EISENHOWER

Media:	Paperback
Author:	Stephen E. Ambrose
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Release date:	15 October, 1991
List price:	~~$18.00~~
Our price:	$12.24 that is 32% off!

EISENHOWER

Average rating: Stars

I Like Ike!

Stephen Ambrose has written a terrific account of the life of Dwight D. Eisenhower in his book "Eisenhower: Soldier and President. From his humble beginnings in Abilene, Kansas, to his army career to the presidency, this is a fascinating and very readable biography.
I disagree with the reviews that claim Ambrose turned his head on the questionable decisions that Eisenhower made as a General and as a President. I found this to be a very honest approach to his life.

EISENHOWER - Stephen E. Ambrose

Surprising objectivity by an Eisenhower admirer

As a young historian, Stephen Ambrose met with General Eisenhower, on numerous occasions, at Eisenhower's Gettysburg, PA home. If you ever heard the late Mr. Ambrose interviewed, you would detect his unbounded affection for the former President. Yet, in writing this biography, Ambrose was surprisingly objective about Eisenhower. He even went so far as to decry Eisenhower's silence on Civil Rights issues as almost "criminal." Unlike detracters of Eisenhower (see Tom Wicker's short biography, for example), Ambrose gives a balanced assesment of Eisenhower's presidency. Ambrose also covers Eisenhower's miliatary career and his career between WWII and his assuming the presidency,

Ambrose sees Eisenhower's greatest success as having avoided nuclear war in the most dangerous decade of the twentieth century. In Indochina, the French who were trying to protect their empire were about to fall at Dien Bien Phu and there was tremendous pressure for the United States to get involved. Eisenhower correctly observed that Americans would not want to go back to southeast Asia a year after leaving Korea. There was a subtle pressure, however, to launch a nuclear strike. There had been the same pressure in Korea and there was more such pressure after the fall of Dien Bien Phu. In all, Ambrose cites at least five instances where nuclear strikes were a real possibility. Eisenhower steered clear of all such pressures.

Eisenhower was concerned about the arms race and he resisted pressure from both Democrats and Republicans to engage in an unabated production of bombs and missles, despite Democratic allegations of a "missle gap." One of his great disappointmemts was his inability to enter into an arms control treaty with the Soviet Union. Such a treaty seemed possible but, when an American U2 spy plane was shot down over Russia, all hopes were dashed.

Eisenhower often used jumbled syntax but, generally, this was a ruse so that he could confuse reporters and, therefore, straddle an issue. In fact, he was very precise in the way he spoke. He managed to keep his distance from McCarthy without formally denouncing him. However, in perhaps his most shameful moment, when Eisenhower made a campaign speech in McCarthy's home state of Wisconsin, he excised a defense of General Marshall who McCarthy had attacted as disloyal. Eisenhower regretted having done this but, earlier in the campaign, in a different venue, at least he did give a spirited defense of Marshall. Significantly, in Wicker's biogrophy, which I earlier mentioned, Wicker makes no mention of the earlier defense of Marshall. As I said before, Ambrose is fair; he exposes the warts but, he also raises points in Eisenhower's defense when there is such a negative issue raised.

Eisenhower was far from a perfect President. He certainly enforced the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, most notably in Little Rock when he sent in troops to force the integration of schools. However, he didn't really speak out on the issue of civil rights. A stronger defense of the Court's decision might have made integration move more smoothly but Eisenhower was too concerned that integration might cause southern states to abandon public schools in favor of all white private schools. On the other hand, Eisenhower did support a Civil Rights bill and he was deeply concerned about the lack of voting rights for blacks in the South. Unfortunately, Congress watered down the legislation. Indeed, even some liberal Democrats, such as Frank Church, opposed strong legislation. Nontheless, the first Civil Rights law since reconstruction was sponsored by Eisenhower and passed under his administration.

Eisenhower's legacy as a soldier is unassailable. He dealt with martinets such as Field Marshall Montgomery and other allied generals in forging together a successful and victorious team. He was, a great general and, on balance, I believe that Ambrose has shown Eisenhower to be one of the better Presidents if for no other reason than he avoided nuclear war when it was a genuine possibility.

Stephen E. Ambrose - EISENHOWER

Excellent Overview of Ike's Life

This book was the first biography I read on Eisenhower, and being an Ambrose fan I knew he worked with Ike on editing his memoirs back in the 60's. What better historian to tell the tale of Ike's life than the one who spent countless hours with the man himself?

The real value of this book is on the study of the man himself, and less about the facts, figures, and personalities Ike experienced in a truly remarkable life. Events and people are examined only in light of Ike's relationship to them. What you end up getting is an understanding of the man, his motives, and what turned out to be an excellent study on leadership.

I am looking forward to reading and exploring more about Ike, and using this book as an excellent introduction to his life and the man himself.

One item of particular concern were the captions in the photo section of the book, many of which are clearly wrong. It was hard to imagine that Ambrose wrote these captions, and if he did not, certainly did not review them before they were published. One photo is of Ike greeting US soldiers in Le Havre, France and it incorrectly states that the date of the photo was February, 1944. If that was true, Ike and all of the soldiers in the picture were POW's because the Allies did not land in France until June, 1944. I suspect that the date should have read 1945.

There are other troubling errors in the photos which can only be described as careless. Don't let it detract from the excellent content of the book, which were written by the historian most recognize as the authority on Ike.

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