Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward SmithMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I think I have found my second favorite biographer in Jean Smith. He does not quite have the story telling prowess of David McCullough, but he comes close. Like McCullough, he is meticulous in his sourcing and does not suppose or cast judgment that the evidence does not support.
In this book Smith tells the story of one of the most popular presidents in our history. He celebrates his successes and contributions to history, while never shying away from the mistakes. He does not "revise the historical record" for his own purposes- an accusation that he hurls at Eisenhower interestingly enough- as some biographers have in the past. And he is not opposed to taking those biographers to task when the evidence shows they were most likely wrong in their earlier depictions of Ike.
As with McCullough's "Truman," when I finished reading "Eisenhower in War and Peace," I felt that if we had more Republicans like Ike these days, our country would be in better shape today. They would work well with more Democrats like Harry.
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