Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World

( 13 )

Overview

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 ...

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Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World

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More About This Book

Overview

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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Editorial Reviews

The New York Times
At first Mr. Thomas hammers the bluff conceit so hard that he risks sounding forced and facile. But he winds up making a substantive case for the way that Eisenhower, the World War II Allied forces' supreme commander and one of the greatest shoo-ins in American electoral history, brought his military instincts from the battlefield to the White House…Eisenhower's combination of courage, petulance and cunning are hard qualities to reconcile. And Mr. Thomas sometimes has no answers. But he approaches the ever more changeable Eisenhower legacy with new and intriguing questions.
—Janet Maslin
The Washington Post
…a thoroughly researched, tightly organized and briskly written biography…Thomas is especially skilled at bringing characters of the era to life—such as CIA officer Richard Bissell and intelligence chief Walter Bedell Smith—who in too many other books are flat names on a page…Thomas's studied attempt to to understand Eisenhower's presidency as a poker game—whatever the shortcomings of the conceit—forced the author to thoroughly explore the depths of the president's personality, and it pays off. Just as Eisenhower's signature political skill was making the electorate feel that a trustworthy man was in charge, so too does Thomas persuade the reader of Ike's Bluff to trust his judgment of his subject.
—James Ledbetter
The Associated Press
"Well-researched and highly readable...Thomas' account is sure to appeal to older readers who can recall the mandatory duck-and-cover drills in the classroom and to others with an interest in a fascinating and pivotal period when the nation was in better hands than many at the time probably realized."
Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Thomas has written a book that elucidates Eisenhower's wisdom for general readers."
Vanity Fair
"[Thomas is] a five-star biographer who blows apart that image [of Ike as a bumbling old man] with devastating detail."
Walter Isaacson
Evan Thomas's profoundly important book shows how the card-playing general who did as much as anyone to win World War II became the president most adroit at preserving peace. Behind his open smile, Eisenhower was a secretive and subtle leader with quiet moral courage. By projecting confidence while keeping his intentions concealed, he became the model of a nuclear-age peacekeeper. Thomas has produced a fascinating history that is also a brilliant guide to great leadership.
— author of Steve Jobs
Michael Beschloss
Dwight Eisenhower was a great general and President because he was a great leader, and Ike's Bluff uncracks the code. Evan Thomas's original and fascinating book is an immersion in the Eisenhower School of Leadership, with lessons not only for Presidents and military officers but leaders in other arenas of American life operating in moments of both tranquility and rapid change. Especially in these times, Thomas's book is an essential reminder that strong leadership can be exercised with kindness, morality and respect for opponents.
— author of The Conquerors
Janet Maslin
A bustling, anecdotal book with a high-concept premise. [Thomas] approaches the ever more changeable Eisenhower legacy with new and intriguing questions.
— The New York Times
James Ledbetter
A thoroughly researched, tightly organized and briskly written biography...Thomas is especially skilled at bringing characters of the era to life...
— Washington Post
Tom Alderman
Highly absorbing.
— Huffington Post
Eric Spanberg
When the stakes for America and the world were highest, Eisenhower played a winning hand. So, too, does his latest biographer.
— Christian Science Monitor
Janet Maslin - The New York Times
"A bustling, anecdotal book with a high-concept premise. [Thomas] approaches the ever more changeable Eisenhower legacy with new and intriguing questions."
on Hardball - Chris Matthews
"[Thomas] is doing [for Eisenhower] what David McCullough did for John Adams."
Walter Isaacson
"Dwight Eisenhower was a great general and President because he was a great leader, and Ike's Bluff uncracks the code. Evan Thomas's original and fascinating book is an immersion in the Eisenhower School of Leadership, with lessons not only for Presidents and military officers but leaders in other arenas of American life operating in moments of both tranquility and rapid change. Especially in these times, Thomas's book is an essential reminder that strong leadership can be exercised with kindness, morality and respect for opponents.
James Ledbetter - Washington Post
"A thoroughly researched, tightly organized and briskly written biography...Thomas is especially skilled at bringing characters of the era to life..."
Tom Alderman - Huffington Post
"Highly absorbing."
Eric Spanberg - Christian Science Monitor
"When the stakes for America and the world were highest, Eisenhower played a winning hand. So, too, does his latest biographer."
Timothy J. Lockhart - Virginian-Pilot
"Historian and journalist Evan Thomas argues convincingly that keeping the United States out of war is a chief reason [Ike's reputation is on the rise]."
Boston Globe
"An imaginative, approachable volume that may well accelerate Eisenhower's slow but seemingly inexorable movement toward presidential greatness. Evan Thomas is right. The greatest victories of the man who helped win World War II were 'the wars he did not fight."
Los Angeles Times
"An enjoyable book, fast-moving and packed with anecdotes."
National Interest
"Engaging and insightful...Thomas' treatment is valuable...for the verve of its telling and convenience of bringing disparate and specialized sources together."
John Eisenhower
"Evan Thomas has written an insightful and penetrating study of my father, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Dad was a hard man to know; he played it close to the chest. So despite my extensive exposure to him throughout forty six years, I still found myself learning new aspects, some of which, I must admit, are a bit painful. But the balance that Thomas achieves between Eisenhower the public servant and Eisenhower the man is, in my opinion, as close to the mark as we are likely to see."
Chris Matthews on Hardball
"[Thomas] is doing [for Eisenhower] what David McCullough did for John Adams."
Richard Fisher
"Ike's Bluff is a testimony to the need for national leaders who place the nation above self...The book should be required reading for every member of Congress and the president as well."
Dallas Morning News
"Incisive and direct...Evan Thomas brings considerable rhetorical power to his examination of the Eisenhower presidency."
Washington Times
"Works such as Ike's Bluff are encouraging historians and the media to take a closer and more objective look at Dwight D. Eisenhower."
Library Journal
President Eisenhower has enjoyed sustained attention in the past few years (e.g., in Jean Edward Smith's Eisenhower in War and Peace, among others). Now Thomas (journalism, Princeton Univ.; The War Lovers) has produced yet another valuable examination of Eisenhower as a crafty politician who navigated the treacherous waters of the early Cold War period with guile and cleverness, using the same competitive skills he displayed in his bridge and poker games to keep the peace with America's intransigent foes. Thomas's narrative is filled with insights, and his sources—both primary and secondary—are impressive. He depicts Eisenhower as a leader who had seen up close the destruction of war and who was committed to keeping the world from descending into another world war. He was distrustful of what he famously termed the military-industrial complex and labored to keep that burgeoning relationship in check. His youthful successor learned the hard way what Eisenhower intuitively knew: that if the United States enters a conflict, it needs to make sure it can win, a hard truth Americans have had to learn more than once since Eisenhower left office. VERDICT An important and well-written book; a valuable addition to any U.S. history or political science collection. [See Prepub Alert, 3/21/12.]—Ed Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames
The New York Times Book Review
…Thomas doesn't neglect his subject's flaws, and his detailed, engaging picture of Eisenhower's personality brings him vividly to life. Most important, by the end of the book Thomas has made his case that Dwight Eisenhower's "greatest victories were the wars he did not fight."
—Daniel Larison
Kirkus Reviews
The beatification of President Dwight Eisenhower continues in this keen character study. Often viewed as trustworthy but bland, Eisenhower didn't let on what was really roiling behind the comforting exterior, as Thomas (Writing/Princeton Univ.; The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898, 2010, etc.) effectively argues in this chronological look at his presidency. In fact, atomic war loomed: The hydrogen bomb was being routinely tested to the obliteration of Pacific atolls, while the Joint Chiefs of Staff were itching to provoke the Soviet Union and hot spots in Korea, China, Suez and Berlin were offering an opportunity. If anyone knew the devastation of war, Supreme Allied Commander Eisenhower certainly did. While he avoided initial calls to jump into the presidential fray, he was convinced that only he could keep the country secure and at peace; he assumed the duty personally, and the physical burden ruined his health. Thomas emphasizes Ike's mastery at bridge, not because he had consistently good hands but because he could bluff. As he had learned through his World War II strategic command, he promoted an all-or-nothing approach to crises, standing cautious yet willing to throw everything in if required for victory. Tellingly, he moved the stockpiling of atomic weapons from the civilian Atomic Energy Commission to the military, and he did not concern himself with alleviating public hysteria over the threat of atomic warfare. Yet from crisis to crisis, he maintained a "healthy skepticism about the grandiose schemes of the military," leading him to close his presidency with his haunting warning about the "military industrial complex." Thomas ably demonstrates how operating through indirection became Ike's effective peacekeeping strategy. An astute, thoroughly engaging portrayal.
Ronald Steel
In his absorbing narrative of men who found duty or fulfillment or personal meaning in a war for empire-and of other men, like William James, who feared that such a quest would rot the nation's soul-Thomas has illuminated, in a compulsively readable style, a critical moment in American history. This is a book that, with its style and panache, is hard to forget and hard to put down.
— New York Times Book Review
James McGrath Morris
Thomas has delivered an innovative, frequently entertaining and valuable retelling of an episode that set the pattern for more than a century of foreign military adventurism. This timely book is a cautionary tale about how the psyche of powerful and ambitious leaders may matter more than fact-or even truth-when the question of war arises.
— The Washington Post
Steve Weinberg
Thomas takes some risks in his biography of Theodore Roosevelt and his cohorts, trying to get not just inside their actions, but inside their heads. The result is an intriguing examination of the pull that war has on men.
— Minneapolis Star Tribune
Jon Meacham - author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
Terrific Praise for The War Lovers:

No biographer at work today has a surer feel for the human dimension of history than Evan Thomas...The War Lovers is as good as popular history gets."

James McGrath Morris - The Washington Post
"Thomas has delivered an innovative, frequently entertaining and valuable retelling of an episode that set the pattern for more than a century of foreign military adventurism. This timely book is a cautionary tale about how the psyche of powerful and ambitious leaders may matter more than fact-or even truth-when the question of war arises."
Steve Weinberg - Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Thomas takes some risks in his biography of Theodore Roosevelt and his cohorts, trying to get not just inside their actions, but inside their heads. The result is an intriguing examination of the pull that war has on men."
Ronald Steel - New York Times Book Review
"In his absorbing narrative of men who found duty or fulfillment or personal meaning in a war for empire-and of other men, like William James, who feared that such a quest would rot the nation's soul-Thomas has illuminated, in a compulsively readable style, a critical moment in American history. This is a book that, with its style and panache, is hard to forget and hard to put down."
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780316091046
  • Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
  • Publication date: 9/25/2012
  • Pages: 496
  • Sales rank: 24,566
  • Product dimensions: 6.10 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 1.80 (d)

Meet the Author

Evan Thomas is the author of several bestselling works of history and biography, including The War Lovers and Sea of Thunder. He was a writer and editor at Time and Newsweek for more than 30 years, and he is frequently a commentator on television and radio. He teaches at Princeton University and lives in Washington, D.C.

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Table of Contents

Introduction: Tell No One 3

Part 1 Duty: 1953-1956

1 Confidence 21

2 The Card Player 31

3 Positive Loyalty 49

4 Cross of Iron 58

5 Gentleman's Agreement 69

6 Deception 87

7 Learning to Love the Bomb 98

8 The Chamber Pot 115

9 Strange Genius 137

10 "Don't Worry, I'll Confuse them" 152

11 Meeting Mr. Khrushchev 166

12 The Devil's Grip 181

13 Bows and Arrows 198

14 Rising Storm 210

15 Subtle and Brutal 226

Part 2 Honor: 1957-1961

16 Dark Star 243

17 The Great Equation 261

18 The Strong Say Nothing 279

19 Guns of August 295

20 Missile Gap 308

21 Looking for a Partner 317

22 Sweet Words 335

23 A Regular Pixie 353

24 "The Pilot's Alive" 365

25 "I'm Just Fed up!" 380

26 The Underestimated Man 394

Epilogue Peace 405

Acknowledgments 419

Source Notes 423

Bibliography 455

Index 469

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 13 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(3)

4 Star

(6)

3 Star

(2)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(2)

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Sort by: Showing all of 13 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 5, 2013

    I agree with reviews that stated that it was well researched and

    I agree with reviews that stated that it was well researched and highly readable. I don't read a lot of nonfiction, and I only read this because my book group chose it for March, but I was very glad I did read it. I was born the year that Eisenhower became president so I know nothing about his presidency or even much about his military career. This book helped to fill the gap. As I write this, the North Koreans are threatening South Korea and the world with missiles, an eerily familiar scenario, a similar incident having occurred early in Ike's presidency. History does teach us a lot about the present, and it is worthwhile to study it all. The focus of this book was very tightly on foreign policy so we don't learn much about Ike's domestic policies. Overall, it was a good read, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to get a different view of Eisenhower-he was not the wishy washy milquetoast history would have us remember him as.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted January 11, 2013

    more from this reviewer

    Dreadful book.

    One star for the effort it took to publish. This is an amalgam of research items strung together with uninteresting and repetitive narrative. Could have used the services of a stricter editor, but that probably wouldn't have saved it either. Everything is footnoted to death; the sources are very seldom primary, but regurgitatings of someone else's published work. I'm trying to keep slogging through in the hopes that I'll learn something, but the spirit flags.

    2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 30, 2012

    A wonderful book for everyone who grew up in the Eisenhower years

    I really enjoyed this book as a quick read about a very important time in world history and the part Eisenhower, as a career military officer played in keeping the world from being destroyed by nuclear weapons.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 28, 2012

    Recommended read

    Eisenhower was a master of misdirection, and a very underrated president. This book adds useful insight to Ike while he was president and his efforts to deal with new destructive weapons and outlines his efforts toward world peace.

    A worthwhile read!

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 30, 2012

    Problem with sample

    I am wary of buying the full book because the sample was messed up. Whole portions were repeated. What I did read was good.

    1 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted April 13, 2013

    The Greatest President of My Lifetime Explained

    Ike led Allied Forces to victory in WWII. Then he prevented nuclear holocaust in the years when we had nuclear weapons and didn't know how to use them. He saved the world and did a lot of other good things as well. Popular revisionist history from right to left has maligned him. This is the kind of GOP President that should fill our hearts with pride; not the clowns that followed.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 9, 2013

    anything new here? no

    anything new here? no

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 16, 2013

    Best

    Boss

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 11, 2013

    Actually I bought this book as a gift for my son-in-law. Have n

    Actually I bought this book as a gift for my son-in-law. Have not heard from him so I believe he is enjoying this as well as all the other books about Gen. Eisenhower. He is a very loyal fan of the General.

    0 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 26, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 26, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 27, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 25, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

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