This morning I finished reading “Eisenhower In War and Peace, by Jean Edward Smith, published by Random House, a very large book, published by Random House. I am just old enough to remember some odds and ends of Eisenhower’s presidency. I was struck by two things: Ike’s social class, which evolved from his military career, and the terrible proofreading of the text. I am sure I have never read a book with comparable proofreading errors. But all in all, it was educational. ——Alan
The biggest items were that there is a great difference between a staff officer and a battlefield commander, which Ike had to learn in the early stages of WWII, and carried over into his presidency. The CIA learned how to manipulate that, resulting in our continuing difficulties in Latin America and Iran. It became clear how Ike became so popular among voters. I also filled in my knowledge of WWII and post-WWII history. —Alan
Hoping you all read Heather Cox Richardson’s post on Friday night!
ReplyDeleteMaybe this will take DT down at last?
Reminds me of the way the Watergate scandal developed.
ReplyDelete-----Alan
Yes.
DeleteOne can hope.
This morning I finished reading “Eisenhower In War and Peace, by Jean Edward Smith, published by Random House, a very large book, published by Random House. I am just old enough to remember some odds and ends of Eisenhower’s presidency. I was struck by two things: Ike’s social class, which evolved from his military career, and the terrible proofreading of the text. I am sure I have never read a book with comparable proofreading errors. But all in all, it was educational.
ReplyDelete——Alan
What did you learn of significance?
DeleteThe biggest items were that there is a great difference between a staff officer and a battlefield commander, which Ike had to learn in the early stages of WWII, and carried over into his presidency. The CIA learned how to manipulate that, resulting in our continuing difficulties in Latin America and Iran. It became clear how Ike became so popular among voters. I also filled in my knowledge of WWII and post-WWII history.
Delete—Alan