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Eisenhower In War And Peace (2012)

by Jean Edward Smith(Favorite Author)

4.08 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

140006693X (ISBN13: 9781400066933)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Random House

review 1: Seriously impressed by the biographer--although no one could make Ike exciting. That was really the point, however. Eisenhower had some unusual gifts that allowed him to be a superior leader--when he saw the need to be. His military training taught him to delegate and he did that easily without hovering. When a decision had to be made, however, he made it himself without consulting anyone and took full responsibility. Like any great leader, his understanding of and response to people was virtually flawless. I'll admit I've revised my opinion of him significantly upward. To his credit, as a civilian he hated war and always found a non-violent win-win solution. The real hawks, then and now, never served in the military (attending some national guard drills doesn't count... more) and seem to think war is the first and best option.
review 2: For such an exciting subject and time period, this is a pretty dry read. The presidential section was weak, spending far too much time on naming the individual cabinet members and not enough on critical achievements, including balancing the budget. I must also question the subtle but annoying left-wing bias noticeable in the manner that many critical issues -- federal spending, CIA operations, Cold War policy -- and other important politicians were approached by the author. He seemed to imply that Eisenhower was just about the only good Republican of the era who was lucky to have so many wiser Democrats around. However, the book makes clear that Eisenhower was a remarkable leader with stunning accomplishments during World War II, and in the White House, and should be considered among our greatest statesmen. less

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