PAST FORGETTING

Rating:
Summary: If the situation would have been different...
Review: Kay Summersby is a classy lady! No doubt Eisenhower was in love with her and "If the situation would have been different" as he always said, he sure would have married her after the war. But the circumstances being as they were, it was impossible for him to do so. All during the war, Kay was his nearest companion, his moral support. She had a unique place in Ike's heart, they shared so many historical and unique situations together, some crucials and some happy ones also. No wonder she was shattered when she realized there was no hope of them being together again after the war. They have been as close as a couple might be, and regardless of what the "entourage" and Einsenhower himself said of the "affair" afterwards, theirs was a beautiful love story and, frankly, I just couldn't put that book down.

Rating:
Summary: Ghostwritten but still riveting
Review: Kay Summersby produced this book while dying of cancer. It was actually ghostwritten, but based on material she provided the shadowy author, who writes extremely well. In fact, it's very difficult to put this one down and I have read it several times over the years. Kay paints fascinating word portraits of various WWII personalities she met, including the profane and hilarious Patton, the bombastic Monty, the loquacious Churchill and the shy Omar Bradley.

Of course the most interesting character is Ike himself. There is no doubt Kay was utterly besotted with Eisenhower. She was wildly infatuated with him, as well as being physically attracted to him. How Ike felt about Kay is more nebulous and one can't dismiss the hundreds of love letters Ike penned to Mamie during the time he was entwined with Kay. The fact that Ike's staff denied he was sexually involved with Kay doesn't count for much; for a discreet couple, it's easy to fool outsiders.

Kay writes of two thwarted sexual encounters. Both occurred in public houses where people could presumably walk in on the amorous couple. Their first attempt at being intimate was in England, but Ike couldn't perform. He apologized profusely for this failure, but Kay assured him still she still loved him anyway. Their second attempt at consummation was after VE Day, in Germany. Kay claims that clothes were wildly discarded and they tried to get down to business... but again, Ike was unable to complete the act. Poor Kay!

Historians debate whether this is all wishful thinking. One might question why a woman would invent a situation where her would-be lover is impotent. If you're going to lie, why not go the whole nine yards and invent passionate couplings all over WWII Europe? Indeed, the dialogue Kay invents is more upsetting that her sexual depictions. It's hard to imagine Ike grabbing her and saying, "God-----, Kay, I love you!" Or fantasizing about having a baby with her. This sounds like pure fiction.

Despite all these problems, it's still an incredibly interesting book. You either accept Kay's romance with Ike or you believe she invented it all. I tend to think he was extremely attracted to her but was too uptight to commit adultery, especially with his chauffeur. Still, an excellent read.

Rating:
Summary: Flawed look at her relationship with Eisenhower
Review: Kay Summersby's book is a fascinating look at the inner workings of the Supreme Allied Headquarters during World War II. She writes clearly and consicely about the organization that helped win World War II in Europe, and provides key details about the personalities and relationships between such notable historical figures such as Eisenhower, Churchill, Montgomery, Patton, Bradley, and such.

However, the nature of her relationship with General Dwight D. Eisenhower is the central theme of the book and she repeatedly alludes to their stolen moments together. To a person, all others on Eisenhower's staff deny her accusations, including Eisenhower before his death, and can refute most of her stories of their love. For example, she describes in candid detail interludes and rendevous they supposedly shared, but at the time of many of these, Eisenhower was away from his headquarters or with others, including his wife and/or son.

In her first book, "Eisenhower Was My Boss," written in 1947, she makes no mention of this romantic relationship. Why, then, 30 years later, did she expose the "truth." Perhaps it was because she was on her death bed and looking back on a life unfulfilled. She had two failed marriages, no children, and no job history. A fantasized relationship with Eisenhower, one of the most powerful men in history, could be her legacy.

Aside from the falacious story of the relationship with Eisenhower, "Past Forgetting" is a good read if you are interested in the manner in which World War II in Europe was fought and won on both the political and military fronts.

Rating:
Summary: FINALLY, AN ACCOUNT OF THE FACTS BEHIND THE RUMORS
Review: This book by a dying Kay Summersby is a poignant account of what can happen when a man and a woman are thrown into a wartime work relationship that is unrelentingly stressful and from which neither dare retreat.

In her book, written largely from memory, Kay has no regrets and makes no accusations. She treats her infatuation and love for her near-genius and overstressed boss, Dwight Eisenhower, with grace and sensitive restraint, focusing more on the emotional than the physical. Her book reveals how their extreme discression ensured that virtually no one on Eisenhower's staff understood their special relationship. Anyone who has read the book will understand the post-war denials of truth by those on the periphery of Eisenhower's inner circle. Both knew that when the war ended their love affair also had to end. It is a very personal story without a storybook ending.

Her book gives first-hand insight into the personalities and quirks of the major leaders of WW2. Kay treated the emotional aspects of her mutual relationship with Eisenhower with honesty and objectivity. It was a story that needed telling.