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| Ike: An American Hero By Michael Korda HarperCollins 779 pp., $34.95 |
What's not to like about Ike?
'Ike: An American Hero' illuminates the quiet virtues of Dwight D. Eisenhower
from the August 21, 2007 edition
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Korda's skillfully written and thoroughly researched narrative explores all the important decisions made by the Allies, especially before and after the D-Day landing, and relates how Eisenhower kept his fractious team working toward the same goal of defeating Hitler. Korda also details Eisenhower's often-strained relationship with his wife, Mamie, who spent most of the war alone in Washington. Eisenhower's driver throughout the war was a gorgeous ex-fashion model named Kay Summersby, and there was much speculation (then and now) that she and Eisenhower had an affair. Korda's conclusion is that we don't have enough evidence to either prove or disprove the charge.
"What is certain," writes Korda, "is that from the very beginning Kay hero-worshipped Ike, that Ike was deeply (and obviously) attracted to her, and that throughout the war he treated her more like a close friend than a driver." Whether this wartime relationship was consummated or not, Korda calls "nobody's business," but it certainly upset Mamie on the home front. In Europe during World War II, Korda says, "Ike was experiencing the greatest moments of his life ... and another woman – young, pretty, and adoring – was sharing them with him."
No wonder Mamie was suspicious. Eisenhower was never much of a romantic, notes Korda, who describes his letters home to Mamie as being "full of accounts of his continuing struggle against mildew" and other mundane matters.
Although Korda is justified in dwelling at length on Eisenhower's long military career, he devotes too little time on his presidency. By war's end, Eisenhower was so popular that the White House was basically his for the asking. But he didn't enjoy politics: his "skill was in reaching consensus," notes Korda, "so he was not well suited for dealing with arguments, angry dissent, name-calling, and posturing of politicians." Nonetheless, the Eisenhower presidency today appears to many as a golden age of "common sense."
If Korda's biography leaves readers with any lesson, it's never to underestimate the values of patience, listening, and open-minded intelligence. Eisenhower was not a genius like Einstein or Shakespeare, but his humble virtues seem as rare and necessary today as ever. If the man from Abilene was easy to like, so is Korda's terrific biography.
• Chuck Leddy is a member of the National Book Critic Circle, and writes frequently about American History.
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