The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s is a 2018 book written by William I. Hitchcock and published by Simon & Schuster. In the book, Hitchcock covers the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s. Upon its release, the book received generally positive reviews.
 First edition | |
| Author | William Hitchcock |
|---|---|
| Genre | History |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 2018 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Book |
| Pages | 672 |
| ISBN | 978-1439175668 |
The book is written by William Hitchcock, a historian who studies modern European history and Cold War history. [1] Hitchcock spent eight years researching and writing the book, using archives from the Eisenhower Presidential Library, the National Archives at College Park , the Library of Congress, and the Miller Center for Public Affairs. [2]
The Age of Eisenhower covers the Eisenhower presidency, including domestic affairs, which Hitchcock labelled as "a middle way", McCarthyism, and civil rights but focuses mainly on foreign affairs and the president's handling of the Cold War. [3] [4] The book contends that Eisenhower's presidency is notable due to "the absence of large-scale conflict" and stability, and described him as a "hardworking, skillful president". [5] [6] However, Hitchcock criticised elements of the administration's foreign affairs policies, handling of McCarthyism, and a mixed record of civil rights. [6] [7] [8]
The Age of Eisenhower received generally positive reviews upon its release. [9] A Kirkus review praised the book as a "measured, mostly admiring" biography with a "lengthy, well-documented argument" but criticised it as inferior compared to Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith. [10] This sentiment was shared by a review from The Economist , which also complimented the book's overall verdict. [7] Likewise, Steven Casey, reviewing in Cold War History , lauded the book as timely, and "cogently argued". Casey additionally praised the book's writing as elegant. [11] Publishers Weekly described the book as a revisionist biography, praising its comprehensiveness, persuasion, and usage of documents. The review concluded that the author "succeeds in positioning Ike as a world-historical figure". [5] Similarly, Bryce Christensen from Booklist called the book "complete and persuasive". [12] Reviewing from The Wall Street Journal , Richard Rhodes generally praised the book as a "rich narrative". [3] Alvin S. Felzenberg from The Claremont Review of Books described the book as masterly, and concluded that the book "should provide a decent burial to one of the worst predictions in U.S. history". [13] David Stebenne from The American Historical Review commented that the book included "new and intriguing arguments" despite the familiarity of its subject matter. The reviewer additionally complimented Hitchcock's coverage of civil rights as "sensible and fair", but criticised the author's omission on why Eisenhower neglected this issue. [1]
The book's coverage of foreign affairs was described as the main focus of the book. [2] [3] [11] Casey called it as the book's centrepiece. [11] Felzenberg also lauded the book's coverage of CIA coups. [13] In contrast, David Watry, reviewing from Journal of Cold War Studies , criticised some of the descriptions of Eisenhower's foreign policy as misleading, commenting negatively towards Hitchcock's recount on the Korean Armistice Agreement. The review also reprobated the book's omissions regarding details of the 1956 Suez Crisis and the administration's handling of Vietnam in 1954, despite complimenting Hitchcock's coverage of domestic affairs. Watry concluded that the author "makes a good case for Eisenhower as a “consequential” president", while criticising several of Hitchcock's judgements. [2] Stebenne expressed that the evidence Hitchcock used was impressive, despite Hitchcock's judgements on Eisenhower's foreign policy having some contradictions. The reviewer later summarised that the book had "a clear, coherent narrative", and also praised the prose and succinctness. [1]
Dwight David Eisenhower, also known by his nickname Ike, was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe and achieved the five-star rank as General of the Army. Eisenhower planned and supervised two of the most consequential military campaigns of World War II: Operation Torch in the North Africa campaign in 1942–1943 and the invasion of Normandy in 1944.
Stephen Edward Ambrose was an American historian, academic, and author, most noted for his books on World War II and his biographies of U.S. presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a longtime professor of history at the University of New Orleans and the author of many bestselling volumes of American popular history.
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. CFR is based in New York City, with an additional office in Washington, D.C. Its membership has included senior politicians, secretaries of state, CIA directors, bankers, lawyers, professors, corporate directors, CEOs, and prominent media figures.
The expression military–industrial complex (MIC) describes the relationship between a country's military and the defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy. A driving factor behind the relationship between the military and the defense-minded corporations is that both sides benefit—one side from obtaining weapons, and the other from being paid to supply them. The term is most often used in reference to the system behind the armed forces of the United States, where the relationship is most prevalent due to close links among defense contractors, the Pentagon, and politicians. The expression gained popularity after a warning of the relationship's detrimental effects, in the farewell address of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 17, 1961.
William Frank Buckley Jr. was an American conservative writer, public intellectual, and political commentator.
Containment was a geopolitical strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States during the Cold War to prevent the spread of communism after the end of World War II. The name was loosely related to the term cordon sanitaire, which was containment of the Soviet Union in the interwar period.
William Fife Knowland was an American politician and newspaper publisher. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from California from 1945 to 1959. He was Senate Majority Leader from August 1953 to January 1955 after the death of Robert A. Taft, and would be the last Republican Senate Majority Leader until Howard Baker in 1981.
Diplomacy is a 1994 book written by former United States National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following his landslide victory over Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 presidential election. Four years later, in the 1956 presidential election, he defeated Stevenson again, to win re-election in a larger landslide. Eisenhower was limited to two terms and was succeeded by Democrat John F. Kennedy, who won the 1960 presidential election.
This bibliography of Richard Nixon includes publications by Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, and books and scholarly articles about him and his policies.
Robert Hugh Ferrell was an American historian. He authored more than 60 books on topics including the U.S. presidency, World War I, and U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy. One of the country's leading historians, Ferrell was widely considered the preeminent authority on the administration of Harry S. Truman, and also wrote books about half a dozen other 20th-century presidents. He was thought by many in the field to be the "dean of American diplomatic historians", a title he disavowed.
This bibliography of Harry S. Truman is a selective list of scholarly works about Harry S. Truman, the thirty-third president of the United States (1945–1953). See also the bibliographies at Harry S. Truman, Presidency of Harry S. Truman, and Foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration.
William H. Lawrence was an American journalist and television news personality whose 40-year career as a reporter began in 1932 and included a 20-year stint (1941–61) with The New York Times, for which he reported from major fronts of World War II, Korean War and, subsequently, as the newspaper's White House correspondent. In 1961 he joined ABC News where, for nearly 11 years, he served as the network's political affairs editor and, during his first year, as an evening news anchorman.
This bibliography of John F. Kennedy is a list of published works about John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States.
This bibliography of Dwight D. Eisenhower is a list of published works about Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States.
William I. Hitchcock is the William W. Corcoran Professor of History at the University of Virginia. His work focuses on the history of the 20th century.
William Beatty Pickett is an American historian and professor emeritus at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. He is known as an authority on President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Indiana Senator Homer E. Capehart, and is the author of several well-regarded books on U.S. history including Dwight David Eisenhower and American Power and Eisenhower Decides To Run: Presidential Politics and Cold War Strategy.
The United States foreign policy of the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, from 1953 to 1961, focused on the Cold War with the Soviet Union and its satellites. The United States built up a stockpile of nuclear weapons and nuclear delivery systems to deter military threats and save money while cutting back on expensive Army combat units. A major uprising broke out in Hungary in 1956; the Eisenhower administration did not become directly involved, but condemned the military invasion by the Soviet Union. Eisenhower sought to reach a nuclear test ban treaty with the Soviet Union, but following the 1960 U-2 incident the Kremlin canceled a scheduled summit in Paris.
Leadership in Turbulent Times is a 2018 book by Doris Kearns Goodwin and was published by Simon & Schuster. The book covers the lives and leadership skills of four US Presidents Goodwin previously studied: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson.
Diplomacy at the Brink: Eisenhower, Churchill, and Eden in the Cold War is a 2014 book by David Watry. The book examines the United Kingdom–United States relations during the 1950s, covering the foreign policies of Dwight Eisenhower, Winston Churchill, and Anthony Eden. Upon its release, some publications praised the book's research, whereas aspects of the book's depiction of Eisenhower were criticised by several reviewers.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)