This monograph covers the 1952 Republican Party presidential nomination, but its real topic is Ike's political reputation. Was he, as traditional biographers have presented him, the apolitical military man who succumbed to a presidential draft or a visionary political strategist, as claimed by recent revisionists like political scientist Fred I. Greenstein (The Hidden-Hand Presidency)? Pickett (history, Rose-Hulman Inst. of Technology; Dwight David Eisenhower and American Power) sides with the revisionists. In fact, the author goes so far as to argue that Ike violated army regulations to promote his presidential aspirations. Skeptics are likely to remain unconvinced. Even if he was interested in presidential politics because of his dislike for Douglas MacArthur and Robert Taft, Ike was primarily a modern military man who needed a mission; performing a duty rather than resolving public policy issues remained his primary motivation. To transform a military man into a latent political talent, Pickett would need to provide comparative data rather than a case study. He also ignores the roles of Earl Warren and Wayne l. Morse, who were progressive Republicans at that time. Nonetheless, this is a readable account that contrasts Ike with conservatives MacArthur and Taft. Recommended for specialized collections on Cold War presidents.DWilliam D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Douglas Brinkley, Director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies, University of New Orleans
With vivid prose, analytical savvy, and a cache of recently found documents, it's impossible not to admire this landmark study.
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