The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s - Cold War History Book for US Politics & International Relations Studies | Perfect for Historians & Political Science Students

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.