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Author/illustrator Mike Venezia has been introducing children to great artists and composers for more than 15 years. In his newest series, he brings to life the greatest historical figures of the United States 151 the U.S. presidents. Once again, Mr. Venezia has combined humor with history to make learning fun. Each book is a delightful mix of full-color historical reproductions and photos, hilarious cartoon-style illustrations, and simple, factual text describing each president s path toward the nation s highest office. Author: Mike VeneziaReading Level: Ages 9-12Format: 32 pages, Paperback Publisher: Children s Press (CT) (March 2007) ISBN: 978-0531179444 ... Read more

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The Inaugural Speeches of the President - Dwight D. Eisenhower,

The General of WW2. ... Read more

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State of the Union Address by Dwight D. Eisenhower

Here it is, the State of the Union Address. Every president makes them.

Kids need a quick and easy school report, trying reading these in class.

Need a quote to spruce up any report or presentation then this is for you.


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Dwight D. Eisenhower - Five Star General and President is the biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower, nicknamed "Ike". Eisenhower was a five star general in the United States Army and U.S. politician, who served as the thirty-fourth President of the United States (1953-1961). During the Second World War, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, with responsibility for planning and supervising the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944-45. In 1951, he became the first supreme commander of NATO. Eisenhower was elected the 34th President as a Republican, serving in that capacity for two terms. As President, he oversaw the cease-fire of the Korean War, kept up the pressure on the Soviet Union during the Cold War, made nuclear weapons a higher defense priority, launched the Space Race, enlarged the Social Security program, and undertook the beginning of the Interstate Highway System. Dwight D. Eisenhower - Five Star General is highly recommended for those interested in learning more abo ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A decidedly pro-Eisenhower read
Robert A. Divine's Eisenhower and the Cold War is a decidedly pro-Eisenhower treatment of American foreign policy during the Republican administration of the 1950s.Divine's Eisenhower is far from the do-nothing Ike whom critics have accused of deferring foreign policy to his subordinates; he is, on the contrary, a rational, calculating, active force exercising full control over decisions involving American security.Blessed with charm, self-confidence even in the midst of crises, and remarkable self-constraint, Divine's Ike appears as an exceptional, perhaps "great" President, unique among post-World War II American Presidents for his broad background in international affairs.Certainly, the author concedes that Eisenhower had certain shortcomings, such as a touchy sensitivity to public criticism and a European-oriented view of the world.Nevertheless, this book dwells heavily on Ike's foreign policy successes: bringing the Korean war to an end within six months of taking office, keeping America out of the crisis over the Suez Canal, refusing to intervene by arms and men in Indochina and Red China, refusing to force a showdown with the Soviets over Berlin, ending the atmospheric explosions of nuclear weapons.All the while, Divine's Eisenhower carefully guides foreign policy on a tough yet moderate course, seeking to decrease Cold War tensions while balancing economic and political imperatives alongside national security requirements.

Divine breaks this study up into four sections: Eisenhower as President, Massive Retaliation and Asia, the Middle East, and the Russians.(He admits that this is no full-scale treatment of Ike's foreign policy.)Divine relies on secondary sources to achieve his objective, namely to demonstrate that "Ike was skillful and active in directing American foreign policy" and to explain why Eisenhower failed in the end to meet his peace objectives.The author asserts that Ike desperately wanted to reduce Cold War anxieties and lessen the threat of nuclear war while also keeping defense spending low.Given these constraints, Ike came to rely more on the threat of nuclear strikes than on the dispersion of American combat forces to all the world's hot spots.While Ike's critics have charged him with deferring foreign policy decisionmaking to Secretary of State Dulles and other close aides, Divine shows that Eisenhower pulled all the strings, often choosing to restrain the anti-Communist zeal of Dulles and to disregard the advice of military advisors.The successes he achieved have been neglected or misunderstood, Divine argues, because they were indirect in execution and negative in realization.In other words, the events that Ike was able to prevent (such as a nuclear war) were more important than any positive, sweeping accomplishments.This kind of success, Divine contends, becomes more evident when compared to the pitfalls of Kennedy and Johnson in the 1960s.Basically, Ike's Presidency is seen as a triumph for common sense and rational decision-making, constrained only by Ike's tendency to see all Third World disturbances as a result of Communist agitation.Nevertheless, had Gary Powers not been shot down and captured by the Soviets on the eve of the Paris summit with Khrushchev, Divine implies that Ike may have secured some of the far-reaching success he had been pursuing throughout his years in office.

Divine's pro-Eisenhower rhetoric gets a bit thick at times.Ike's failures seem due either to the faults of the men around him or to capricious events of chance.The U-2 affair is a case in point.Divine seems to say that Eisenhower had little choice other than to act as he did--namely, lying initially about the true nature of the incident; beyond this, we are told that Ike--on several occasions--wanted to stop flying spy missions over Russia in the days preceding the Paris summit.Because of the U-2 debacle, Divine says Ike was powerless during his final months in office to deal with emerging problems in Cuba, northern Africa, and Southeast Asia--the President was a victim, a "prisoner of events."While the author claims to recognize Eisenhower's weaknesses in conducting foreign policy, he seems always ill-disposed to criticize the President for them.

Great book about a great man
A very good, quick read book. Excellent source of information. Reveals many misunderstandings of the Eisenhower administration. If you have an interest in The Cold War, here is the man that but some teeth into US policy (right, wrong, or otherwise) ... Read more

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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Based on the findings in recently released archive papers and letters, as well as extensive library and historical resources, Alan Axelrod offers a compelling profile of the remarkable leadership discipline of a general often called a "military CEO." In fascinating detail, Axelrod reveals that Ike was more than a great military leader; he was also a great executive who could—and did—write a reassuring letter to the mother of a solider one moment and make decisions impacting millions of lives the next.

Follow Ike's path as Supreme Commander from the invasion of North Africa to victory in Europe and learn the lessons of great leadership along the way, including:

• The nature of leadership
• Managing detail without sacrificing the “big picture”
• Ensuring follow-through to execution
• Building a team
• Converting conflict into common cause
• Getting the facts and making plans
• Mentoring, motivating, and inspiring

Customer Reviews (3)

Snippets from a great man
I appreciate the attempt to draw universal management Lessons from Ike's experiences and personality. I also liked having the Ike quotes in chronological order, leading us deeper and deeper into the complexities of managing the US/British alliance in African and European.However, as a lover of history, in most of the Lessons I felt starved for context and the author barely alludes to background situations that sound extremely interesting, for instance, the friction between US and British troops as well as between high level US and British officers is barely defined, used only as a jumping off point for the Author's meanings for managers. Ike's quotes are often extremely short and seem to float in air, without context, perhaps making the author's Lessons seem a little too general or even disconnected from the subject matter. The complexity of managing the war effort at Ike's level is alluded to only in broad, sweeping terms, without sufficient examples.As the Lessons went on I wanted instead to read Ike's book Crusade in Europe, or some other history book about Ike in that period of time.I was impressed by Doris Kearns-Goodwin's book Band of Rivals about Lincoln's Cabinet because the context is fully laid out and readers can draw for themselves lessons regarding Lincoln's tremendous management skills.This Eisenhower book was purchased by my employer (after I read a favorable review in The Economist) as a training resource and I think it fits that need, but history nuts may feel a bit starved.

An inspirational overview of the strategic and tactical thinking of General Dwight David Eisenhower and its management applicati
U.S. Army General Dwight David Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe during World War II. A brilliant strategist and an expert in logistics and organization, Eisenhower planned Operation Overlord, the successful 1944 invasion of Europe by way of the English Channel. D-Day remains history's largest amphibious assault. In 1945, at the height of his military power, Eisenhower commanded more than four million troops from five different nations. He functioned as a manager of managers, directing all military activities in Europe. He was, in effect, the "CEO" of the war in Europe - and indeed, in a letter to Lord Louis Mountbatten of Britain, Eisenhower described his role of Supreme Commander as that of a "chairman of a board." How he successfully planned and coordinated the Allied military effort is the subject of this fascinating military history cum informative treatise on management by business writer Alan Axelrod. Axelrod applies Ike's down-to-earth thinking to the management of organizations, people or important projects in a series of lessons - 232 of them, to be exact. This long, unprioritized list is more than most readers can really absorb. Nevertheless, we suggest that managers who want to learn what inspired, successful leadership truly means study this history of the European conflict from the uniquely informed perspective of Eisenhower, the ultimate insider.

Great for CEOs of CEOs and those who want to improve their written communication, but so so for the rest.
I rated "Patton on Leadership" by the same author a four star with the title "Great on Patton "and" Leadership." I had expected this to be of the same good quality. Sorry that I had been a little bit disappointed. Dont know whether it's the difference of the two characters that Eisenhower is one of decision making and Patton is one of action taking, or the author had deliberately based his new book primiarily on the correspondence written by Eisenhower, or simply the author had overdone it (there are 232 lessons), I found this not interesting and over stretched. I still can remember some good leadership stories I read from "Patton on Leadership." All I can recall from this is that Eisenhower possessed very strong political skills who strived to strike the balance right and use correct tone and words all the time. Great for CEOs of CEOs and those who want to improve their written communication, but so so for the rest.
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Product Description

This new, in-depth life of Eisenhower offers fresh perspectives, not only on World War II and the Korean War but also on the Cold War, the civil rights movement, McCarthyism, the U-2 crisis and Vietnam.
        
Geoffrey Perret's Eisenhower gives us, for the first time, the whole man. It brings together a huge amount of material, much of it made available to researchers only in recent years. The result is nothing less than an original, authoritative and provocative portrait of Eisenhower, as both soldier and president.
        
Far from being the easygoing and pliant figure often depicted by his critics, Eisenhower is revealed here as a complex, tough-minded and highly capable man, one who rose to the top of the world's most competitive profession, the modern military. His career as a soldier would prove to be an excellent preparation for most, though not all, of the major challenges he faced as America's thirty-fourth president.
        
Eisenhower's letters and diaries—many of them never seen by previous biographers—have contributed profoundly to this groundbreaking work. So, too, have dozens of interviews with people who knew him well. These fresh sources have made it possible to resolve many intriguing questions that have, until now, been matters only of speculation and rumor:

Did he have an affair with Kay Summersby, his wartime driver?
Why did he have so much trouble with Field-Marshal Montgomery?
Did the Columbia University trustees appoint him by accident, as campus whispers claimed, in a bungled attempt to offer the university presidency to his brother Milton?
Just how did he bring the Korean War to an end within months of becoming president?
What did he really think of Richard Nixon?

Geoffrey Perret, the author of Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life of Douglas MacArthur, as well as There's a War to Be Won, an acclaimed history of the United States Army in World War II, is uniquely qualified to write this new life of Dwight D. Eisenhower, a work that is worthy of its remarkable and controversial subject.Amazon.com Review
It's no surprise that the biographer of Douglas MacArthur and Ulysses S. Grant clearly conveys the military talents that enabled Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) to ensure the Allies' victory in World War II, but Geoffrey Perret is equally perceptive when dealing with the personality behind the famously genial grin. Perhaps marked by his father's coldness and grim religious zeal (though his mother was a lively, cheerful woman), Eisenhower never expressed his feelings easily, even to his cherished wife, Mamie. His intelligence and scholarly gifts got the poor boy from Kansas into West Point; his administrative and training abilities made him too valuable at home to be employed for active duty in World War I, much to his chagrin. Professional fulfillment and fame as the general who won WWII couldn't change the self-controlled habits of a military lifetime, and Perret depicts Eisenhower as reluctantly drawn into politics by a sense of duty. Covering his presidency, Perret doesn't let him off the hook about such touchy matters as U.S. involvement in the 1954 overthrow of Guatemala's elected government or the biased hearing that lifted physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer's security clearance. But the author obviously likes Ike, and he helps his readers understand why most Americans in the 1940s and '50s did too. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Beautifully Written
It is amazing how much compression is needed to fit a fascinating biography of this man into approximately 600 pages plus notes and pictures. In particular, the Presidential years give the impression of being a fly-by, with highlights lucky to be included. Nonetheless, this is an impressive biography. Much has been made of inaccuracies found in this book, but these quibblers are missing the big picture, which is exactly what the general reader is looking for. There are parts of the book that I am not entirely happy with, but overall it is a fantastic introduction.

I was lucky in that I found this for sale for $3 in a used book store. The cover picture alone is worth that.

Fantastic
Read this book for a view of the real Ike.No other book comes close.

A thorough one volume account of Ike's life
It is very difficult to write a one volume biography of Eisenhower but this comes as close as one can get to being a thorough and accurate account of his life. The biography is a fair treatment of Eisenhower and looks at many of the myths that have come up about his life and dispels them.Starting with his early years and time growing up in Abeline to the days in the white house the reader can clearly see the evolution of Eisenhower. It covers not only his personal evolution but really looks at the situations he was in and addresses how he changed the situation of the army and the structures of command in Europe.Perret is a specialist in the military biography and his treatment of Eisenhowers war years is among the most thorough ever written on the man.The book is plainly written and easy to read making it a fast 600 pages that leave the reader well informed and with the right amount of information on their subject. If you are really looking for the complete history of Eisenhower though you should consider some of the multivolume works that have been done but for a thorough one volume account this cannot be beat and will leave you saying "I Like Ike"

Eisenhower Deserves a Better Biography
Simply put, this biography is average. I read a lot and while this isn't the only Perret biography book I've read, I can't help but feel that the author has no respect for his readers. I myself, enjoy an author who treats the reader as an equal and I can't help but feel that Perret views all of us as literary-morons with a third grade reading level. I feel the prose is substantially lacking in grace and eloquence in addition to the most important thing: subject matter. Eisenhower was a player on the world's stage at some of the most crucial moments in human history (ex: D-Day) yet after reading this book I didn't feel that my curiosity about Eisenhower's life was satisfied. I couldn't really tell you what I learned after reading this book besides coming to the conclusion that I wasted my time flipping through some dull page-filling text. There has to be a better biography of Eisenhower out there, this one just isn't worth the time or minimal effort required to read it.

An Outstanding Biography
In "Eisenhower" Geoffrey Perret gives an outstanding biography of a very interesting and important historical figure.Here we meet Ike from birth to death.

The reader is treated to an introduction to the Eisenhower family, to the father who could never be close to his sons, the mother who had little influence over them and the brothers with whom Ike grew up and continued his mutually supportive relationship through their highly successful careers.

The relationship with Mamie, their lost son, and son John, all reflect Ike's personal strengths and limitations.

Perret does equally well in telling the stories of the junior officer and the commander as well as those of the President and senior statesman.

Eisenhower's evaluations of many of the characters who crossed his path add to the allure of this book.Ike's admiration, followed by his contempt for MacArthur, his dislike of FDR, his lack of respect for Truman and his lack of affection for Nixon, all add to the insight into Ike's times.Omar Bradley, George Marshall, John Foster Dulles, Henry Cabot Lodge and Joseph McCarthy are just a sampling of the world characters who played on Eisenhower's stage.

Perret thoroughly reports each phase of Ike's life in a way as to maintain interest throughout.He comments on Eisenhower's rights and wrongs in a way which provokes thoughts, without seeming to be opinionated.I believe that this is what makes this biography superior so many others.. ... Read more

Product Description
Volume 1

The State of the Union is an annual message which the President of the United States gives to Congress, usually an address to a joint session of Congress which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate.

George Washington gave the first State of the Union address on January 8, 1790 in New York City which was then the provisional United States capital. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of delivering the address in person. Instead, the address was written and then sent to Congress to be read by a clerk until 1913 when Woodrow Wilson re-established the practice.

The speech was originally referred to as "the President's Annual Message to Congress." The actual term "State of the Union" did not become widely used until after 1935 when Franklin D. Roosevelt began using the phrase. ... Read more

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Volume 2

The State of the Union is an annual message which the President of the United States gives to Congress, usually an address to a joint session of Congress which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate.

George Washington gave the first State of the Union address on January 8, 1790 in New York City which was then the provisional United States capital. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of delivering the address in person. Instead, the address was written and then sent to Congress to be read by a clerk until 1913 when Woodrow Wilson re-established the practice.

The speech was originally referred to as "the President's Annual Message to Congress." The actual term "State of the Union" did not become widely used until after 1935 when Franklin D. Roosevelt began using the phrase. ... Read more

Product Description
Volume 3

The State of the Union is an annual message which the President of the United States gives to Congress, usually an address to a joint session of Congress which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate.

George Washington gave the first State of the Union address on January 8, 1790 in New York City which was then the provisional United States capital. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of delivering the address in person. Instead, the address was written and then sent to Congress to be read by a clerk until 1913 when Woodrow Wilson re-established the practice.

The speech was originally referred to as "the President's Annual Message to Congress." The actual term "State of the Union" did not become widely used until after 1935 when Franklin D. Roosevelt began using the phrase. ... Read more

Product Description
Volume 4

The State of the Union is an annual message which the President of the United States gives to Congress, usually an address to a joint session of Congress which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate.

George Washington gave the first State of the Union address on January 8, 1790 in New York City which was then the provisional United States capital. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of delivering the address in person. Instead, the address was written and then sent to Congress to be read by a clerk until 1913 when Woodrow Wilson re-established the practice.

The speech was originally referred to as "the President's Annual Message to Congress." The actual term "State of the Union" did not become widely used until after 1935 when Franklin D. Roosevelt began using the phrase. ... Read more

Product Description
Modern presidents are usually depicted as party "predators" who neglect their parties, exploit them for personal advantage, or undercut their organizational capacities. Challenging this view, Presidential Party Building demonstrates that every Republican president since Dwight D. Eisenhower worked to build his party into a more durable political organization while every Democratic president refused to do the same. Yet whether they supported their party or stood in its way, each president contributed to the distinctive organizational trajectories taken by the two parties in the modern era.Unearthing new archival evidence, Daniel Galvin reveals that Republican presidents responded to their party's minority status by building its capacities to mobilize voters, recruit candidates, train activists, provide campaign services, and raise funds. From Eisenhower's "Modern Republicanism" to Richard Nixon's "New Majority" to George W. Bush's hopes for a partisan realignment, Republican presidents saw party building as a means of forging a new political majority in their image. Though they usually met with little success, their efforts made important contributions to the GOP's cumulative organizational development. Democratic presidents, in contrast, were primarily interested in exploiting the majority they inherited, not in building a new one. Until their majority disappeared during Bill Clinton's presidency, Democratic presidents eschewed party building and expressed indifference to the long-term effects of their actions.Bringing these dynamics into sharp relief, Presidential Party Building offers profound new insights into presidential behavior, party organizational change, and modern American political development. ... Read more

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A True Contribution to the Field
A lot of books have been written on the U.S. presidency, but most are poorly written or provide only superficial discussion of the subject.Professor Galvin's book, by contrast, is not only a true contribution to the study of American presidents, but is elegantly written and a joy to read.

Galvin's subject is presidential party-building:the extent to which presidents try to develop and expand their political parties while they are in office.This activity is ignored by most people, except for those occasions when party leaders complain that the president is not doing enough to help them out.Using detailed evidence, Galvin shows that since the 1950's, many presidents have, in fact, sought to build up their parties so they can win future elections -- with major consequences for the future viability of their party.Republican presidents are better party-builders than Democratic ones, but as Galvin shows, there is some fascinating variation within parties as well:Nixon, for instance, did pursue some party "predation" (though far less than people have claimed), while Kennedy and Clinton (2nd term) pursued a number of party "building" activities.

Full of rich historical detail and intelligent insight, Galvin's book is a must-read for anyone interested in the presidency and what presidents do besides push for legislation and deliver speeches. ... Read more

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Eisenhower and Macmillan had a huge impact as leaders of the free world and were committed to the Anglo-American leadership of that world.This complete collection of their letters throws light on world politics, diplomacy and history.
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Dwight D. Eisenhower achieved prominence as a military leader during World War II and as a statesman following the conflict, but less is known about his ambitions and preparation between the wars that served as the foundation for his later success. The first modern analysis of Eisenhower's career before his rise to fame, this study examines Ike's intellectual ideas concerning politics, military strategy, and history in the decades between the wars. Holland details Eisenhower's quest to make himself the best officer in the U.S. Army and to prepare for the next war--which he firmly believed was coming. ... Read more