Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life
by Carlo D'Este
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Book Summary Information
Author: Carlo D'EsteEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-05-15
ISBN: 0805056874
Number of pages: 880
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Book Reviews of Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life
Book Review: Massive and insightful biography
Summary: 5 Stars
This massive biography of Dwight Eisenhower, focusing on his life up until World War II's end (705 pages of text), is a major investment of time--but well worth it. A major strength of this work is the nuanced analysis of Ike, both his strengths and his weaknesses. He had many flaws, but he also had certain character traits that served the nation and the allies well.
The author says of Eisenhower (page 5): "The path from the poverty of turn-of-the-century Abilene, Kansas, to supreme Allied commander was as improbable as it was spectacular." Eisenhower, in short, advanced far further in his military career than almost anyone could have guessed. This volume tries to explain that and to assess his work.
The book is divided into several parts. The first examines the background of the family, from 1741-1909. Part II focuses on "The Accidental Soldier." Ike really had no clear career goals after high school. At the advice of family friends, he worked to get into the military. He finally was admitted to West Point. His career at West Point is outlined (not distinguished, not bad).
During the years of World War I, he missed combat action. Instead, he was involved in training troops. During this time, he also became involved in the development of tanks as weapon systems. On page 137, D'Este notes that "During the rush to return soldiers to civilian life, an appeal was made to induce enough men to form the nucleus of a postwar tank corps to remain on active duty." Eisenhower was one of those.
Part IV examines the interwar years and Eisenhower's role. General Fox Connor took Ike under his wing. Over this period, he became a valued staff officer. In 1933 he (page 217), ". . .commenced what would be nearly seven years as a staff officer and principal assistant to [General Douglas] MacArthur in Washington and Manila." It was not the best of times for Eisenhower, given MacArthur's and his disagreements. He returned to the United States.
Part V focuses on the preparation for war, from 1940-1942. Ike's role was not to be what he desired--combat action. He was coveted for staff support. After seemingly improbable events, Eisenhower became the chief American army commander in North Africa (Part VI outlines his Mediterranean career). There were many frustrations--including working with a variety of prima donnas, from George Patton to Bernard Montgomery. Things started off dismally in North Africa for the American forces, although the troops grew with experience. Then, Sicily and the unfortunate showdown with Patton after his mistreatment of a soldier..
Part VII examines the invasion of Europe and the immense toll that this took on Eisenhower. Part VIII considers the breakout from Normandy to victory.
The book illustrates Ike's weaknesses--lack of command experience, poor record in a number of operations (Anzio and Arnhem, for example), having to spend much of his time trying to negotiate between different commanders with very different views and often letting politics determine the outcome (e.g., Patton versus Montgomery). On the other hand, his patience and diplomacy kept fractious generals working together.
The book makes us aware of his failings--but also his successes. He was a complex person and his record is not an unalloyed success. But he may have been the right person to lead the Allied forces in the later years of World War II in Europe.
All in all, a very strong biography.
Summary of Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life
?An excellent book . . . D?Este?s masterly account comes into its own.? ?The Washington Post Book World
Born into hardscrabble poverty in rural Kansas, the son of stern pacifists, Dwight David Eisenhower graduated from high school more likely to teach history than to make it. Casting new light on this profound evolution, Eisenhower chronicles the unlikely, dramatic rise of the supreme Allied commander.
With full access to private papers and letters, Carlo D?Este has exposed for the first time the untold myths that have surrounded Eisenhower and his family for over fifty years, and identified the complex and contradictory character behind Ike?s famous grin and air of calm self-assurance.
Unlike other biographies of the general, Eisenhower captures the true Ike, from his youth to the pinnacle of his career and afterward.
Born into hardscrabble poverty in rural Kansas, the son of stern pacifists, Dwight David Eisenhower graduated from high school more likely to teach history than to make it. Casting new light on this profound evolution, Eisenhower chronicles the unlikely, dramatic rise of the supreme Allied commander.
With full access to private papers and letters, Carlo D?Este has exposed for the first time the untold myths that have surrounded Eisenhower and his family for over fifty years, and identified the complex and contradictory character behind Ike?s famous grin and air of calm self-assurance.
Unlike other biographies of the general, Eisenhower captures the true Ike, from his youth to the pinnacle of his career and afterward.
There is hardly a shortage of books about Dwight Eisenhower, but Carlo D'Este's Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life stands tall in this forest by virtue of the author's insistence on a too-often forgotten rule of biographers: show--don't tell about--the subject. Though D'Este doesn't neglect Eisenhower's early years (his sketch of the man's rambunctious West Point years is hearteningly entertaining), the book concentrates on his military career, including his years of treading water in the Philippines. By far the most trenchant sections, however, deal with World War II (including a keen look at the little-discussed North African campaign.) We see Ike, who had a famous temper and, when angry, a most indelicate vocabulary, chain-smoking cigarettes and unable to sleep in the weeks leading to D-day; refusing--out of disgust for German atrocities--to be present at the signing of the articles of surrender; bantering, though his heart was heavy, with enlisted men; wrestling contentiously with MacArthur and Field Marshall Montgomery. We read excerpts of his letters to Mamie and are privy to, perhaps, his laying the groundwork for a political career. A Soldier's Life, long but brisk, sympathetic but not adoring, rigorous but never tedious, is a commendable biography. --H. O'Billovich
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