'' (for example, Brownell's contention that Ike was not trying to dump Nixon by offering him a Cabinet post is pure spin-control). Despite the reticence: an important memoir likely to bolster Eisenhower's evolving reputation for above-the-fray, ``hidden- hand'' leadership. (Twenty-six b&w photos--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0700605908
• ISBN-13: 978-0700605903
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,365,887 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #44 in

  Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( E ) > Eisenhower, Dwight D.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like politics read this book, March 1, 2000

By	Matthew Sciarrino Jr. (Staten Island, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the true inside information on the nomination of Ike for President. Along the way learn about New York and the New York Young Republicans. A well written story. I feal like I know the man. May he rest in peace.