Dwight David Eisenhower began his storied life in Denison, Texas, in 1890. He was the third son of poor parents; all his brothers, and there were six of them, had successful lives but none had a life like Ike's. His story is one of the greatest in 20th century America and Jean Edward Smith, one of the country's most eminent biographers, tells it in an absorbing, page-turning book. This is the third door-stopper biography of Ike in the last decade and is by far the most complete and most knowledgeable.
Ike succeeded through a magic combination of hard work, brains, great charm, perfect work ethic, common sense and luck. He needed all of these to rise from a middling career at West Point to one of only twelve four-star generals in the nation's history. He attained the rank of major in 1921 and then twenty years later was promoted to colonel, in March 1941. From there, Eisenhower's rise was extraordinary. He was made brigadier general in October 1941, major general only four months later, in February 1942, lieutenant general four months after that, in June 1942 and then full general in February 1943. In less than two years, Eisenhower rose from a colonel in the army to Supreme Commander of all Allied forces in the European theater.
The war in Europe has been told many times by writers of great skill. Eisenhower in War and Peace keeps the lens directly on Eisenhower. Almost nothing is said about the exhausting war, mostly at sea, in the Pacific. Little is said about the great turning point of World War II, the destruction of the German army in the Eastern theater by the Russians in 1942. Germany still had great resources and amazing military capabilities even after the disastrous Russian campaign and it was against these forces that Eisenhower led the Allied forces to victory in the Western theater. The Allies squeezed the German armies first in North Africa, then Sicily, then up the Italian peninsula, and ultimately in the landing on the Normandy coast in June 1944. Eisenhower faced enormously complicated military issues. Jean Edward Smith does not flinch from the eventual judgment of Eisenhower as a military strategist. Ike had virtually no battlefield experience before he faced the German army in North Africa. Mistakes were made, including his failure to see for himself the character of the German army from the front line of battle. But Ike was a quick learner and he grew steadily as a military strategist.
More than anything, Ike dealt with difficult political decisions. He kept firm command of the armies; he argued, successfully, with Churchill; he maneuvered his way through different opinions emanating from Washington, including those of President Roosevelt; he brought General de Gaulle into a position of leadership of the Free French forces; and, of course, he pushed the final button on the evening of June 5, 1941, releasing a million Allied soldiers to invade occupied France.
This is a great story, full of big turning points, any one of which could have led Ike and the world in a different direction. It is the essential achievement of Smith's story that we live through these decisions made by one man, frequently alone, occasionally in spite of the condescension of his British allies, always under the utmost pressure.
Amazingly, this is only half the Eisenhower story. The second half is equally as important in terms of Ike's service to his country. Eisenhower became the thirty-fourth president of the United States in 1952. His record was nothing short of amazing. He consistently had a massively favorable approval rating from the American public, unequaled by any president since World War II. He ended the war in Korea and, after that, no American died in military combat for the entire length of his eight-year term. He created the nation's Interstate Highway system and built the St. Lawrence Seaway, two enormously important additions to the infrastructure of the continent. His record in civil rights was exemplary. His foreign policies were fair and visionary. His domestic policies were sound and successful -- no deficits, very little inflation, substantial growth in the economy.
Jean Edward Smith tells the story of Eisenhower in peacetime with the same focus and skill that he brings to the story of Eisenhower's war record. But, almost inevitably, there is a loss of power and excitement in the story of Ike as president. The nation, after all, has had forty-four presidents but only two or three military heroes on the scale of Ike.
Every important aspect of Ike's life is here.
This is a great biography of a great man.
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Book in terrible shape.
I received this book in terrible shape. It belonged to a library and it was heavily used.
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Ben de JongReviewed in the Netherlands on August 1, 2016
Heel goed geschreven, met aandacht voor de grote lijnen maar ook voor de pakkende details
- Weisz Jean-PierreReviewed in France on August 26, 2013
Poor quality :Insufficient binding
