Dwight D Eisenhower

An American icon and hero faces a nation--and a world--in transition A bona-fide American hero at the close of World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower rode an enormous wave of popularity into the Oval Office seven years later. Though we may view the Eisenhower years through a hazy lens of 1950s nostalgia, historians consider his presidency one of the least successful. At home there was civil rights unrest, McCarthyism, and a deteriorating economy; internationally, the Cold War was deepening. But despite his tendency toward "brinksmanship," Ike would later be revered for "keeping the peace." Still, his actions and policies at the onset of his career, covered by Tom Wicker, would haunt Americans of future generations.

A classic of World War II literature, an incredibly revealing work that provides a near comprehensive account of the war and brings to life the legendary general and eventual president of the United States. • "Gives the reader true insight into the most difficult part of a commander's life." —The New York Times 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. His personal record of the tense first hours after he had issued the order to attack leaves no doubt of his travails and reveals how this great leader handled the ultimate pressure. For historians, his memoir of this world historic period has become an indispensable record of the war and timeless classic.

The newest volumes in this distinguished series cover Eisenhower's first term as President of the United States, from January 1953 to January 1956. Meticulously edited and carefully annotated, these memorandums, diary entries, and personal and official letters shed new light on some of the most important topics in recent American history. The newest volumes in this distinguished series cover Eisenhower's first term as President of the United States, from January 1953 to January 1956. Meticulously edited and carefully annotated, these memorandums, diary entries, and personal and official letters shed new light on some of the most important topics in recent American history. Eisenhower won the presidency decisively after offering the American people an alternative to the New Deal and Fair Deal policies that had dominated public life for twenty years. He ended the unpopular Korean War and dealt effectively with crises in Guatemala and Iran. Problems in Egypt, Southeast Asia, and the Formosa Straits, however, proved intractable. Meanwhile, Eisenhower wrestled with the demands of GOP leadership. His political coalition, built at the center, felt constant pressure from the Republican right, particularly from Ohio senator John Bricker, who opposed international commitments that might circumscribe U.S. sovereignty, and Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy, who claimed to find Communist conspiracies in the highest reaches of government In 1955, despite his having suffered a heart attack, the president reluctantly decided to seek another term, hoping thereby to secure his domestic successes and carry forward his work toward a stable, peaceful world order. Although diplomatic troubles in the Middle East and an anti-communist outbreak in Hungary kept him from much personal campaigning in the summer and fall of 1956, he won an impressive mandate in November and began preparing for a second term. The Presidency: The Middle Way makes a new contribution to our understanding of the Eisenhower administration and Ike's role in creating the modern presidency. Taken together, the documents portray Eisenhower as a forceful leader who faced truly vexing domestic and cold war problems and handled them with great skill and a fundamental sense of decency.

Presents a biographical sketch of a distinctive American icon, Dwight Eisenhower. This volume spans his early life in Kansas, West Point years and Army career in both the United States and overseas in the Philippines, Panama, and Europe. It also covers his years in the White House as America's thirty-fourth president.

In Dwight D. Eisenhower's last speech as president, on January 17, 1961, he warned America about the "military-industrial complex," a mutual dependency between the nation's industrial base and its military structure that had developed during World War II. After the conflict ended, the nation did not abandon its wartime economy but rather the opposite. Military spending has steadily increased, giving rise to one of the key ideas that continues to shape our country's political landscape.In this book, published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Eisenhower's farewell address, journalist James Ledbetter shows how the government, military contractors, and the nation's overall economy have become inseparable. Some of the effects are beneficial, such as cell phones, GPS systems, the Internet, and the Hubble Space Telescope, all of which emerged from technologies first developed for the military. But the military-industrial complex has also provoked agonizing questions. Does our massive military establishment--bigger than those of the next ten largest combined--really make us safer? How much of our perception of security threats is driven by the profit-making motives of military contractors? To what extent is our foreign policy influenced by contractors' financial interests?Ledbetter uncovers the surprising origins and the even more surprising afterlife of the military-industrial complex, an idea that arose as early as the 1930s, and shows how it gained traction during World War II, the Cold War, and the Vietnam era and continues even today.

A biography of the World War II general who became the thirty-fourth president of the United States in 1952.

A stirring exploration of our thirty-fourth President, Dwight D. Eisenhower. 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. He possessed an ability to communicate with the American people in a remarkable way. They saw in him a man of sincerity and instructive good will, and they trusted him implicitly. And Eisenhower demonstrated these qualities to his countrymen again and again in full measure. “Dwight D. Eisenhower: An Associated Press Biography” features a new Introduction by retired Colonel Jack Jacobs, Medal of Honor recipient, and select photographs from the AP archives.

Dwight D. Eisenhower spent almost his entire lifetime serving his country. After attending West Point, he began a celebrated military career highlighted by becoming supreme commander of the European Allied forces during World War II, and a five star general. Following the war, his popularity soared. He commanded NATO forces before being easily elected as America’s 34th president. During his eight-year presidency, Eisenhower became the first American president to send U.S. troops into Vietnam as advisers, began the space race, and dealt with ever-increasing civil rights issues. Through it all, Eisenhower’s reputation for being patriotic and trustworthy ensured that he would be remembered as one of history’s most popular leaders.