In this extraordinary volume, Jean Edward Smith presents a portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower that is as full, rich, and revealing as anything ever written about America’s thirty-fourth president. Here is Eisenhower the young dreamer, charting a course from Abilene, Kansas, to West Point and beyond. Drawing on a wealth of untapped primary sources, Smith provides new insight into Ike’s … maddening apprenticeship under Douglas MacArthur. Then the whole panorama of World War II unfolds, with Eisenhower’s superlative generalship forging the Allied path to victory. Smith also gives us an intriguing examination of Ike’s finances, details his wartime affair with Kay Summersby, and reveals the inside story of the 1952 Republican convention that catapulted him to the White House.
Smith’s chronicle of Eisenhower’s presidential years is as compelling as it is comprehensive. Derided by his detractors as a somnambulant caretaker, Eisenhower emerges in Smith’s perceptive retelling as both a canny politician and a skillful, decisive leader. He managed not only to keep the peace, but also to enhance America’s prestige in the Middle East and throughout the world.
Unmatched in insight, Eisenhower in War and Peace at last gives us an Eisenhower for our time—and for the ages.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The Christian Science Monitor • St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Magisterial.”—The New York Times
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Praise for Eisenhower in War and Peace
“[A] fine new biography . . . [Eisenhower’s] White House years need a more thorough exploration than many previous biographers have given them. Smith, whose long, distinguished career includes superb one-volume biographies of Grant and Franklin Roosevelt, provides just that.”—The Washington Post
“Highly readable . . . [Smith] shows us that [Eisenhower’s] ascent to the highest levels of the military establishment had much more to do with his easy mastery of politics than with any great strategic or tactical achievements.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Always engrossing . . . Smith portrays a genuinely admirable Eisenhower: smart, congenial, unpretentious, and no ideologue. Despite competing biographies from Ambrose, Perret, and D’Este, this is the best.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“No one has written so heroic a biography [on Eisenhower] as this year’s Eisenhower in War and Peace [by] Jean Edward Smith.”—The National Interest
“Dwight Eisenhower, who was more cunning than he allowed his adversaries to know, understood the advantage of being underestimated. Jean Edward Smith demonstrates precisely how successful this stratagem was. Smith, America’s greatest living biographer, shows why, now more than ever, Americans should like Ike.”—George F. Will
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Things and people are never as they seem. Common sense and learning through our mistakes can be just as valuable as raw intelligence. This gave me a new insight into the military and politics.
Exceptionally detailed.
great book about a great and exemplary president
Excellent.
This biography of Dwight Eisenhower gives Ike his just due as a brilliant leader in war and peace. It doesn’t slide over his dalliance with his British personal aide in the Second World War, but doesn’t fixate on it either. this is a balanced portrait that points out Eisenhower’s tactic limitations as a battlefield commander while at the same time …
Very informative & factual. Reveals much of Eisenhower’s character & gifts as well as some of his weaknesses.
Terrific read. Very factual and presents Eisenhower’s low key but well thought out approach to world peace, civil rights and long term prosperity through wise planning and greatly improved transportation and communication.
Brings a great man who is merely a black and white historical figure to younger people to life. He is shown as man who enjoyed the company of women, who had a volcanic but well controlled temper, vision, and imagination and incredible charm with his faults and virtues. Someone who could deal with disparate and difficult characters including …
The only Eisenhower bio I have read to demonstrate the arc of Ike’s life, not just its 2 halves (soldier and president). Smith shows they are one and the same: as he commanded, so did he govern, using the same velvet glove with an iron fist to mask his intent with great subtlety and skill.
Fans of depictions of Ike the Hero, fraught with all …
Excellent bio of Eisenhower and a good sense of the learning process of major leaders
I enjoy biographies but can often get worn down because they are either too dry or try to hard to paint a single picture. This book read like a novel. It is brutally long – over 900 pages – but it still went by fast. It is a very honest portrayal of Ike with warts and all but you still just admire him – and wish that giants like him still walked …
A thorough and well written biography. Captures the character of Ike and many others.
The country owes a great deal to this man. He is entitled to be remembered not only as one of the most critical players in the victory over tyranny in WWII but also as a President who has never received the credit he deserves for maintaining the peace during a perilous period. This book is an enjoyable read and worth the time.
Learned a great deal about Ike. Thought the author presented the facts well.
Very detailed about a great President that was under appreciated.
I enjoyed the story however I was a little disappointed in Mr. Eisenhower. Just proves that we all occasionally have feet of clay.