Book Review He Age of Eisenhower America and the World in the 1950s
"No wonder…that Americans loved Ike. He was big enough to embody their collective hopes and dreams. He was a Texan, a Kansan, a Coloradan, and a New Yorker; a soldier and a peacemaker; a poor state male child and a wealthy elitist; a devoted reader of Scripture who seldom went to church until he was 62; a beer-and-hot dog man who feted his powerful White House guests with pheasant under glass. With his example in mind, Americans could aspire to riches, power, and personal success without losing their moral compass. They could earnestly talk upwardly the importance of bootstraps and personal responsibility while enervating that their regime treat them. They could comprehend change and modernity while too venerating their elders and attending church in record-breaking numbers. Hither lie the elements of the Eisenhower miracle: by personifying and reconciling these contradictions, he made Americans believe that they, like him, could take it all…" I expected William Hitchcock's The Historic period of Eisenhower to exist good. Nonetheless, I had a chip of trepidation when I picked information technology up. America in the 1950s exists in the commonage memory as a middle-form idyll of prosperity and stability; of manicured neighborhoods and picket fences; of dad at the office and mom in the kitchen; of Get out it to Beaver and Begetter Knows Best. Information technology is often recalled as the nearest embodiment of the American Dream, lorded over by everybody's granddaddy, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Sandwiched between the literal wars of the 1940s and early 50s, and the cultural wars of the mid-60s, the Eisenhower years are usually lauded for their peace, stability, and economical successes. Of course, below the surface, the 50s were equally tumultuous as whatever other decade. Millions of women who'd entered the workforce during World War Ii were now being shunted dorsum into their homes. In the backwash of a global conflict to free the globe, many parts of America were still legally segregated betwixt black and white. Meanwhile, the opposing forces of the Cold State of war continued to devise ever more powerful nuclear weapons, along with cleverer ways of delivering them. With and so much disharmonize roiling beneath the surface, I had little interest in an Eisenhower panegyric, a paean to the false centrism that exists when everybody is told (or forced) to stay in their lanes. Thus, I was surprised at how much I liked The Age of Eisenhower. It is, to be sure, a laudatory account of America's 34th president. Hitchcock believes that Eisenhower belongs at the lower finish of the top-tier of U.Due south. chief executives (he puts him at number five, beneath Washington, Lincoln, FDR, and Teddy). At the same fourth dimension, he is extremely critical of many of Ike's decisions. Hitchcock's blunt honesty, disquisitional recognition, and refusal to make excuses adds up to a book that feels truthful. More that, information technology makes his instance far more than finer than if he tried to explain away every bad telephone call or ill-conceived notion or occasional coup (and in that location were many bad calls, ill-conceived notions, and occasional coups). The Age of Eisenhower is not an Eisenhower biography. Also, notwithstanding the subtitle, information technology is not a broad overview of the 1950s. While it provides a very cursory (less than a hundred pages) sketch of Ike'south background, its real focus is on the two terms of Ike's presidency. And despite the lack of a actually signature moment, it was an eventful eight years: Brownish vs. Lath, the Voting Rights Act, and the 82nd Airborne in Piddling Rock; the French retreat in Indochina, the overthrow of Premier Mosaddeq in Iran, and the Domino Theory in activity; Sputnik, the Missile Gap, and the downing of Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane. (In other words, roughly the commencement one-half of Baton Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire). The Age of Eisenhower is 517 pages long (non including endnotes and index). This is not very long relative to the expansiveness of the discipline matter, but Hitchcock makes it work. His keen achievement here is in his presentation. His marshalling of data is marvelous. He utilizes a sort of hybrid construction, where the narrative proceeds in rough chronological fashion, only with near of the capacity devoted to a single theme. For example, Hitchcock devotes ii different capacity, one in each term, entirely to Eisenhower's treatment of race bug, especially with regards to the fallout from the Brownish decision overturning the doctrine of "divide just equal." Hitchcock is likewise a really good storyteller. He is able to take complex events and boil them down to their essence, and to exercise and then in an entertaining and engaging way. For instance, his chapter on the Suez crisis, of which I had but a passing familiarity, is mesmerizing. Above all, though, I appreciated Hitchcock'due south judgment. I wouldn't look him to write a volume about Eisenhower if he didn't respect him, similar him, even love him. And he does. But he isn't fawning, he isn't obsequious, and he certainly didn't sign upward to be Ike's posthumous defense attorney. He provides context, he provides explanations, merely he never makes excuses. This allows him to come to reasoned deductions. On race, for case, he gives Eisenhower expert marks overall. He backed the Brown decision in the face of serious (and seriously ugly) opposition, to the extent that he used Federal troops to enforce the Supreme Court's edict. He also (with the assist of Chaser General Herbert Brownell) helped pass the first civil rights legislation in decades. That does not alter the fact, yet, that Ike hesitated to apply the nifty pulpit of his function in support of a righteous cause. To the contrary, almost of his public statements seemed blinded by his own privilege (accusing the NAACP of moving also quickly, as though equality could look some other generation or two) or showed the weakness of his philosophical thinking (he kept repeating, equally though it made any sense, that laws lone could not change the "hearts of men," which managed to be both false and a terrible excuse for not passing more protective legislation). There is the notion that the Oval Function has a moral weight; unfortunately, Ike was too ensconced at Augusta'due south individual (and segregated) golf gild to apply that moral force to improve race relations. Hitchcock also has major reservations about Eisenhower's office in Vietnam, the Middle East, and Cuba. Much of what Ike did simply set up the phase for other American presidents – JFK, LBJ, Nixon – to brand their tragic pratfalls. Withal he besides engaged in a lot of lethal meddling through the CIA, while also building upwards the military-industrial complex he subsequently famously warned well-nigh. (Hitchcock also suggests, a scrap frighteningly, that Ike'south nuclear threats were never bluffs, but were demonstrations of an early on misconception about the nature of the weapons every bit an extension of conventional arms). Eisenhower is a shooting star, brilliant and rare. His pedigree equally globe-historical general existing above the fray of politics is not easily repeatable. Even less repeatable – it seems – is Eisenhower's ability to govern from the center, with practicality instead of dogma. Though often viewed by contemporaries as detached and more than concerned with his putting than governing, Ike's reputation has slowly risen with time. Still, I'yard not entirely sure that Eisenhower, for all his qualities, deserves to have an "Age" to his name. Though he spoke a small government game, he made no attempt to dismantle the New Deal, so that in real means, his administration existed in the shadow of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Moreover, he wasn't a doctrinaire conservative, and never transformed the Republican Party in his own image (or fifty-fifty managed to elevator Republican congressional fortunes). Instead, the mod GOP was birthed by others, such as Goldwater and Reagan, with more than rigid and uncompromising ideologies. Certainly, as Hitchcock shows, he set a lot of things in motion – oftentimes unintentionally – just he wasn't there when the wheel went round. Agreeing with Hitchcock'due south ultimate conclusion is non necessary to enjoy The Age of Eisenhower. Far more than important is that provides a balanced portrait that makes its points without needlessly distorting the historical record or turning this into a drastic apologetic. On top of that, it is a joy to read.
- William I Hitchcock, The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s
In my opinion this biography is the right thing at the right fourth dimension, and a joy to read. Different other popular biographies, William I. Hitchcock'southward The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s does not linger on Ike's upbringing and military service: indeed, a mere 46 pages of text take us upwards to his 60th birth year, when he's retired from the Regular army, President of Columbia University, and seriously mulling running for President on the Republican ticket in 1952. Ike's candidacy and two administrations -- and John F. Kennedy'due south ensuing debt to Eisenhower, for good and bad, in strange and domestic policy -- occupy the balance of the book. I count it a plus that Ike's pretty English chauffeur, Kay Summersby, rates but a cursory mention here and is not subject to the "Did they or didn't they" dithering of some earlier womb-to-tomb bios. Author Hitchcock, aided by recent research and declassifications, gets into areas of Ike'due south two presidential terms that are ordinarily covered simply sketchily in other mainstream biographies: I was especially impressed by his handling of the Emmett Till case in the context of domestic race relations, and the details given to two CIA-inspired (and Eisenhower-approved) military overthrows of autonomous, civilian governments in 1953 in Guatemala and Islamic republic of iran, the two heads of state overthrown being thought too "pinkish" for CIA tastes. While the author is clearly in tune with Ike's moderation, his and so-called "Modern Republicanism," he does deplore the extent to which the President equipped the new CIA, put John Foster Dulles' bright merely erratic brother Allan at the top, and maintained a policy of "plausible deniability" when the CIA shifted into regime modify. In effect, "The Agency" quickly became a subtle and insidious "Covert State of war Department" nearly gratis from Congressional control. When author Hitchcock considers Eisenhower's second term, he shows more than sympathy regarding foreign policy. Hitchcock makes u.s. especially enlightened of a key irony: the aging President was partly the victim of his ain success, making his foreign-policy efforts look so effortless, when with half-a-century'due south hindsight they clearly weren't. Ike's cleverness in maintaining an anti-Communist tone while avoiding armed disharmonize, compounded past his historic power to make the very difficult await like shooting fish in a barrel, gear up up some easy carping from the Democrats that led direct to the 1960 Presidential election. In 1958 Senator John F. Kennedy, making hay of the periodic flap of two pocket-size Taiwanese islands near the Chinese mainland, opined: "We have teetered on the brink of foreign wars no American wants or tin explain," after which Hitchcock ripostes: "commented Senator Kennedy, a time to come builder of America'south war in Vietnam." In the bound of 1960, when Francis Gary Power'southward covert U-2 surveillance flight over the U.South.S.R. was shot down, two different agencies in Ike's assistants lied about information technology using two different -- and incompatible -- encompass stories. The President who wished for posterity to retrieve him equally a man who had never directly lied to the American people was suddenly caught in ii huge whoppers. This did not guarantee Kennedy'south presidential win over Richard Nixon later that year, but it did add credence to the notion that fresh claret was needed in the White House. I retrieve that THE Age OF EISENHOWER is going to be the go-to in modern ane-volume history of Eisenhower's Presidency for some time to come. While non afraid to audio Ike out on the missteps, Hitchcock establishes very well Eisenhower's considerable achievements (non least of them keeping the USA out of major wars) -- and effectively rebutting the lingering charge that Ike stared down the "green fairways of indifference" during his two terms. This book doesn't exactly crackle with humor, but Hitchcock does bring to his practiced and adroit narrative a militarist center for irony, and knows how to integrate reminiscence and anecdote without distracting from the main course of events. It is true that Hitchcock fast-forwards over the first sixty years of the soldier/statesman'southward life, only we already have Jean Edward Smith's well-wrought EISENHOWER IN State of war AND PEACE (2013), which is an excellent foundation for "Ike's" youth and military career. After reading this well researched and incisive volume, virtually readers will surely agree with William Hitchcock'south conclusion that: Americans viewed Eisenhower equally a legendary hero fifty-fifty before he entered politics, and his time in the White House strengthened his reputation as a man of integrity. He gave his life to public service in state of war and peace, and his administration was remarkably costless from scandal.
Information technology is for the states 21st-Century Americans to figure out what became of "Modern Republicanism," and where the virtues, such every bit they are, are to be found in the current Republican Political party.
I've always thought of Dwight Eisenhower as a great WWII general who carried his natural leadership abilities into the White House where they also served him well as president. In reality his natural abilities were in middle ground politics, and this is the reason he both rose in the ranks of the ground forces and succeeded as president. And he just happened to also turn out to be a groovy general. Hitchcock doesn't get too deep into the state of war days (this is strictly a biography of his presidency), simply y'all tin meet Ike's knack for showing people what they wanted to see all the way throughout his time in the White House. A perfect example is his performance at the Geneva Summit in 1954 when he knew exactly how to, seemingly offhandedly, present a peace plan that he knew the Russians wouldn't have, making himself the winner of the whole event. Interestingly, Hitchcock himself sometimes seems to fall for this - he makes the case in the book that Ike really had a hard time deciding whether or non to run for a second term, and that Ike really thought he was doing Nixon a favor past trying to remove him from the ticket in 1956. Neither of these are likely, and are probably a result of Eishenhower'southward gift at making people think what he wanted them to think. Hitchcock does a peachy chore with this book though, and he gives a very thorough await at Eisenhower's viii years as president. Every major effect is covered with excellent context (from popular opinion at home to boots on the ground in the areas where everything happened) and Ike's decisions are measured in a very fair and balanced fashion. When he messed up, yous meet how. When he succeeds, you encounter why. Some notes:
- The chapter on the Suez Culvert incident was crazy and would make a dandy picture show.
- I did not know about Ike'south wellness bug during his presidency. Hitchcock covers them well here, giving the perspective from Ike'southward inner circle, the media, and Nixon as he tries to figure out how best to move (or not motility) during the heart attack crunch.
- Eisenhower really did non like Nixon, and their human relationship was one of the best parts of the book. Examples - the full story of the "Checkers" speech, the clandestine message from Mamie Eisenhower to the Nixons in the leadup to the 1960 ballot.
- The Sputnik parts were actually interesting, and I knew nix about the U.s.a.' response version - the Corona satellite.
This book covers the fourth dimension frame from 1953 to 1961 when Eisenhower was president. Hitchcock does a brief overview of DDE'due south early life and military career. I constitute it helpful when the author provided a review of the various biographies of Eisenhower too every bit the most common negative reviews of his presidency. Hitchcock presented different viewpoints of Eisenhower's handling of the cold war including the U2 incident, when to use atomic weapons and Joseph McCarthy. Eisenhower expanded many of FDR'south social programs. He likewise attempted to obtain health coverage for everyone but was voted downward past his own political party. I was most impressed with Eisenhower's self-discipline and organizational skills. He applied this to his presidency, it was considered one of the all-time organized and disciplined governments to date. When I compare this to what we have today, I wonder how anything gets done today. The book is well written and meticulously researched. The writer had access to newly released Eisenhower papers sent to the Eisenhower presidential library from the federal government. I institute this book easy to read, and I think information technology will become an of import read for those wishing to learn most Eisenhower. The book is long enough to allow in-depth assay and word of the author's key points. This book is not a traditional biography but an analysis of the keys points of DDE'due south presidency. If yous wish to read a traditional biography, I recommend "Eisenhower in State of war and Peace" by Jean Edward Smith published in 2013. I read this book as an audiobook downloaded from Aural. It is near twenty-half-dozen hours long. Arthur Morey does an fantabulous chore narrating the book. Morey is an thespian, writer and accolade-winning audiobook narrator. He has won several EarPhone Awards and as well equally receiving 2 Audie Honor nominations.
Yes, it is rather strange reviewing not one merely ii presidential biographies on Election Nighttime USA, but we live in strange times. Most of my exposure to Eisenhower has been through the lens of World War Ii, where he was the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe. So I was pretty excited that this book covered everything later on that betoken, a time menses I was much less familiar with. (If you lot desire to practiced examination of his life through the the end of the war you should check out Eisenhower: A Soldier'due south Life). Hitchcock does an impeccable task chronicling Ike's path from retired Full general to Presidential candidate to President. He shows Eisenhower's virtues and missteps through the early on stages of the Common cold War and I felt I got a good sense of Eisenhower the man besides as the context he was operating in. I won't diameter you with an exhaustive run downward of Ike's life (since that is sort of the indicate of reading the book) but I do want to highlight some things that stood out to me both nearly Ike and American club at the fourth dimension. You should also delve into the passages I highlighted form this volume, they are copious but very insightful. Hitchcock'due south clear and concise writing every bit well as his deft use of period sources make this book engrossing and accessible. -Both Republican and Democrats were full balls to the wall as to which political party was more anti-communist, always accusing the other of surrendering or underestimating the Soviet threat. Nigh of the accusations were baseless simply it showed just how charged the political atmosphere was in the late 40's and early fifty'due south -Ike wasn't that great with Ceremonious Rights advancement. -The Republicans saw massive, MASSIVE legislative losses in congress even as Ike was very popular. The problem was, apart form Ike, in that location really weren't many nationally well known or liked Republicans. Heck, when Nixon is the charismatic face of the Party, you know the Political party has problems. -Ike was fine letting McCarthy do McCarthy things, even declining to strongly rising to the defence of General Marshall, someone he looked upwards to and respected from the War. Ike didn't always make the strong moral stand up in spite of his overwhelming popularity amidst Amercians. -Political parties were much more fluid in the 1950's. You had liberal Democrats and conservative democrats, liberal Republicans and conservative Republicans. That resulted in a lot more than politicking among the congresscritters, where an ally in your party on one discipline could plow effectually and be a vengeful enemy on another. Much dissimilar than today with the highly sorted parties. -Did I mention the Cold War had some weird domestic "Scandals"?: -For as much as Ike avoided another Korea" the homo loved him some covert operations to destabilize and overthrow strange regimes. Just ask Iran, Guatamala, and Cube (whose invasion plan got passed on to JFK when the administration changed). -Ike suffered multiple MAJOR health crises that knocked him out of commission for months at a time. -Did I mention he was probably merely as racist as any other person hos his demographic? Becasue he was: -Despite railing against Government spending and the New Bargain to go elected Ike actually did a lot to strengthen and aggrandize information technology: Asked nigh civil rights legislation, he gave what would become a sort of mantra for him: "I do not believe we can cure all of the evils in men'south hearts by police force." This was both his personal belief and a pitch to southern white voters that he would be no crusader in this field.
This theme, of not beingness able to alter the hearts of men through laws, still finds purchase today simply was, and is, merely an excuse non to try and brand things amend through authorities action. Ike did do some adept, especially early on in his first term, but there was only and then much he could exercise.Hoping to diminish the impact of the Peress upshot, Eisenhower drafted a statement that he read to the press corps on March 3, in which he best-selling that the army had fabricated an error in failing to expel the communist-leaning dentist.
It is like a lilliputian bit of 2020 tucked into the 1950'southward.His go-slow instincts were driven also by sure cultural assumptions that he shared with his southern white friends. For example, the president was not in a higher place invoking the specter of race-mixing between black men and white women—an bogeyman many white people then considered truly horrific—to explain why the South must be allowed time to evolve in its opinions. In a vulgar exchange with Warren at a stag dinner, the president is alleged to take said that white southerners were "cracking people. All they are concerned about is to see that their sweet little girls are not required to sit in school alongside some big overgrown Negroes." This sort of linguistic communication was regrettably common amidst men of Eisenhower'due south inner circle.
That might be a chip harsh since Ike did work to uphold the Supreme Court decisions, merely not out of any sort of moral justice, he did so because that was the police and he followed the law.As a candidate Eisenhower had denounced what he called the creeping socialism of the New Deal and alleged that if Americans wanted "security" they could get to jail and take their meals and housing provided for free. But once in office he adopted a far more than generous, and indeed progressive outlook on the provision of social security benefits for working Americans. Eager to sever any link to the heartless policies of the previous Republican assistants, Eisenhower unambiguously embraced the principle of social security in his 1953 State of the Union accost. "The individual citizen must have safeguards confronting personal disaster inflicted past forces beyond his control," he insisted. Three weeks later he used a homely metaphor to reassure Americans: "It is a proper function of government to help build a sturdy flooring over the pit of personal disaster, and to this objective nosotros are all committed." Eisenhower would exist no Herbert Hoover.
-Nixon was sorted of foisted on Ike by the Old Guard of the Republican party. Ike didn't really similar Nixon too much: In fact Ike briefly discussed with Adams the thought of having ii vice presidents, ane to handle domestic policy and the other strange matters, men of substance who could handle the heavy burdens of government and bring to the president only the most crucial decisions. Ike did not accept Nixon in mind for either role.
I would say my view of Ike definitely changed and became more than nuanced after reading this book. I would classify him has a pretty OK president. On the positive side of the ledger he did a pretty proficient chore calming the Cold State of war, avoided some strange entanglements, strengthened social safety programs, expanded the scientific discipline and technical investments in the country, and managed the national budget pretty well. On the negative side you have his lukewarm support of Ceremonious Rights, his employ of the CIA to overthrow foreign governments (which were subsequently replaced with repressive regimes), and his funneling of money to "anti-communist" regimes that were besides very oppressive (looking at you lot Diem led South Vietnam). I think this book would be great for anyone looking to get a improve sense of the early Cold War and 1950's America. Hitchcock sums upwards the Historic period of Eisenhower succinctly: Those seemingly charmed years would exist forever invoked every bit a fourth dimension of peace, prosperity, security, and confidence. The ugly realities of the 1950s—the state of war in Korea, the shame of McCarthyism, the persistence of Jim Crow, the deadly CIA plots, the nuclear fears—drifted out of focus. Instead popular retentiveness dwelled happily on kitschy ephemera like Father Knows Best, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and men in fedoras.
An able, though unspectacular, biogeography, William Hitchcock touches lightly over most every significant outcome in President, not General, Eisenhower's life. Oh, there'south a chapter devoted to his Kansas origins, his meteoric WWII ascent—which by and large serves to illustrate how Ike believed boxing honors "cannot hide in his memories the crosses marking the resting places of the dead." "It is impossible," writes Hitchcock, "to imagine Patton or MacArthur sounding so mournful in this moment of high honor or deflecting the proffered acclaim onto the hallowed memory of fallen soldiers." That Ike came from humble roots did non spoil the fact that he was a well-nigh-charter member of Augusta golf game lodge. Ike believed free-market commercialism brought the cream—himself included—to the surface: "Although they behaved similar elitists, retreating behind a loftier wall of wealth and privilege, they held themselves upwards as proof that pedigree was no requirement for success in America." This did not make Ike a believer in "supply-side" economic science. The concluding President to have iii balanced budgets, he would have been horrified at Ronald Reagan's tax cuts. Hitchcock gives Ike a scrap of a pass on his McCarty-era betrayal of General George Marshall. Mayhap, merely I don't buy it. The author oversells Ike's Civil Rights record. True, he did transport Federal troops to desegregate schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. And he did run into in one case with Black leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, albeit reluctantly. Otherwise, Ike forever regretted nominating the (hidden liberal) Earl Warren as Chief Justice—and Warren was the prime mover behind Brown v. Lath of Teaching. One suspects Hitchcock full-bodied overmuch on Fredrick Morrow, the only Black member of Ike's White Firm staff. Plus, the book contains at least a 6 newspaper quotes praising Ike's forward-looking racial policies—without revealing that each quoted newspaper catered exclusively to Blackness audiences. Every bit a long-fourth dimension soldier, information technology was inevitable that Ike would be most involved with, and near remembered for, foreign policy. Most crucially, he never swayed from an unabashed Cold Warrior. Prosperity at home was part of his message to the newly independent Third Earth—democracy was an alternative to Communism. As Hitchcock portrays it, Ike'southward humiliation of the British, French and Israelis in the Suez Crisis was no mere pique at being lied to: Ike, and CIA Main Allen Dulles, each thought the carrot a more effective tool confronting Nasser and other potentially pro-Soviet states (such as Venezuela) than the stick (all as well likely to force the undecideds into the Russian army camp). Yet Ike's greatest contribution to the Cold War likewise was his most hush-hush. During his Presidency, the CIA, with Ike's full (plausibly deniable) noesis, became specialists is U.S. funded, nominally locally originated, coups to topple any leader the CIA thought leaned Reddish. It worked in Guatemala, in Iran, South Vietnam, etc. These countries turned away from Moscow—only hardly became functioning democracies, despite billions of dollars in U.South. help. Ike'due south addiction to Black Ops led directly to the U-2 incident, when the Soviets shot down a U.Southward. spy plane, recovering its airplane pilot, and the aircraft, which the pilot inexplicably failed to destroy. This led to a Keystone Cops series of press releases, where the U.S. tried to claim the plane wasn't over the USSR, it was a weather airplane, etc. Only it was two weeks before a 4 powers summit, and when Khrushchev finally paraded aeroplane and pilot before the printing, Ike did something that forever endeared him to the spook profession: he told the truth, saying the conclusion to to qualify the flying was his. Veracity certainly is a valued quality in a leader, but the traditional response when caught cherry-handed is to blame a subordinate and burn down him—CIA caput Dulles, for case. Khrushchev, in fact expected this; when Ike proved less-than-diplomatic, the Soviet Premier torpedoed the elevation. "It was piece of cake enough to blame Khrushchev for the summit'southward failure, but Eisenhower too diameter responsibleness, which he refused to accept.…Equally for his office in blessing the overflight at such a critical moment, he expressed no regret. 'I know of no decision I would brand differently.'… The downing of the spy plane had a huge impact on his Presidency and the cold state of war itself. It shattered his hopes to bring nearly a thaw in the state of war, thereby robbing him of a vivid accomplishment in his last month's in office… And it provided his domestic rivals with powerful armament to utilize against him and his handling of the Cold War. In retrospect his conclusion to approve U-2 overflights in the jump of 1960 was the biggest mistake he always made." Reporters and so, and historians until recently, discounted Eisenhower as at best a care-taking golfer President; at worst a fool in over his head. My how things have changed. In many lists of Best Presidents, Ike's up there in the summit ten, somewhere between Reagan and Polk. I would not place this book nearly as loftier in lists of Presidential bios. Yet, to be fair, too many books about Ike focus on Ike-the-soldier-politician, not Ike-the-political-soldier. I only wish the writing consistently was more grabbing.
"The Age of Eisenhower: America and the Globe in the 1950s" is my 3rd book on Eisenhower. The kickoff two just didn't capture who the man was. With this work, Hitchcock nails it. This book is now THE definitive work on Ike, in my opinion. Hitchcock is thorough but gets right to the betoken. Ike'southward childhood and fourth dimension as a general are briefly dispatched. He gets to the Presidency with great speed and I fully appreciated that. Hitchcock besides doesn't carbohydrate coat Eisenhower. He oftentimes criticizes Ike's decisions, all the while doing a masterful job of walking the reader through how Ike arrived there. I suppose I'g obsessed with Eisenhower because I wish this was still the Republican party instead of Goldwater, Nixon, Reagan, Bush, and Trump. I approximate I'll simply take to keep dreaming.
3.5*'s A very well done piece on Ike's presidency. It's hard these days to imagine a liberal Republican but Ike would have qualified. It'southward also a shocking reminder that in that time period they were considering nukes equally just another bomb. Eisenhower was definitely a complicated private and his battles with Khrushchev in particular were interesting. It's funny how time has refocused how effective a president he was.
https://bestpresidentialbios.com/2021... William Hitchcock'southward "The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s" was published in 2018. Hitchcock is a professor of history at the Academy of Virginia and has written a half-dozen books including "The Bitter Route to Freedom: A New History of the Liberation of Europe" which was a 2009 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Nonfiction. He is currently working on a volume almost FDR and the rising of fascism in Europe. It is frequently argued "The Age of Eisenhower" is more almost the age and less nearly Eisenhower. But it is probably best described equally a detailed review of Eisenhower's presidency inside the context of his times. And for readers new to Ike, it also provides a brief but useful survey of his pre-presidency (but with a focus on his life afterwards World War II). The book opens with a compelling Prologue laying out the author's thesis: that Eisenhower was a far more than adroit politician than was recognized at the fourth dimension…or for decades thereafter. But Hitchcock is simply the latest in a crowded field of historians to share that view; the image of Ike as a disinterested and doddering president has largely faded. Hitchcock goes farther, however, arguing he was such an influential force that the years between World War Ii and JFK's presidency should be known equally the Age of Eisenhower. Simply while the author's fondness for Eisenhower is unmistakable, his 517-folio narrative provides a systematic and fairly well balanced bookkeeping of the 34th president'due south successes and failures. On issues such as McCarthyism, race relations, foreign affairs and domestic issues, this book describes and dissects the condition quo, examines the competing forces which confronted Eisenhower and analyzes and critiques his actions. Eisenhower'due south two-term presidency accounts for about three-fourths of the volume's length and the methodical xv-affiliate review of his presidency is managed thematically rather than chronologically. But readers hoping to proceed track of the actual sequence of events will exist delighted to find that topics are by and large covered in the order in which they transpired. Hitchcock's writing manner is extraordinarily articulate and comprehensible. Only large parts of the narrative – particularly portions which take place away from Eisenhower – feel fact-heavy and colorless. Readers who are strongly inclined toward captivating prose over incisive history will quickly conclude this is non the ideal vehicle for exploring Eisenhower's life. Some of the more than "scholarly" topics should appeal to a broad audience, notwithstanding, including Eisenhower's perspective on McCarthyism, his attitudes regarding the civil rights movement and his relationship with Richard Nixon. Even the Suez Crisis is surprisingly engrossing. Finally, Hitchcock does a dainty job reviewing the fall and rise of Eisenhower'southward legacy. Overall, as a detailed review of Dwight Eisenhower'southward presidency and assessment of his political legacy, William Hitchcock'due south "The Age of Eisenhower" is splendid. Readers especially interested in his two terms in the White Firm will find this a thoughtful exploration of those years. But for readers seeking a colorful and comprehensive look at Eisenhower's life – including his service in Earth War II – this book is not ideal. Overall Rating: three¾ stars
My GR friend Allen and his partner were cleaning house and gave books to various friends, including me. Thoughtful and Appreciated. I had long wondered why I have never felt acquainted with the presidency of Eisenhower. But being both a big and little "D" democrat, I wasn't overly concerned. Just about the fourth dimension I realized that I really should go acquainted with the presidency of Eisenhower, my thoughtful friends sent me this book. Having read the book, I now know why I have never felt acquainted with this particular president. Worth reading the book to find out why nosotros liked Ike just never actually knew this enigmatic president. Particularly in my nonfiction reading practice, I rate books based upon how much I larn, how much I feel expanded after reading the book. Becoming acquainted with a 20th-century president who presided in an era just previous to my birth and who continued to be mentioned in household conversations as I grew up would be someone important for me to know something almost. So I have rated this book/source of new awareness at 4 stars. Having no previous associate with Eisenhower the president, I rely on Allen'southward better noesis to guide me in my understanding of this book: Allen'southward review.
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