Rating: 
Summary: A Bridge Too Far
Review: This is a wonderful biography.And I do not believe that anyone could do better. But it is just too far a goal...for any biographer! FDR's "limelight" period lasted 12 years. Eisenhower's lasted 20 years! From the beginning of World War II to the end of his second presidency, everybody knew who Ike was! But the meat of this biography is a bit too lean. We need more fat. The book, in trade paperback edition, is 600 pages. It's great reading and I recommend it highly. But we don't really get to know the man. We need more fat for that. Not an interpretation. But some real facts on what the man said, did, and wrote outside of his accomplishments. The reader is left to guess. We follow his "military" and "political" career quite well. In fact, almost perfectly. But were their any facts that we know that motivated the man? What little things did he do? What were his favorite colors? Did he ever tell anybody off? To make it short, after reading this biography, you will agree that this was a great man. But you won't know WHY he was a great man. Without getting gossipy, was his wife an alcoholic? And what was this reaction on him? This is very important! We want his "worldview". We want to know the man. To discover what he was by very personal facts and then make our decisions. It needs 400 more pages (all fat!).
Rating:
Summary: good favorable bio of ike
Review: This is a wonderful book, easy to read and very inspiring. Ike was a qunitesential american from the midwest who rose to the pinnacle of american power. Among the excellent insights in this book you will find:
1) Details of Ike's creation of the Highway system, he had learned first hand that americas roads were unexceptable in the 20s.
2) Ikes decision at Nromandy, where he penned a note in case of disaster.
3) Ike's simple manners and soldierly conduct. The quiet demeanor that held the alliance together.
4) Ike's term as president where he ended the Korean war, and created a policy of intervening to stop communism(Eisenhower doctrin). The BEST book on Ike, a wonderful account. Clearly the best book on Ike ever written. Ambrose brings his superior prose to this volume.
Rating: 
Summary: The best book on Ike
Review: This is a wonderful book, easy to read and very inspiring. Ike was a qunitesential american from the midwest who rose to the pinnacle of american power. Among the excellent insights in this book you will find:
1) Details of Ike's creation of the Highway system, he had learned first hand that americas roads were unexceptable in the 20s.
2) Ikes decision at Nromandy, where he penned a note in case of disaster.
3) Ike's simple manners and soldierly conduct. The quiet demeanor that held the alliance together.
4) Ike's term as president where he ended the Korean war, and created a policy of intervening to stop communism(Eisenhower doctrin). The BEST book on Ike, a wonderful account. Clearly the best book on Ike ever written. Ambrose brings his superior prose to this volume.
Rating:
Summary: More Than Meets the Eye
Review: With D-DAY, CITIZEN SOLDIERS, and UNDAUNTED COURAGE, Stephen E. Ambrose has taken his place with Sir Martin Gilbert, Michael Grant, and Gerald Posner as a top historian. With EISENHOWER: SOLDIER AND PRESIDENT, his earlier biography of the man most responsible for the Allied victory in WWII, we can see his talents beginning to come into bloom. This volume is an abridgement of a two-parter Ambrose authored, and, as such, is not the book CITIZEN SOLDIERS is. Further, there are those who hold that Eisenhower as President really did nothing (a canard this book helps to dispel), and so would be quite boring as the subject of a book. In truth, neither is the case. Ambrose forcefully catalogues Eisenhower's accomplishments, both on the battlefield and in the Oval Office. And, in spite of his obvious asffection for Ike, he is not afraid to deal with the General's shortcomings--his temper, his early failing as a commander, his reluctance to help the Civil Rights Movement, and his use of the CIA in covert actions. Along the way, he paints a marvelous picture of a humane warrior, a man who detested battle beyond even the pacifists of his generation because he'd actually seen what it could do. And he gives a much-needed boost to a presidency that did much more than meets the eye in terms of preserving peace and prosperity in an otherwise dangerous world climate. EISENHOWER: SOLDIER AND PRESIDENT, then, is a great place to start for both an understanding of the importance of Ike AND an introduction to the writing talent of Ambrose.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written Ike bio
Review: You can tell that Stephen Ambrose truly likes and admires his subject, Dwight Eisenhower, yet he's able to present a very balanced sketch of the 34th President in "Eisenhower: Soldier and President". This is Ambrose's condensed, one-volume biography based on his earlier two-volume work, but I didn't feel as though I was missing out on anything. I gained a better understanding of the realities of war from this book. Eisenhower knew when he launched the D-Day invasion, that thousands of soldiers would die even if the mission was successful. It made me think back to earlier in the book, when a young Eisenhower bemoaned the fact that World War I had ended before the West Point graduate saw any 'action'. Be careful what you wish for. Even in monumental success, there had to be quite a weight on Eisenhower's soul from all the young lives lost under his command. I had a little trouble warming up to Eisenhower as reluctant politician. He obviously wanted to run for President, he just didn't want to be seen as someone who wanted to run - he insisted on seeming above the fray, passively waiting to be drafted into presidential politics. Similarly, he liked to act like he was above party politics, was coy about his party affiliation for quite a long time, didn't really want to be associated with Republican party politics - he just seemed like he was in the mushy middle to me. Ambrose provides interesting insight into Eisenhower's relationship with his Vice President, Richard Nixon. When they were running in 1952 and Nixon was engulfed in the financial controversy that led to the famous "Checkers" speech, Eisenhower once again was passive - he didn't back Nixon up, he listened too much to the (mostly liberal, Nixon-hating) traveling media, he left it up to people sending telegrams to the RNC as to whether he'd keep Nixon on the ticket. The interesting thing, however, is that Eisenhower was infuriated by a little-remembered aspect of the "Checkers" speech. Nixon challenged the candidates on the Democrat ticket to disclose all of their finances, as he had done. Eisenhower knew that he would now have to disclose his finances as well and the intensely private Eisenhower (at least with regard to his finances) never forgave Nixon for causing this invasion of his financial privacy. Sometimes when I read a book like this, the most bizarre and trivial thing will stick with me. In the case of President Eisenhower, it was this unusual example of candidate Eisenhower's detachment from everyday American life, found on p.299 of the paperback edition: "To leave his mind and his time free, he had others to do the most basic of human chores for him. He did not dress himself - John Moaney, his valet, put on his underwear, socks, shoes, pants, shirt, jacket and tie." Unfortunately, now everytime I hear Eisenhower mentioned, I think about how he had a manservant to put his underwear on for him. I mean, how free does your mind have to be? (Thanks a lot Mr. Ambrose, I can't unring that bell). This is an enjoyable and informative book. I knew next to nothing about Eisenhower before I opened it and I learned a lot. While I wouldn't say that Mr. Ambrose's book made me want to learn even more about Ike, it did make me want to read other Ambrose books.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written Ike bio
Review: You can tell that Stephen Ambrose truly likes and admires his subject, Dwight Eisenhower, yet he's able to present a very balanced sketch of the 34th President in "Eisenhower: Soldier and President". This is Ambrose's condensed, one-volume biography based on his earlier two-volume work, but I didn't feel as though I was missing out on anything. I gained a better understanding of the realities of war from this book. Eisenhower knew when he launched the D-Day invasion, that thousands of soldiers would die even if the mission was successful. It made me think back to earlier in the book, when a young Eisenhower bemoaned the fact that World War I had ended before the West Point graduate saw any 'action'. Be careful what you wish for. Even in monumental success, there had to be quite a weight on Eisenhower's soul from all the young lives lost under his command. I had a little trouble warming up to Eisenhower as reluctant politician. He obviously wanted to run for President, he just didn't want to be seen as someone who wanted to run - he insisted on seeming above the fray, passively waiting to be drafted into presidential politics. Similarly, he liked to act like he was above party politics, was coy about his party affiliation for quite a long time, didn't really want to be associated with Republican party politics - he just seemed like he was in the mushy middle to me. Ambrose provides interesting insight into Eisenhower's relationship with his Vice President, Richard Nixon. When they were running in 1952 and Nixon was engulfed in the financial controversy that led to the famous "Checkers" speech, Eisenhower once again was passive - he didn't back Nixon up, he listened too much to the (mostly liberal, Nixon-hating) traveling media, he left it up to people sending telegrams to the RNC as to whether he'd keep Nixon on the ticket. The interesting thing, however, is that Eisenhower was infuriated by a little-remembered aspect of the "Checkers" speech. Nixon challenged the candidates on the Democrat ticket to disclose all of their finances, as he had done. Eisenhower knew that he would now have to disclose his finances as well and the intensely private Eisenhower (at least with regard to his finances) never forgave Nixon for causing this invasion of his financial privacy. Sometimes when I read a book like this, the most bizarre and trivial thing will stick with me. In the case of President Eisenhower, it was this unusual example of candidate Eisenhower's detachment from everyday American life, found on p.299 of the paperback edition: "To leave his mind and his time free, he had others to do the most basic of human chores for him. He did not dress himself - John Moaney, his valet, put on his underwear, socks, shoes, pants, shirt, jacket and tie." Unfortunately, now everytime I hear Eisenhower mentioned, I think about how he had a manservant to put his underwear on for him. I mean, how free does your mind have to be? (Thanks a lot Mr. Ambrose, I can't unring that bell). This is an enjoyable and informative book. I knew next to nothing about Eisenhower before I opened it and I learned a lot. While I wouldn't say that Mr. Ambrose's book made me want to learn even more about Ike, it did make me want to read other Ambrose books.
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