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The Age of Eisenhower
- America and the World in the 1950s
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 25 hrs and 38 mins
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An original and penetrating assessment of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, showing Ike's enormous influence on modern America, the Cold War, and on the presidency itself.
In a 2017 survey, presidential historians ranked Dwight D. Eisenhower fifth on the list of great presidents, behind the perennial top four: Lincoln, Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Teddy Roosevelt. Historian William Hitchcock shows that this high ranking is justified. Eisenhower's accomplishments were enormous and loom ever larger from the vantage point of our own tumultuous times. A former general, Ike kept the peace: He ended the Korean War, avoided a war in Vietnam, adroitly managed a potential confrontation with China, and soothed relations with the Soviet Union after Stalin's death. He guided the Republican Party to embrace central aspects of the New Deal like Social Security. He thwarted the demagoguery of McCarthy, and he advanced the agenda of civil rights for African Americans. As part of his strategy to wage and win the Cold War, Eisenhower expanded American military power, built a fearsome nuclear arsenal and launched the space race. In his famous Farewell Address, he acknowledged that Americans needed such weapons in order to keep global peace - but he also admonished his citizens to remain alert to the potentially harmful influence of the "military-industrial complex".
From 1953 to 1961, no one dominated the world stage as did President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Age of Eisenhower is the definitive account of this presidency, drawing extensively on declassified material from the Eisenhower Library, the CIA, and the Defense Department and troves of unpublished documents. In his masterful account, Hitchcock shows how Ike shaped modern America, and he astutely assesses Eisenhower's close confidants, from Attorney General Brownell to Secretary of State Dulles. The result is an eye-opening reevaluation that explains why this "do-nothing" president is rightly regarded as one of the best leaders our country has ever had.
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- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 31 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.
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Very little about Reagan
- By Jack Merritt on 07-30-15
By: H. W. Brands
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When the World Seemed New
- George H. W. Bush and the End of the Cold War
- By: Jeffrey A. Engel
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The end of the Cold War was the greatest shock to international affairs since World War II. In that perilous moment, Saddam Hussein chose to invade Kuwait, China cracked down on its own pro-democracy protesters, and regimes throughout Eastern Europe teetered between democratic change and new authoritarians. Not since FDR in 1945 had a US president faced such opportunities and challenges. As the presidential historian Jeffrey Engel reveals in this hard-to-pause history, behind closed doors, George H. W. Bush rose to the occasion brilliantly.
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The Right Man at the Right Time in the Right Job
- By A. M. on 09-12-18
By: Jeffrey A. Engel
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The Wise Men
- Six Friends and the World They Made
- By: Evan Thomas, Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Reese
- Length: 33 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Six close friends shaped the role their country would play in the dangerous years following World War II. They were the original best and brightest, whose towering intellects, outsize personalities, and dramatic actions would bring order to the postwar chaos, and whose strong response to Soviet expansionism would leave a legacy that dominates American policy to this day. In April 1945, they converged to advise an untutored new president, Harry Truman.
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Dull with poor narration
- By KD6161 on 03-31-17
By: Evan Thomas, and others
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Overthrow
- America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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"Regime change" did not begin with the administration of George W. Bush, but has been an integral part of U.S. foreign policy for more than one hundred years. Starting with the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and continuing through the Spanish-American War and the Cold War and into our own time, the United States has not hesitated to overthrow governments that stood in the way of its political and economic goals.
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Looking at the dark side
- By Stanley on 08-02-06
By: Stephen Kinzer
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Traitor to His Class
- The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 37 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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A sweeping, magisterial biography of the man generally considered the greatest president of the 20th century, admired by Democrats and Republicans alike. Traitor to His Class sheds new light on FDR's formative years; his remarkable willingness to champion the concerns of the poor and disenfranchised; and his combination of political genius, firm leadership, and matchless diplomacy in saving democracy during the Great Depression and the American cause of freedom in World War II.
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Talented writer and narrator, but too biased/long
- By todd on 01-24-20
By: H. W. Brands
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The Last Empire
- The Final Days of the Soviet Union
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 15 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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On Christmas, 1991, President George H. W. Bush addressed the nation to declare an American victory in the Cold War: Earlier that day Mikhail Gorbachev had resigned as the first and last Soviet president. The enshrining of that narrative, one in which the end of the Cold War was linked to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the triumph of democratic values over communism, took center stage in American public discourse immediately after Bush's speech and has persisted for decades. As Serhii Plokhy reveals, the collapse of the Soviet Union was anything but the handiwork of the US.
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Full of Holes; Horrid Narrator
- By Donald on 03-02-23
By: Serhii Plokhy
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Arik
- The Life of Ariel Sharon
- By: David Landau
- Narrated by: Waler Dixon
- Length: 19 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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From the former editor in chief of Haaretz, the first in-depth, comprehensive biography of Ariel Sharon, the most dramatic and imposing Israeli political and military leader of the last forty years. The life of Ariel Sharon spans much of modern Israel’s history. A commander in the Israeli Army from its inception in 1948, Sharon participated in the 1948 War of Independence, played decisive roles in the 1956 Suez War and the Six-Day War of 1967, and is credited here with the shift in the outcome of the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
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Very informative and complete
- By Paul on 04-16-21
By: David Landau
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The New Tsar
- The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin
- By: Steven Lee Myers
- Narrated by: René Ruiz
- Length: 22 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The epic tale of the rise to power of Russia's current president—the only complete biography in English–that fully captures his emergence from shrouded obscurity and deprivation to become one of the most consequential and complicated leaders in modern history, by the former New York Times Moscow bureau chief.
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A retelling of facts without much added info
- By A. M. on 03-07-16
By: Steven Lee Myers
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The Crusader
- Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism
- By: Paul Kengor
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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God and Ronald Reagan made presidential historian Paul Kengor's name as one of the premier chroniclers of the life and career of the 40th president. With The Crusader, Kengor returns with the one book about Reagan that has not been written: the story of his lifelong crusade against communism and of his dogged and ultimately triumphant effort to overthrow the Soviet Union.
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Whether you like Reagan or not....
- By Daryl on 10-20-13
By: Paul Kengor
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Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher
- A Political Marriage
- By: Nicholas Wapshott
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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It is well known that Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were close allies and kindred political spirits. During their eight overlapping years in office, the U.S. president and the U.K. prime minister worked together to promote lower taxes, deregulation, free trade, and an aggressive stance against the Soviet Union. But according to Nicholas Wapshott, the Reagan/Thatcher relationship was much deeper than an alliance of mutual interests.
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A Better Half
- By peter on 06-01-11
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Good, although biased, biography
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A simpler time?
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Quick and to the point!
- By Grant Wentworth on 04-02-15
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The Supreme Commander
- The War Years of Dwight D. Eisenhower
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In this classic portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower the soldier, best-selling historian Stephen E. Ambrose examines the Allied commander's leadership during World War II. Ambrose brings Eisenhower's experience of the Second World War to life, showing in vivid detail how the general's skill as a diplomat and a military strategist contributed to Allied successes in North Africa and in Europe and established him as one of the greatest military leaders in the world.
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Very Interesting of the politics of war
- By Timothy on 06-28-17
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Crusade in Europe
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Five-star General Dwight D. Eisenhower was arguably the single most important military figure of World War II. Crusade in Europe tells the complete story of the war as he planned and executed it. Through Eisenhower's eyes the enormous scope and drama of the war—strategy, battles, moments of great decision—become fully illuminated in all their fateful glory. Penned before his Presidency, this account is deeply human and helped propel him to the highest office.
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Great audiobook, wonderful narration
- By Ed Pegg Jr on 09-19-23
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How Ike Led
- The Principles Behind Eisenhower's Biggest Decisions
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- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
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Few people have made decisions as momentous as Eisenhower, nor has one person had to make such a varied range of them. From D-Day to Little Rock, from the Korean War to Cold War crises, from the Red Scare to the Missile Gap controversies, he was able to give our country eight years of peace and prosperity by relying on a core set of principles. These were informed by his heritage and upbringing, his strong character and his personal discipline, but he also avoided making himself the center of things. He tried to be the calmest man in the room, not the loudest.
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A President of the UNITED States
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Good, although biased, biography
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Eisenhower
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A simpler time?
- By Ray on 11-12-11
By: Jim Newton
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Quick and to the point!
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Very Interesting of the politics of war
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Five-star General Dwight D. Eisenhower was arguably the single most important military figure of World War II. Crusade in Europe tells the complete story of the war as he planned and executed it. Through Eisenhower's eyes the enormous scope and drama of the war—strategy, battles, moments of great decision—become fully illuminated in all their fateful glory. Penned before his Presidency, this account is deeply human and helped propel him to the highest office.
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Great audiobook, wonderful narration
- By Ed Pegg Jr on 09-19-23
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How Ike Led
- The Principles Behind Eisenhower's Biggest Decisions
- By: Susan Eisenhower
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Revisionist History in the GOOD sense of the word
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
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From the time of his childhood in rural Kansas, Dwight D. Eisenhower's vision of himself and his country was one of confidence and hope. His hard-working parents taught him self-reliance and nothing that happened in his long career ever eroded this trait. During nearly half a century of service to his country and the world, Eisenhower displayed a deep understanding of the nation's problems, aspirations, and fears that prevailed during both war and peace.
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Well Written & Narrated But Too Much Hero Worship
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Best narrator of all the audio books I've listened
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Two Americans
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Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, consecutive presidents of the United States, were Midwesterners alike in many ways - except that they also sharply differed. William Lee Miller interweaves Truman's and Eisenhower's life stories, which then also becomes the story of their nation as it rose to great power. Listening to their story is a reminder of the modern American story, of ordinary men dealing with extraordinary power.
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A Very Giid Biik Gone Bad.
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Ike's Bluff
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Seems like he played a lot of golf
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Richard Nixon
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Richard Nixon opens with young navy lieutenant "Nick" Nixon returning from the Pacific and setting his cap at Congress, an idealistic dreamer seeking to build a better world. Yet amid the turns of that now legendary 1946 campaign, Nixon's finer attributes quickly gave way to unapologetic ruthlessness. It is a stunning overture to John A. Farrell's magisterial portrait of a man who embodied postwar American cynicism.
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Well balanced and proportioned
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The Unexpected President
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Despite his promising start as a young man, by his early 50s Chester A. Arthur was known as the crooked crony of New York machine boss Roscoe Conkling. For years Arthur had been perceived as unfit to govern, not only by critics and the vast majority of his fellow citizens but by his own conscience. As President James A. Garfield struggled for his life, Arthur knew better than his detractors that he failed to meet the high standard a president must uphold. And yet, from the moment President Arthur took office, he proved to be not just honest but brave.
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Exceptional
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Three Days in January
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In this debut history from one of America's most influential political journalists, Bret Baier casts the three days between Dwight Eisenhower's prophetic "farewell address" on the evening of January 17, 1961, and his successor John F. Kennedy's inauguration on the afternoon of January 20 as the final mission of one of modern America's greatest leaders.
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Gently In Manner, Strongly In Deed...
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Being Nixon
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In this revelatory biography, Evan Thomas delivers a radical, unique portrait of America’s 37th president, Richard Nixon, a contradictory figure who was both determinedly optimistic and tragically flawed. One of the principal architects of the modern Republican Party and its “silent majority” of disaffected whites and conservative ex-Dixiecrats, Nixon was also deemed a liberal in some quarters for his efforts to desegregate Southern schools, create the Environmental Protection Agency, and end the draft.
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Sympathetic bio
- By Scott on 07-27-15
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Bush
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In Bush, Jean Edward Smith demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9/11 and endangered Americans' civil liberties.
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Delusions of Competence
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Truman
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Hailed by critics as an American masterpiece, David McCullough's sweeping biography of Harry S. Truman captured the heart of the nation. The life and times of the 33rd president of the United States, Truman provides a deeply moving look at an extraordinary, singular American.
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That Mousy Little Man From Missouri Revisited
- By Sara on 07-23-15
By: David McCullough
What listeners say about The Age of Eisenhower
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- John
- 05-28-18
A Very Thorough and Balanced Biography
Hitchcock has written a very thorough and balanced biography of Eisenhower's years as President. It is not meant to be a chronicle of his entire life. Within its scope, the book is very comprehensive and interesting. Although the book generally is kind to Eisenhower, it is not a fawning portrayal and includes appropriate criticism, particularly of the U-2 affair and Eisenhower's approval of covert action that was much in contrast to his public foreign policy.
Probably the best thing this book does is to present a portrait of a decent and highly intelligent man who had to govern in a very difficult time. He did this mostly by moderation and largely in a bi-partisan way. To critics, such as on civil rights, he never did enough. But he probably did what was possible during his time--a time that included a block of southern Democrats (yes, Democrats) committed to segregation. This moderate approach also won out on foreign policy--he was able to end the war in Korea and avoid war elsewhere. He was not afraid to play hardball--including with our allies--when necessary.
The book is also notable in the respect that Eisenhower clearly had for the office he occupied. This sense of respect seems to have been lacking both inside the office and outside for most of the last twenty years.
Written from enough distance, the book offers a great sense of perspective. It is clear that the political "intelligentsia" of the time vastly underestimated and underappreciated him. The only consistency with that crowd is how often they were wrong then, and how constant that has stayed through the years.
Excellent book. Good narration.
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- james c. egan, jr.
- 02-05-19
Disappointing
The thesis of this book is that Eisenhower has been underestimated and that the author has discovered new evidence to demonstrate the real Ike. But several books have already tread this ground and this one offers little that is new. The reader is excellent and the retelling of important events is often pleasant. But the book’s flaws outweigh its strengths.
Eisenhower was president during difficult times: the nuclear arms race; attempts by the Soviet Union to expand its influence with emerging nations; and civil rights. I admire Eisenhower and a balanced case can be made in support of his presidency in the context of those difficult times. But a balanced case requires both a balanced presentation of historical facts, and a balanced assessment of the impact of those facts on the country in the long term. There are instances where there could have been a fuller presentation of relevant facts, but more problematic is the author’s willingness to travel from basic facts to firm conclusions without any intervening balancing of the good versus the bad.
How, for example, does the link between the CIA coupe of a democratically elected government in Iran and our present relationship with its current government weigh in an assessment of Ike’s foreign policy? The same question can be asked regarding for the CIA coupe in Guatemala, nuclear proliferation, and civil rights. Indeed, the book doesn’t offer any conclusion, much less any assessment, regarding Ike’s role in nuclear proliferation.
Strangely, the final chapter concludes that Eisenhower’s record on foreign affairs was strong; acknowledges that his role in questionable covert activities are a negative; but cautions that those covert activities must be weighed against positives such as ending the Korean War. True enough – too bad he did not follow his own admonition.
The overview of Vietnam highlights the issue. The author praises Ike for his refusal to send combat troops, something worthy of high praise indeed. But other important aspects are ignored or presented as asides. In concluding his discussion of Ike’s role in Vietnam the author states, without any factual basis, that his successor, JFK, was the “architect” of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. JFK deserves a share of the blame, as does Truman, and especially LBJ, and Nixon. But so does Eisenhower.
Under Ike we financed the effort of France to regain control of Vietnam, something that linked us to colonialism for the duration of our subsequent intervention. While disbelieving the “domino theory,” Ike nevertheless used it to overstate the need for our participation. In a diary entry quoted by Logevall but omitted from this book, Ike wrote that he favored heavy reinforcements by the French “in order to get this thing over at once” while ending the sentence with the “but I’m convinced that no military victory is possible in this kind of theater.” Thus, it appears he was the first among many in government to press for a wider war that he did not believe was winnable. And Eisenhower continued to press France to continue the fight when they were searching for a face-saving exit.
When the French left, the Eisenhower administration was complicit in the installation of Diem, a corrupt dictator and a Catholic in a Buddhist nation; we refused to consider any government with a smell of neutrality and therefore opposed the agreed-to elections to unite Vietnam; we sent the first “advisors” to Diem; we covertly supported Vietnam with air assets piloted by CIA employees; and the first deaths on the Vietnam Wall date to the Eisenhower administration. The author touches on some but not all of these facts but never attempts to assess whether Eisenhower as well as JFK can be characterized as an “architect” of the war.
The bias in favor of Eisenhower – the author’s willingness to give him the benefit of the doubt without any real analysis – applies as well to Ike’s mixed record on civil rights. The bias also shows up in his use of quotes from newspaper pundits. More often than not he implicitly disparages those who criticize Ike, but presents those who praise him in a positive light. Subtle but biased nevertheless. And he uses the critical pundits to support his premise that Ike was underestimated, but then also quotes from others who saw the “real Ike” in real time (which undermines a major premise of the book).
Whether bias or poor scholarship, the author also presents as a given, the success of the Eisenhower economic policies. He does so with generalized statements about employment, deficits, and the like without ever comparing the actual data with other administrations. Nor does he mention the two recessions that occurred during the administration. Even a cursory review discloses that the Eisenhower years, while generally economically successful, were not much different from those of his predecessor or his successor. And, of course, there are many reasons for economic success, most of which are not controlled by a president.
The bias was even more evident in the opening chapters sketching out Ike’s upbringing and Army career. One would have thought Ike made no mistakes until he reached the presidency. I understand that the material was offered merely to set the stage, but it did undermine the author’s credibility to the degree that I considered listening no further. I should have followed my instincts.
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- Mark
- 04-21-18
Fantastic analysis of an often overlooked man
The Age of Eisenhower is an in-depth account of a somewhat misunderstood and under appreciated man and time in our nation’s history. From his ending of the Korean War to his policy of peace through strength and his better-than-popularly-understood record on civil rights, Ike’s accomplishments are numerous. As the author astutely points out, Ike was disparaged by the press and his successor JFK at the conclusion of his presidency and is only recently regarded as one of our nation’s greatest chief executives.
The Audible version of this excellent book is well narrated and easy to listen to in the car.
Highly recommend!
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- Jack Rice
- 08-24-18
Mediocre, nothing new
Repeats well-worn territory, uses trite alliteration, purple prose. Narrator over-bright, thought I heard him say MacArthur when talking of McCarthy. Jean Edward Smith’s section of the presidency in his Eisenhower biography is far better than this book.
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- Brian
- 08-19-18
interesting, but long-winded
this is my third book on President Eisenhower and I did learn a few things. But often things are dragged on too long. the narrator sounds weary most times (as did I when it seemed like the author was stuck in a subject he didn't know how to get out of in a reasonable time). It's still history and fascinating to hear how America reacted it felt about things. it makes me want to read more about McCarthyism, the Korean war, and the Cold War.
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- Jean
- 08-11-18
Excellent
This book covers the time frame from 1953 to 1961 when Eisenhower was president. Hitchcock does a brief overview of DDE’s early life and military career. I found it helpful when the author provided a review of the various biographies of Eisenhower as well as 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’s social programs. He also attempted to obtain health coverage for everyone but was voted down by his own 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 best 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 author had access to newly released Eisenhower papers sent to the Eisenhower presidential library from the federal government. I found this book easy to read, and I think it will become an important read for those wishing to learn about Eisenhower. The book is long enough to allow in-depth analysis and discussion of the author’s key points. This book is not a traditional biography but an analysis of the keys points of DDE’s presidency. If you wish to read a traditional biography, I recommend “Eisenhower in War and Peace” by Jean Edward Smith published in 2013.
It is almost twenty-six hours long. Arthur Morey does an excellent job narrating the book. Morey is an actor, writer and award-winning audiobook narrator. He has won several EarPhone Awards and as well as receiving two Audie Award nominations.
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- USA VETERAN
- 07-08-18
GOOD & DISAPPOINTING, TOO...
Great historic account of a 5-Star Legend. Author seemed more critical than complimentary, which was unfair. All of the sudden, he spent the last several minutes praising the General. Good story, but disappointed, too. B+
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- Damian
- 05-17-20
I enjoyed the story…
But I was less happy with the telling. Hitchcock is obviously a fan of Eisenhower. Who wouldn’t be? This giant of history and man of integrity. And I even agree with his central premise that Eisenhower was a dynamic leader, always in command and far from the golf playing, do-nothing dolt that seems to be too often his legacy. But Hitchcock’s delivery left me cold and even annoyed. He seems fearful he might be judged “out-of-line” on issues like race, colonialism, spying, the Cold War if he doesn’t carefully parse the narrative with disclaimers. He is not cloying or oily regarding his subject, but (in my mind) worse, he wishes to make sure his interpretations are accepted with approval and nodding equanimity by the critic. He cannot comment on “The age of Eisenhower“ without committing to careful platitudes and accepted politically correct hindsight. It is not the courageous retelling of history from a bold historian like Paul Johnson or the confident appraisal of Will Durrant.
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- Thomas
- 07-08-19
Meh
Lackluster writing and analysis. Reads like a dry, exhaustive, account of this happened, and then this happened... If you’re looking to be transported to the 50’s, flux capacitor this is not.
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- P.
- 06-26-19
Exhaustive and illuminating
I was born in 1946 and my first memory of “news” was the Suez crisis. I have always associated Eisenhower with D-Day and the interstate highway system. This book not only fleshes out the character, acumen, and passion of Ike but puts into colorful perspective the beginnings of the Cold War, Nixon, Castro, the USSR, and ultimately Vietnam. At times I felt this was simply a partisan patron to a great military leader but stick with it-you’ll come away with a significantly better understanding of America in mid-to late century.
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