Eisenhower lovingly lays bare the essence of her grandfather’s leadership in war and peace ... a unique story, based upon personal experience, family letters and interviews with Dwight Eisenhower’s close friends and advisers ... Ms. Eisenhower is at her best when encapsulating the 'evolution' of Ike’s postwar thinking about entering politics and running for president as a Republican ... Ms. Eisenhower effectively makes the case that, once her grandfather became president, he succeeded in eventually ending Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s power and influence by refusing to engage him, thus depriving the anticommunist demagogue of the headlines that cloaked him with a veneer of legitimacy. Her effort to play down Ike’s appeasement of McCarthy during the campaign of 1952, however, rings hollow ... Her sympathetic yet insightful study of Ike’s leadership principles will stay with readers.
A direct witness to Ike’s later years, the author draws on memories of her grandfather, and these highly personal anecdotes supplement her research. Armchair historians will treasure this book.
The author is clearly determined to remind readers of his many accomplishments ... A patent paean to a beloved grandfather and his military, political, and family achievements.
