Eisenhower in War and Peace

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Christian Science Monitor St. Louis Post-Dispatch Magisterial.The New York Times 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 Americas 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 Ikes maddening apprenticeship under Douglas MacArthur. Then the whole panorama of World War II unfolds, with Eisenhowers superlative generalship forging the Allied path to victory. Smith also gives us an intriguing examination of Ikes 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. Smiths chronicle of Eisenhowers presidential years is as compelling as it is comprehensive. Derided by his detractors as a somnambulant caretaker, Eisenhower emerges in Smiths perceptive retelling as both a canny politician and a skillful, decisive leader. He managed not only to keep the peace, but also to enhance Americas 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 timeand for the ages. NATIONAL BESTSELLER Praise for Eisenhower in War and Peace [A] fine new biography . . . [Eisenhowers] 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 [Eisenhowers] 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 DEste, this is the best.Publishers Weekly (starred review) No one has written so heroic a biography [on Eisenhower] as this years 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, Americas greatest living biographer, shows why, now more than ever, Americans should like Ike.George F. Will