Harry and Ike : the partnership that remade the postwar world / Steve Neal.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Neal, Steve, 1949-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972.

Truman, Harry S.

Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969.

Eisenhower, Dwight D.

Friendship.

United States--Politics and government--1945-1953.

United States.

Politics and government.

United States--Politics and government--1953-1961.

Friendship--United States--Case studies.

Presidents--United States--Biography.

Presidents.

Generals--United States--Biography.

Generals.

Genre:

Biographies.

Case studies.

Physical Description:

368 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : portraits ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Scribner, [2001]

Summary:

Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower worked more closely between 1945 and 1952 than any other two American presidents of the twentieth century. They were partners in changing America's role in the world and in responding to the challenge of a Soviet Europe, yet they are remembered more for the acrimony that ended their friendship. Both were men of character, intelligence, and principle, and as the nation learned in the 1950s, they could also hold a grudge.

Drawing on letters, diaries, and interviews with close associates, this is the first examination of the warm friendship, bitter rupture, and eventual reconciliation between two remarkable Americans. From the author of The Eisenhowers: Reluctant Dynasty and Dark Horse comes a unique volume focusing exclusively on the relationship between Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman.

Harry and "Ike" grew up 150 miles apart in the heart of America. They met during World War II, when Truman became commander-in-chief after FDR's death. Together they would oversee not only the great Allied victory but also the restructuring of the U.S. military and the reconstruction of Europe. Together they would forge history's most successful alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Their initial relationship was so respectful and warm that Truman offered to step aside in the 1948 presidential election if Ike would agree to run on the Democratic ticket. Preferring to remain out of politics, Eisenhower declined and instead became president of Columbia University. Truman helped make Ike a wealthy man by granting him a special tax break for his memoirs. Eisenhower later prepared to remove himself from contention for the presidency in 1952 if Robert A. Taft supported Truman on NATO. But Ike's friendship with Truman would not survive the 1952 presidential campaign, and for nearly a decade the former allies were engaged in an epic feud. It was not until the funeral of John F. Kennedy that the two men put aside their differences and reestablished a semblance of their previous bond.

In exploring the complexity of character, intelligence, and principle, Neal provides a fresh perspective on two giants of the twentieth century, and on the American presidency.

Contents:

1. Coming Home 15

2. "From the Heart of America" 19

3. Parallel Lives 26

4. Potsdam 39

5. Fortunes of War 47

6. "What Can I Do to Help?" 61

7. America's Mission 75

8. Common Cause 85

9. Jacob's Ladder 91

10. Mutual Respect 105

11. Loophole 118

12. Shadow 124

13. Miracle 134

14. Pentagon 145

15. Trial Heat 155

16. Scoundrel Time 166

17. A Distant War 177

18. Alliance 189

19. MacArthur 204

20. Holding the Line 216

21. "Between Us" 225

22. Decisions 234

23. Abilene 242

24. Showtime 247

25. First Break 255

26. Patriot Games 263

27. Days of Anger 271

28. Changing of the Guard 281

29. The Big Chill 289

30. Twilight 300

31. 1960 309

32. Bygones 317.

Notes:

"A Lisa Drew book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages [345]-353) and index.

ISBN:

0684853558

OCLC:

47100712