William I HitchcockThe Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s

I know that my title may seem a little disrespectful for a man who not only led American and Allied forces to victory in WWII, but also through a successful two term presidency. The 50s was the father knows best era, and Dwight D. Eisenhower led us safely through the reconstruction of Europe even after WWII and then America overwhelmingly desired his care over our nation.It was repeated over and over throughout this book that Eisenhower was a lonely man, for as much as he often sought the wise counsel of the people he chose for his cabinet, it was his own counsel he ultimately relied upon along with with prayer.Eisenhower was certainly everything America wanted in their heroes of the time, he was humble and yet as home in a fine club or ballroom as he was in stable or the barracks with recovering troops. He was plain spoken,meet well educated and had a thorough understanding of economics and the working of the government machine and how its wheels turned… to include who he needed to grease them.This was a fascinating biography, mostly of Eisenhower’s time in the White House and the challenges he faced there. Eisenhower wasn’t a big believer in showing all the workings of diplomacy and how the sausage was made so to speak, and allowed the American people to feel like government was primarily running smoothly with little or no intervention required. Of course, all the work Ike did in the background to make American’s safe was used against him by his replacement in years to come. J. F. Kennedy suggested that Eisenhower’s mode of governing was old and unengaged which couldn’t have been further from the truth.William I Hitchcock did a wonderful job of laying out the facts without bias, and this was certainly not a fan’s account of a presidency. There are both lauds and criticisms in relatively equal measure, but perhaps more criticism which makes the lauds mean more to me. A great deal happened in the eight years Eisenhower was president and it set us up for the intelligence apparatus we have today, and I believe it could be said that Eisenhower changed America for the good. This was Avery detailed, if anything too detailed biography that is both fascinating and perhaps important for scholars of American Civics. 4 1/2 stars and I only took of a half for excessive wordiness.

I very much enjoyed this scholarly work.Hitchcock made the comment that he worked about eight years on this, and it certainly shows. His notes and bibliography are extensive and the author should be commended for such thorough research.I remember Eisenhower as the president although I was very young and I memories of many of the things that transpired during his time.I will not into a summary of this great book, but will limit my impressions to a few things that may be of interest. First of all, Eisenhower was a great man and his sense of discipline was astounding. He had a 4 pack a day addiction to cigarettes during his crusade in Europe, and when he decided to stop, he did it overnight. For those of us who have kicked that habit, it is an addiction that is very powerful.During his long years in the wilderness (between wars and chances of promotion very slim) he was an excellent poker and bridge player, to the point that he was taking too much money from fellow officers.Later, it was amazing to me that he wanted to boot Nixon as the candidate for VP. Nixon had nothing wrong but Ike did not want to carry baggage that may come to haunt him.He was very smart in using our advantage at that time of atomic weapons, but he left the French to their own mistakes without getting America involved. He handled the Suez Crisis much to the dismay of the British, French, and Israelis.He would not take a firm leadership role in the civil rights struggle. He never wanted to confront the criticism of issues of controversy and he would not hesitate to put an associate on the front line to take the fire.Unfortunately, Dulles and company started up with the CIA, and after two successful regime changes, they thought they could do anything. Ike used the CIA and kept increasing their budget, and in effect, he unleashed a monster that did much damage to the prestige of America. And on a personal note, I ended up in Vietnam. The first day I was there I knew it was a boondoggle.He was tough and had high ratings, but I do not think anyone really knew him.

I grew up in the fifties and always looked at this period as one of prosperity and peace. And it was. Learning now about what his administration did in their fight against the spread of Communism globally puts a new perspective on his presidency. Fascinating.

Very readable, no confusion, doesn't get lost in dates and names, political opinions or policy commentary. I was surprised how much I didn't know or of which I had too simplified of knowledge. As a teenager this history was ongoing for me so it was not a part of my American history curriculum. I am much clearer on USA domestic and international history because of this book. It is a page turner, informs but doesn't dwell. The age of Eisenhower was not a bland, boring, did-nothing era - not the happy days that is the general description of those years between 1952-1960. Last chapter is interesting about the transition to JFK, from a 70 year old to a 43 year old. This book was not a biography or memoir, it was the historical events, backgrounds, actions, and consequences; at least to me a lot of inside or otherwise not generally disclosed information. After reading this book, you'll change your opinion that Eisenhower spent most of his time on the golf course or playing bridge. I would recommend to any history buff, it is not one-sided nor a propaganda piece. A lot of what occurred or was done/not done would have been more transparent and publicly debated in today's world. After WW2 people wanted peace and calm, but in fact that was not the case behind the scenes of this historical time.