The Age of Eisenhower

America and the World in the 1950s

By: William I. Hitchcock

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 25 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

An original and penetrating assessment of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, showing Ike's enormous influence on modern America, the Cold War, and on the presidency itself.

In a 2017 survey, presidential historians ranked Dwight D. Eisenhower fifth on the list of great presidents, behind the perennial top four: Lincoln, Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Teddy Roosevelt. Historian William Hitchcock shows that this high ranking is justified. Eisenhower's accomplishments were enormous and loom ever larger from the vantage point of our own tumultuous times. A former general, Ike kept the peace: He ended the Korean War, avoided a war in Vietnam, adroitly managed a potential confrontation with China, and soothed relations with the Soviet Union after Stalin's death. He guided the Republican Party to embrace central aspects of the New Deal like Social Security. He thwarted the demagoguery of McCarthy, and he advanced the agenda of civil rights for African Americans. As part of his strategy to wage and win the Cold War, Eisenhower expanded American military power, built a fearsome nuclear arsenal and launched the space race. In his famous Farewell Address, he acknowledged that Americans needed such weapons in order to keep global peace - but he also admonished his citizens to remain alert to the potentially harmful influence of the "military-industrial complex".

From 1953 to 1961, no one dominated the world stage as did President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Age of Eisenhower is the definitive account of this presidency, drawing extensively on declassified material from the Eisenhower Library, the CIA, and the Defense Department and troves of unpublished documents. In his masterful account, Hitchcock shows how Ike shaped modern America, and he astutely assesses Eisenhower's close confidants, from Attorney General Brownell to Secretary of State Dulles. The result is an eye-opening reevaluation that explains why this "do-nothing" president is rightly regarded as one of the best leaders our country has ever had.

©2018 William I. Hitchcock (P)2018 Simon & Schuster Audio

Great Listen

This book shed much light on, what I feel, is an overlooked time in American history.

Fantastic analysis of an often overlooked man

The Age of Eisenhower is an in-depth account of a somewhat misunderstood and under appreciated man and time in our nation’s history. From his ending of the Korean War to his policy of peace through strength and his better-than-popularly-understood record on civil rights, Ike’s accomplishments are numerous. As the author astutely points out, Ike was disparaged by the press and his successor JFK at the conclusion of his presidency and is only recently regarded as one of our nation’s greatest chief executives.

The Audible version of this excellent book is well narrated and easy to listen to in the car.

Highly recommend!

Must Read /Listen So many things about our President that still reverberate today

So what do know about things that shaped our world after WW2? What challenged America during the atomlc proliferation? Who created NASA that led us into Space? This history is about a man shaped by events that altered who we are as the world’s superpower and what was necessary to achieve it. It also does not try to cover up mistakes that were made. All I can say that this biography is a must read as it is pithy and explains alot about how we got here today.

Great

This biography performed well and provided a lot of interesting information and insight. I really enjoyed it.

His presidency was not without major failures.

As rated, I thought the narration was very good. The book provides an excellent account of Eisenhower’s presidency. He did provide leadership regarding the economy and relations with most governments. However, the author fails to really fault Eisenhower’s allowing the CIA under Dulles to run unrestrained in interfering with foreign governments as well as planning the overthrow of many. The author fails to hold Eisenhower accountable for his real reluctance to address civil rights and intervention. I came away with the belief belief that Eisenhower treated race relations in society as he did fit the military-separate was acceptable. It was clear he played too much golf even while he was attempting to make critical decisions. I can’t but believe that when historians rate Eisenhower high that they are influenced by his handling of WW II.

Hell of a book

Excellent book about one of the greatest men of the 20th century. The reader was good, the content was better.

A legend

We need Ike now. Man with great poise with wisdom and judgement. Guided country through very challenging times.

Fantastic

This is one of the best books I have listened to on Audible. It is a compelling narrative of a fascinating and pivotal period in American history. Ike was at the center of it all. I strongly recommend this book
for anyone interested in what was going on beneath the headlines of
the 1950’s. It is superbly written and superbly narrated.

Just wonderful

What a great listen! Very honest accounts of the good, the bad and the great moments of my leadership hero.

A Very Thorough and Balanced Biography

Hitchcock has written a very thorough and balanced biography of Eisenhower's years as President. It is not meant to be a chronicle of his entire life. Within its scope, the book is very comprehensive and interesting. Although the book generally is kind to Eisenhower, it is not a fawning portrayal and includes appropriate criticism, particularly of the U-2 affair and Eisenhower's approval of covert action that was much in contrast to his public foreign policy.

Probably the best thing this book does is to present a portrait of a decent and highly intelligent man who had to govern in a very difficult time. He did this mostly by moderation and largely in a bi-partisan way. To critics, such as on civil rights, he never did enough. But he probably did what was possible during his time--a time that included a block of southern Democrats (yes, Democrats) committed to segregation. This moderate approach also won out on foreign policy--he was able to end the war in Korea and avoid war elsewhere. He was not afraid to play hardball--including with our allies--when necessary.

The book is also notable in the respect that Eisenhower clearly had for the office he occupied. This sense of respect seems to have been lacking both inside the office and outside for most of the last twenty years.

Written from enough distance, the book offers a great sense of perspective. It is clear that the political "intelligentsia" of the time vastly underestimated and underappreciated him. The only consistency with that crowd is how often they were wrong then, and how constant that has stayed through the years.

Excellent book. Good narration.