Eisenhower in War and Peace (Bio)

[observor 69]

One of the most outstanding book I have read over the past years on our favourite topic WWII.

A lot of traditional military historian interpretations challenged and revised.  >

EBook Description
Publication Date: February 21, 2012
In his magisterial bestseller FDR, Jean Edward Smith gave us a fresh, modern look at one of the most indelible figures in American history. Now this peerless biographer returns with a new life of Dwight D. Eisenhower that is as full, rich, and revealing as anything ever written about America’s thirty-fourth president. As America searches for new heroes to lead it out of its present-day predicaments, Jean Edward Smith’s achievement lies in reintroducing us to a hero from the past whose virtues have become clouded in the mists of history.

Here is Eisenhower the young dreamer, charting a course from Abilene, Kansas, to West Point, to Paris under Pershing, and beyond. Drawing on a wealth of untapped primary sources, Smith provides new insight into Ike’s maddening apprenticeship under Douglas MacArthur in Washington and the Philippines. Then the whole panorama of World War II unfolds, with Eisenhower’s superlative generalship forging the Allied path to victory through multiple reversals of fortune in North Africa and Italy, culminating in the triumphant invasion of Normandy. Smith also gives us an intriguing examination of Ike’s finances, details his wartime affair isenhower in War and Peace .

http://www.amazon.com/Eisenhower-Peace-Jean-Edward-Smith/dp/140006693X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340477666&sr=1-1&keywords=eisenhower#_

 

[observor 69]

Just started The Generals by Thomas E. Ricks. The book is as great a read as "Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith (Feb 21,  2012.)"

http://www.amazon.com/Generals-American-Military-Command-World/dp/1594204047/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366503784&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Generals

 

[MarkOttawa]

Excerpts here of further reviews of the Smith biography, with a comment slanging MacArthur (noting Tom Ricks):

"I Like Ike"
http://www.cdfai.org/the3dsblog/?p=1412

Mark
Ottawa

 

[observor 69]

Finished "The Generals" by Thomas E. Ricks. What a delight to read.
Or using the full title which is more accurate and descriptive "The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today."
"History has been kind to the American generals of World War II—Marshall, Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley—and less kind to the generals of the wars that followed. In The Generals, Thomas E. Ricks sets out to explain why that is. In part it is the story of a widening gulf between performance and accountability. During the Second World War, scores of American generals were relieved of command simply for not being good enough. Today, as one American colonel said bitterly during the Iraq War, “As matters stand now, a private who loses a rifle suffers far greater consequences than a general who loses a war.”
Got the book from my local library, which I truly appreciate.
If you read military and history this is the book for you.
As a bonus Tom Ricks has a blog which is very high quality "http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/"

 

[Old Sweat]

Finished "The Generals" by Thomas E. Ricks. What a delight to read.
Or using the full title which is more accurate and descriptive "The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today."
"History has been kind to the American generals of World War II—Marshall, Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley—and less kind to the generals of the wars that followed. In The Generals, Thomas E. Ricks sets out to explain why that is. In part it is the story of a widening gulf between performance and accountability. During the Second World War, scores of American generals were relieved of command simply for not being good enough. Today, as one American colonel said bitterly during the Iraq War, “As matters stand now, a private who loses a rifle suffers far greater consequences than a general who loses a war.”
Got the book from my local library, which I truly appreciate.
If you read military and history this is the book for you.
As a bonus Tom Ricks has a blog which is very high quality "http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/"

I wholeheartedly support Baden Guy's assessment. The book is excellent.