“William Hitchcock has given us an absorbing account of an era that looms large not only in the long history of the West but in our time. Dwight Eisenhower helped create a strong, dynamic, and in many ways enviable America. There were flaws, yes, and dreams deferred—but taken all in all, Ike’s achievements on the battlefield and in the public square of peacetime are towering, and we live still in their long shadow.”
— Jon Meacham, author of Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George H.W. Bush and American Lion
“Eisenhower’s steady hand, deep experience, and seriousness of purpose served America well during eight perilous years. William Hitchcock’s insightful and stimulating study couldn’t be more timely.”
— H. W. Brands, University of Texas
From 1945 to 1961, no American dominated politics and society more than Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was the nation’s pre-eminent soldier and diplomat, an academic leader, and from January 1953, the thirty-fourth President of the United States. Yet Ike remains somewhat elusive. What ideas drove him? What were his greatest achievements as president? What legacy did he leave? And what can we learn about our own hyper-partisan time by studying Eisenhower?
In “The Age of Eisenhower,” award-winning University of Virginia historian William I. Hitchcock explains why Ike matters and shows what we can learn from him.