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Ike's Bluff
- President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
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Publisher's summary
Upon assuming the presidency in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower came to be seen by many as a doddering lightweight. Yet behind the bland smile and apparent simplemindedness was a brilliant, intellectual tactician. As Evan Thomas reveals in his provocative examination of Ike's White House years, Eisenhower was a master of calculated duplicity. As with his bridge and poker games he was eventually forced to stop playing after leaving too many fellow army officers insolvent, Ike could be patient and ruthless in the con, and generous and expedient in his partnerships. Facing the Soviet Union, China, and his own generals, some of whom believed a first strike was the only means of survival, Eisenhower would make his boldest and riskiest bet yet, one of such enormity that there could be but two outcomes: the survival of the world, or its end.
This is the story of how he won.
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I am scared in retrospect
- By theenglishmajor on 06-26-11
By: Frederick Kempe
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The Accidental President
- Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World
- By: A. J. Baime
- Narrated by: Tony Messano
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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The dramatic, pulse-pounding story of Harry Truman's first four months in office, when this unlikely president had to take on Germany, Japan, Stalin, and the atomic bomb, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
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Exceptional
- By Jean on 11-14-17
By: A. J. Baime
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Charlie Wilson's War
- The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
- By: George Crile
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Charlie Wilson's War is the untold story behind the last battle of the Cold War and how it fueled the rise of militant Islam. George Crile tells how Charlie Wilson, a maverick congressman from east Texas, conspired with a rogue CIA operative to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful covert operation in the agency's history.
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The REAL Story of the Middle East and the CIA
- By Dale on 08-24-04
By: George Crile
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Pearl Harbor
- FDR Leads the Nation into War
- By: Steven M. Gillon
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Franklin D. Roosevelt famously called December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy." History would prove him correct; the events of that day - when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor - ended the Great Depression, changed the course of FDR's presidency, and swept America into World War II. In Pearl Harbor, acclaimed historian Steven M. Gillon provides a vivid, minute-by-minute account of Roosevelt's skillful leadership in the wake of the most devastating military assault in American history. FDR proved both decisive and deceptive, inspiring the nation....
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rehash that excludes faults of FDR
- By mike hammer on 10-31-11
By: Steven M. Gillon
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Citizens of London
- The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is the behind-the-scenes story of how the United States forged its wartime alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of three key American players in London: Edward R. Murrow, Averell Harriman, and John Gilbert Winant. Drawing from a variety of primary sources, Olson skillfully depicts the dramatic personal journeys of these men who, determined to save Britain from Hitler, helped convince a cautious Franklin Roosevelt and a reluctant American public to support the British at a critical time.
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If we are together nothing is impossible
- By Susan on 03-06-10
By: Lynne Olson
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Reagan at Reykjavik
- Forty-Eight Hours That Ended the Cold War
- By: Ken Adelman
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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A dramatic account of the historic 1986 Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Iceland - the turning point in the Cold War - by Ken Adelman, Reagan's arms control director and a key player in that weekend's world-changing events. In October 1986, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met for a forty-eight-hour summit in Reykjavik, Iceland. Planned as a short gathering to outline future talks, the meeting quickly turned to major international issues, including SDI ("Star Wars") and the possibility of eliminating all nuclear weapons.
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Outstanding Tribute
- By MOV on 11-17-23
By: Ken Adelman
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The Conquerors
- Roosevelt, Truman, and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945
- By: Michael Beschloss
- Narrated by: Michael Beschloss
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Abridged
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From Michael Beschloss, one of America's most respected historians, The Conquerors reveals one of the most important stories of World War II. As Allied soldiers fought the Nazis, Franklin Roosevelt and, later, Harry Truman fought in private with Churchill and Stalin over how to ensure that Germany could never threaten the world again.
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Poor narration
- By Gary Bradt on 02-01-03
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The Brilliant Disaster
- JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba
- By: Jim Rasenberger
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The U.S.-backed military invasion of Cuba in 1961 remains one of the most ill-fated blunders in American history, with echoes of the event reverberating even today. Despite the Kennedy administration’s initial public insistence that the United States had nothing to do with the invasion, it soon became clear that the complex operation had been planned and approved by the best and brightest minds at the highest reaches of Washington, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President John F. Kennedy himself.
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US Government Perspective
- By Kindle Customer on 05-25-11
By: Jim Rasenberger
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A Force So Swift
- Mao, Truman, and the Birth of Modern China, 1949
- By: Kevin Peraino
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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In the opening months of 1949, US President Harry S. Truman found himself faced with a looming diplomatic catastrophe - "perhaps the greatest that this country has ever suffered", as the journalist Walter Lippmann put it. Throughout the spring and summer, Mao Zedong's Communist armies fanned out across mainland China, annihilating the rival troops of America's onetime ally Chiang Kai-shek and taking control of Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities.
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360-Degrees of China, Very Good History Book
- By Jose on 06-19-18
By: Kevin Peraino
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JFK's Last Hundred Days
- The Transformation of a Man and the Emergence of a Great President
- By: Thurston Clarke
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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A revelatory, minute-by-minute account of JFK’s final days that asks what might have been. Fifty years after his assassination, President John F. Kennedy’s legend endures. Noted author and historian Thurston Clarke reexamines the last months of the president’s life to show a man in the midst of great change, both in his family and in the key issues of his day: The Cold War, Civil Rights, and Vietnam, finally on the cusp of making good on his extraordinary promise.
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In Depth and Beautifully Written
- By grace on 06-03-23
By: Thurston Clarke
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A Rather Poor History
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A simpler time?
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Why they decided to drop the atomic bombs
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Good, although biased, biography
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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.
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A President of the UNITED States
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Robert Kennedy
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A good book spoiled
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John Paul Jones
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Swashbuckler or Saviour
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First
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May 1940: The world is stunned as Hitler's forces invade France with a devastating blitzkrieg aimed at Paris. Within weeks, the French government has collapsed, and the City of Lights, revered for its carefree lifestyle, intellectual freedom, and love of liberty, has fallen under Nazi control — perhaps forever.
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Incorrectly titled
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In this classic portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower the soldier, best-selling historian Stephen E. Ambrose examines the Allied commander's leadership during World War II. Ambrose brings Eisenhower's experience of the Second World War to life, showing in vivid detail how the general's skill as a diplomat and a military strategist contributed to Allied successes in North Africa and in Europe and established him as one of the greatest military leaders in the world.
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Operation Chastise
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The attack on Nazi Germany’s dams on May 17, 1943, was one of the most remarkable feats in military history. The absurdly young men of the Royal Air Force’s 617 Squadron set forth in cold blood and darkness, without benefit of electronic aids, to fly lumbering heavy bombers straight and level towards a target at a height above the water less than the length of a bowling alley. Yet this story has never been told in full. Max Hastings takes us back to the May 1943 raid to reveal how the truth of that night is considerably different from the popularized account most people know.
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Wish He Had Stuck to the Core Story
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The Warburgs
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Bankers, philanthropists, scholars, socialites, artists, and politicians, the Warburgs stood at the pinnacle of German (and, later, German American) Jewry. They forged economic dynasties, built mansions and estates, assembled libraries, endowed charities, and advised a German kaiser and two American presidents. But their very success made the Warburgs lightning rods for anti-Semitism, and their sense of patriotism became increasingly dangerous in a Germany that had declared Jews the enemy.
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The Warburg's Dynamic Family History
- By Darwin8u on 10-22-18
By: Ron Chernow
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Retribution
- The Battle for Japan, 1944 - 45
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 27 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In his critically acclaimed Armageddon, Hastings detailed the last twelve months of the struggle for Germany. Here, in what can be considered a companion volume, he covers the horrific story of the war against Japan. By the summer of 1944 it was clear that Japan’s defeat was inevitable, but how the drive to victory would be achieved remained to be seen. The ensuing drama–that ended in Japan’s utter devastation–was acted out across the vast stage of Asia.
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A superb study by one of the world's finest histor
- By Easton Reader on 12-22-16
By: Max Hastings
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Black Snow
- Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb
- By: James M. Scott
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Seven minutes past midnight on March 10, 1945, nearly 300 American B-29s thundered into the skies over Tokyo. Their payloads of incendiaries ignited a firestorm that reached up to 2,800 degrees, liquefying asphalt and vaporizing thousands; sixteen square miles of the city were flattened and more than 100,000 men, women, and children were killed. Black Snow is the story of this devastating operation, orchestrated by Major General Curtis LeMay, who famously remarked: "If we lose the war, we'll be tried as war criminals."
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Top notch!
- By anonymous on 10-24-22
By: James M. Scott
What listeners say about Ike's Bluff
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jean
- 09-30-14
Seems like he played a lot of golf
This book is primarily about Eisenhower’s foreign policy and how he successfully kept the United States out of a major war during his eight years as president, which was his major goal. I have just finished reading “The Brother” by Stephen Kinzer about John Foster Dulles, Eisenhower’s Secretary of State and Allen Dulles his head of the CIA. The two books complement each other to give me a more complete picture of the Eisenhower era. I lived through this period in history and it does not seem like it was that long ago, on the other hand, so much has happened since the ‘50s it seem like a long time ago. Reading these two book helps understand the problems of today. Eisenhower’s ambiguity is a recurring theme in the book. His style was to avoid telling anyone his definite views on a subject. Eisenhower was a shrewd operator who never let anyone know whether he would use nuclear weapons or not.
The author uses the Hungarian uprising of 1956 as an example of one of Eisenhower’s best and worst moments for his policy of “take a hard line—and bluff”. Though he successfully avoided a major war the Soviet Union over Hungary, choosing containment over confrontation, and his administration’s rhetoric about “rolling back” communism encouraged Hungarians to expect America’s support which did not come. A “CIA backed clandestine radio stations” had been encouraging Hungarians to fight.
Eisenhower let John Foster Dulles carry the rhetoric for his administration. Ike willing let himself appear disengaged, even weak to unbalance his opponents. The author states that Eisenhower skill at concealment, deception and secrecy turned Allen Dulles loose at the CIA. Mostly Thomas portrays Eisenhower in a favorable light.
I found the book interesting and with “The Brothers” gave me a good over view of the 1950’s international politics. Brian Troxell did an excellent job narrating the book.
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23 people found this helpful
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- Zdwpa
- 02-02-13
Ike bluffing way to peace
What did you like best about this story?
This book was intriguing because it laid out in remarkable detail Ike's understated leadership qualities. The picture of Ike accumulating consensus for a very confrontational nuclear strategy was engrossing. This listen was hard to stop once started.
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16 people found this helpful
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- David
- 10-22-15
Way More than a Beaming Smile
"Ike's Bluff" forcefully makes the case for the depth, intelligence, fortitude and courage of President Eisenhower. Often underrated for his relaxed smile and his love of golf, Eisenhower is shown to be a canny cold warrior, ensuring a degree of international peace through the "bluff" that the US was prepared to use nuclear weapons to stop Russian expansion. The portrait is balanced, showing Ike as a supporter of CIA-sponsored coups and assassinations of Communist-leaning foreign leaders but an opponent (or skeptical supporter) of some of the defense establishment's other misguided strategies--especially those that increased the likelihood of nuclear war. The section on the downing of the U-2 spy plane over Russia and Khruschev's response is compelling. There are excellent portraits of many military and CIA leaders, often shown as barely controllable actors, as well as intriguing figures like his wife Mamie, his doctor and his secretary.
Ike was an excellent card player at the table of international diplomacy. His poker skills (he gave up playing as a soldier after repeatedly cleaning out his buddies) and his bridge skills taught him strategic skills, anticipating the plays of others and knowing when to bluff.
The book focuses too on Eisenhower as a vulnerable aging man, worried about his deteriorating health, popping pills to help himself sleep. The author doesn't hold back from reports on Ike's bowel movements, his cuddling in bed with his wife and even his Metrecal for lunch. Overall, the reader gains great respect for Eisenhower, who served the country faithfully and with deep personal sacrifice. And at the end, Ike is praised for identifying the risks of the military-industrial complex, a term he originated to express his dismay at the constant pressures to increase the arms race.
The narration was serviceable and easy to listen to, although some names were mispronounced.
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12 people found this helpful
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- Not Dick Hausler
- 11-02-14
Great Biography, Great historical perspective
Would you listen to Ike's Bluff again? Why?
As we finally are moving beyond the world that Ike built, it's fascinating to read about this pivitol character in it's creation. Excellent narrative, important behind the scenes information exposed, told well.
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8 people found this helpful
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- A. M.
- 10-06-14
Ike is sure to surprise and intrigue!
Any additional comments?
A well told story of president Eisenhower during difficult and dangerous times in the new nuclear age. I learned much about Ike I didn't know before, not all of it positive. The only shortcoming in Ike's Bluff was that it lacked some moral objectivity on some of the dirty dealings Ike involved himself and the country in, like Guatemala, etc.
Was Ike right for the age or did we luck out? That's the hard question.
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7 people found this helpful
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- eclectic reader
- 05-15-13
Made Eisenhower come alive in a personal way
I grew up in the forties and fifties so the story of Eisenhower was one central to my youth. I found it fascinating to gain a new insight into the man and the times. While ones political sensibilities may color your reception to the book, it was in most ways relatively apolitical, focusing more on international issues.
It works well as an audiobook, although from time to time it seemed to jump around in chronology.
I found the book surprisingly enjoyable.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Bill
- 04-21-14
Great Book
If you could sum up Ike's Bluff in three words, what would they be?
Great book on understanding Eisenhower's presidency. Brought back a lot of 1950's memories. You'll enjoy it. Well narrated.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Catherine
- 01-19-13
skip part 1
Listening to the audio part 1, I wondered if this author had forgotten how to write history. He opens with an endless prologue, endlessly stitching together vignettes and stories about Ike, in no discernible order, many times repeating stories, all to set up his theme, which is that Ike governed much the way he played poker. FINALLY I skipped to Part 2 and was very pleasantly surprised. We get vivid depictions of Ike facing off against the demons in his cabinet, the CIA, Russia, and his own complex personality. Gripping history and excellent biography. The ending is also too long. Where was this author's editor?! Recommended for listeners who are not afraid to skip forward on their iPod.
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- Emil
- 11-27-12
Good Read
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I think it's a good book that is worth reading/listening to; however, if you've read about Eisenhower's Administration before, you won't find much eyeopening in this book.
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- Gary
- 04-18-23
Excellent
Another great book by Evan Thomas. Ike has long been an underrated President and this brings his understated style & effectiveness to light.
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