Kibi W. (Kibi) reviewed Dwight D. Eisenhower: A Gauge of Greatness (An Associated Press biography) on + 582 more book reviews
An amazing man and a remarkable career, September 7, 2004
Reviewer: Andrew W. Johns "ResQgeek" (Alexandria, VA USA)
This was clearly written before the current trend of "tell-all" memoirs and biographies that try to drag every skeleton out of people's closets. Overall, I think this improves the book. I'm not sure that I need (or want) to know every little flaw in Eisenhower's life. Instead, this book explores his background and tries to shed some light on those aspects of his personality that influenced his actions and his career path. We also get a better insight into how his various postings throughout his army career prepared him not only for Supreme Command during WWII, but ultimately for the presidency. While I found the author to be a little guilty of "hero worship," and somewhat too quick to dismiss the charges of Ike's critics, the author does a good job of using Eisenhower's own words (taken from both official and personal correspondence) to make his arguments. This book is certainly a strong argument that Eisenhower should be ranked among the "Greats" of American history.
Reviewer: Andrew W. Johns "ResQgeek" (Alexandria, VA USA)
This was clearly written before the current trend of "tell-all" memoirs and biographies that try to drag every skeleton out of people's closets. Overall, I think this improves the book. I'm not sure that I need (or want) to know every little flaw in Eisenhower's life. Instead, this book explores his background and tries to shed some light on those aspects of his personality that influenced his actions and his career path. We also get a better insight into how his various postings throughout his army career prepared him not only for Supreme Command during WWII, but ultimately for the presidency. While I found the author to be a little guilty of "hero worship," and somewhat too quick to dismiss the charges of Ike's critics, the author does a good job of using Eisenhower's own words (taken from both official and personal correspondence) to make his arguments. This book is certainly a strong argument that Eisenhower should be ranked among the "Greats" of American history.
