How Ike Led

The Principles Behind Eisenhower's Biggest Decisions

By: Susan Eisenhower

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne, Susan Eisenhower

Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

"The work is clear-eyed but naturally imbued with a granddaughter's affection. Narrator Bernadette Dunne's amiable manner is a good match for the author's tone, objective but tinged with warmth...Dunne manages to go beyond the plain sense of the text to give us the author as an intelligent, sensible, well-spoken person who is examining an important life in a way that informs, pleases, and serves as a lesson for the present day." (AudioFile Magazine)

This program includes an audiobook exclusive introduction written and read by Susan Eisenhower and a newly remastered version of President Eisenhower's 1961 Farewell Address.

How Dwight D. Eisenhower led America through a transformational time — by a DC policy strategist, security expert, and his granddaughter. 

Few people have made decisions as momentous as Eisenhower, nor has one person had to make such a varied range of them. From D-Day to Little Rock, from the Korean War to Cold War crises, from the Red Scare to the Missile Gap controversies, he was able to give our country eight years of peace and prosperity by relying on a core set of principles. These were informed by his heritage and upbringing, his strong character and his personal discipline, but he also avoided making himself the center of things. He tried to be the calmest man in the room, not the loudest. So instead of seeking to fulfill his personal desires and political needs, he pursued a course he called the "Middle Way" that tried to make winners on both sides of a situation.

In addition, Ike maintained a big picture view on any situation; he was a strategic, not an operational leader. He also ensured that he had all the information he needed to make a decision. His talent for envisioning a whole, especially in the context of the long game, and his ability to see causes and various consequences, explains his success as Allied Commander President. Then, after making a decision, he made himself accountable for it, prizing responsibility most of all his principles.

Susan Eisenhower's How Ike Led shows us not just what a great American did, but why — and what we can learn from him today.

A Macmillan Audio production from Thomas Dunne Books

"[Susan Eisenhower] lays bare the essence of her grandfather’s leadership in war and peace — his singular devotion to the unity and security of the American people and the nation’s allies.” (Wall Street Journal)

©2020 Susan Eisenhower (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

A President of the UNITED States

We already have a good understanding of our current political situation thanks to excellent investigative reporting. Susan Eisenhower's superb memoir of her grandfather's presidency is what we need to hear now. My generation remembers him as a real, living person, but for the majority of Americans, he is a historical character.

I cannot thank Ms. Eisenhower enough for bringing one of our most thoughtful and capable leaders back into public consciousness. This book is brilliant and essential reading for those who want to know what worked before and how to go forward into the future.

We know where we are. Thank you Ms. Eisenhower for showing us where we need to go.

Excellent

If I had read this book a few years ago, I would have said interesting and moved on; but, in light of the current state of the country and world, this book took on a whole new meaning. Much of what is in this book is critical to our current situation and the state of democracy in this country. Eisenhower was our last bipartisan president. Ike had no political party preference and for four years prior to his running for president both political parties attempted to get him on their ticket. When he was commander of NATO forces, he felt that democracy was in trouble in America and felt it was his duty to run for president.

The book is well written and researched. Susan Eisenhower is writing about her grandfather and the man she knew as a child. I am going to present a few points I felt were important for our current time. You will need to read the book to understand the full impact. Before deciding on which party to join, Ike interviewed both Stevenson and Robert Taft. Taft was a far-right wing politician; he believed the country should isolate itself from the world; and he favored Joe McCarthy. Ike felt Taft was accelerating the divide in the country. Ike also felt the Democrats had been in power too long. He felt isolationism was no longer possible in a nuclear world. He chose the Republican Party as he felt it was on the wrong track. He won the presidency. He selected his cabinet and staff by who was best for the job not which party they belonged too. Ike stated: the key role of the president was to unify the country. He was adamite that education was critical for a good democracy. He also pushed for civics to be taught in school. He felt everyone needs to know how government works and their obligation to it. He felt that by building a better middle class it was the best way to correct and deal with social and economic problems. He also set about rebuilding the infrastructure as it was vital for defense and commerce.

What really grabbed my attention was his view of the courts. Ike stated that it was critical for a good democracy to have it courts and judicial system non-political. He stated that it was vital for the courts to have a wide variety of viewpoints. He said the Supreme Court must represent the diverse variety of the country and come from all over the country not just one region. He also said the court much keep touch with the majority of the country. Ike stated that no extreme viewpoint should be appointed such as the far-right or far-left, racist or anti-Semitism. He said if one party or extremist viewpoint controlled the Supreme Court, democracy would lose. Both Truman and Eisenhower appointed people to the Supreme Court of opposite political parties. They chose who they thought would be best and would add a different viewpoint. (could you see that happening today) Even though Ike’s presidency was in the 1950s, what he thought about the threats to democracy is important for today. I think that everyone should read this book.

The book is twelve hours and forty minutes. Bernadette Dunne does a good job narrating the book.

Best work on Ike

This is the best work on Ike. Not from an historian’s perspective. Very telling of what we should focus on now

Ike to the top

This book easily elevated Ike to my top US President! A balanced book on Ike’s leadership and his approach.

Wonderful inside info on Eisenhower

Thanks to Susan Eisenhower, we now have record of anecdotes that show us that Eisenhower was a very nice guy as well as a great military leader and president. For example, it’s great to know that in the famous photo of Ike talking to the troops before D-Day, he was talking about his fishing experience in one of the regions that one of the paratroopers was from. Ike deeply cared about individual people as a general and president.

His legacy as president has been underrated. His handling of McCarthy worked despite what critics said. His bipartisanship, although impossible today, worked well for his era when most politicians had the good of the US at heart. His shaping of the Republican Party brought it into the 20th century after twenty years in the background. His civil rights stand created a beachhead for Lyndon Johnson’s policies in the next decade. And, of course, we can’t ever forget his interstate highway system!!

Eisenhower is in the top 5 leaders of the nation’s history. Thanks, Susan Eisenhower, for keeping your grandfather’s legacy alive!

Great book!

I didn't know much about Eisenhower other than what I had learned and read in my casual reading about him. I am now so impressed with him, and the work that he did both in the military and in the government. He is definitely someone to admire, learn about, and learn from.

impossible to enjoy

The narrator is monotone and robotic. I was very excited about this title, but I could only get through three chapters. Brutal to listen to. Would be perfect if you're having troubles sleeping though.

Narrators voice

Narrator voice is not easy in the ears. I tried to plow through it and listen to the book, but now it seems I might have to buy the book and read it myself.

A Book and a President for Our Times

A tour de force. Not only one of the best biographies I’ve ever read, but also one of the best books on leadership as well. I will be quoting from it in my own forthcoming second edition of of my book on trustworthy leadership.

Ike is the President we need now in our sadly divided country, whose genius at moderation and leading as a moderate reveals, as his granddaughter has written and quoted from him, the courage and humility that “the Middle Way” required. It also shows that standing one’s ground and refusing to concede that the other side has any value or truth to it is the act of a coward rather than a principled leader. I will be doing my best to emulate him as I am about to assume a deanship at another university.

the narrator is hard to listen too

hard to listen to the narrator. Her voice is not one I want to listen too.

A important book for our time.

Required reading for the World's current poor leaders. Ike faced huge challenges, but with grace and dignity led the US through very difficult times. His granddaughter has done a wonderful job, to give us a personal insight into one of the World's greastest men.