Product Description
So, you think America is a democracy--with representatives of the people, elected by the people in free elections, doing the will of the people in governing the country?

Think again.The growing disparity between rich and poor, the corrupting influence of money on politics, and the rise of mass media run by monied corporate interests virtually guarantee that elections--and the policies of the representatives selected by them--will favor the wealthy few over the poor and middle-class majority.

Who really wields the power in the hallowed halls of our elective institutions?

Why do major corporations and wealthy individuals donate large sums of money to both political parties?

What do these donors expect in return, and what happens when politicians don't deliver?

In this in-depth analysis of American presidential electioins over the second half of the twentieth century, author Daniel M. Friedenberg explains:

How large corporate donations and skillful media manipulation affect major-party candidate choices--perhaps more than voter preference.

Why many voters believe that there is no real difference between "liberal" and "conservative" majority-party candidates--and how this has affected voter turnout in recent elections.

Why presidents in the latter half of the twentieth century have gradually abandoned the New Deal concern for the underdog--and how it has contributed to the growing gap between the wealthy minority and the poor and middle-class majority.

What does all this say about the election system in a supposedly democratic society?And what can we do to change it?

Friedenberg offers real solutions to the problems facing the American election system, including a new focus on improved education for all to narrow the widening gap between rich and poor.He also explains how the vast technological resources unleashed by the computer revolution can be used to create a more equitable American future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Insatiably Funny - a general eye-opener!
I started reading this book with the fear that Friedenberg would start bashing particular Presidents based on their political affiliation, but I was glad to discover that he provides a critique of each leader without much bias to his own beliefs.While the tone of his narrative tends to side with the liberals, he nevertheless thoroughly scrutinizes each administration regardless of whether the leader was a republican or democrat. No president here was exempted from his criticisms. All were judged. His narratives contain numerous humorous anecdotes regarding the various presidents' personal and political follies.The information is also recent, ending with a look at the Clinton Administration and expressing some concluding remarks about what the Bush Administration might bring in the future. He focuses not only on each president's personal weaknesses, but he also connects these personal inadequacies to the president's national policies and the consequences of their failures.

His narrative is an easy read, and it is well-suited for the general public.It is not a concise academic analysis of political science and leadership.Rather, with its humor, wit, and sarcasm - this book serves more as a "wake-up call" by revealing to the public a side of the White House that is in many ways human and vulnerable to the machinations of human weaknesses and dark vices - such as immorality, corruption,greed, sexual scandals, racism, and ignorance.I mainly saw this book as a general read concerning politics, but because of the wonderful humor that it espoused, I simply could not put it down! Friedenberg's writing is crisp, vivid, smart, and funny. It was definitely a good read! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (8)

Concise Bio on Ike
This short bio on Dwight Eisenhower is good, solid reading. Part of the Great General Series, these books provide concise information on the lives of famous leaders. Author John Wukovits presents the facts about Ike, his life, his career leading up to WW2 and a very brief review of his presidency (seven pages).

I rated this three stars, as I did not find anything new or controversial about the man. Areas of potential conflict such as his time with Douglas MacArthur, his alleged affair with his British driver and his "broad front" strategy used to defeat the Germans are touched on, but given a very light hand. I did not like the author's repeated referals to Iraq, Afghanistan - I think they are out of place.

The target audience would be someone just getting into history, students or perhaps a quick refresher on Ike's career. I did like the last few pages, Wukovits provides the reader with what he sees as Eisenhower's greatest strengths. This is a good library book.

I Have Always Liked Ike
As a young boy, I read a Scholastic paperback about the life of Dwight Eisenhower. This was before he became President. I found Eisenhower to be a great role model, and a paragon if honesty, integrity and courage. After reading Wukovits's book, I am still convinced that Ike was an outstanding leader who was well suited to leading our military as well as serving as President of the United States.

The author has culled information from a wide variety of sources to paint a vivid portrait of our 34th president. He includes sufficient detail to give the reader a clear view of what made Eisenhower "tick" without going into so much depth as to drown the reader in a sea of minute details.

I was particularly impressed with the information presented regarding Eisenhower's relationship with General George Patton. Ike's sensitivity to the needs of the troops was complemented by Patton's sheer grit and determination -- a combination that overcame political correctness in order to press forward with the effort needed to defeat the Axis powers and put an end to the horror of the Third Reich. On at least two occasions (once when Patton assaulted shell-shocked soldiers for their "cowardice" and again when Patton announced that the US and Britain were destined to rule the world) Patton's indiscretions came close to removing the bombastic general from service on the front lines.

It was difficult not to chuckle when reading about Eisenhower's first offer of marriage (to a woman who had been a high school classmate), which was rejected because the woman's father opined that her suitor would never amount to anything. Mamie Doud's father, on the other hand, warned his daughter not to play hard to get, or "the Army boy will give up in disgust." When his future father-in-law reacted against Eisenhower's desire to enter the flying corps (he didn't want his daughter to become an early widow), Ike gave up the assignment (and a fifty percent pay raise) rather than losing Mamie.

Anyone who wishes to learn more about this great general will benefit from reading this brief account of his life. I applaud the author for taking the time and effort to carry out the research necessary for creating an informative yet readable account.

bare-bones biography
Of the four titles in Palgrave's Great Generals Series that I've now read (Patton, Bradley, MacArthur, and now Eisenhower), this is the worst.Wukovits, whose World War II writing has for the most part covered the Pacific, doesn't seem to have a strong background in the European theater, and it shows.The details are very basic; there's little, if anything, new here for anyone who has read a book or two on the ETO.Sure, an author can cover only so much in a book of less than 200 pages, but for the possibilities of a short biography, take a look at historian Richard B. Frank's insightful volume on MacArthur in this same series.

Keep Today's Politics Out Of It
Though a nice and mostly complete overview of Ike's life until assuming the Presidency, the author does not hesitate to inject his own personal bias in a work that should be a review of historical records. When discussing military preparedness, he adds a comment about the supposedly underarmored HUMVEEs in Iraq. When discussing the identity of the enemy, he says that Eisenhower's job was somewhat easier than today, for the enemy was clearly identified, as opposed to today's "insurgents fighting for their country" and "religious zealots fighting for their freedom." He even manages to take a swipe at todays military, commenting on Abu Ghraib. In fact, by the time of the description of the Normandy invasion, there are at least 5 references to Iraq and Afghanistan. This type of editorializing in what should be a historic work goes far to undermine the objectivity of the author. One feels that he has an agenda, and is using this book to promote it.

Tell us the story of Ike, leave your opinions on US policy today outside the dustjacket. Commentaries such as the ones I mentioned reduce the credibility of the author and make one question the rest of his work.

Drop the forward.
Interesting book.But Wesley Clarke -- who wrote the forward --is an airhead and a sychophant par excellence. ... Read more

Product Description

A big, ambitious, and enthralling new biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower, full of fascinating details and anecdotes, which places particular emphasis on his brilliant generalship and leadership in World War Two, and provides, with the advantage of hindsight, a far more acute analysis of his character and personality than any that has previously been available, reaching the conclusion that he was perhaps America's greatest general and one of America's best presidents, a man who won the war and thereafter kept the peace.

IKE starts with the story of D–Day, the most critical moment in America's history. It was Hitler's last chance to win the war –– he had the means to destroy the troops on the beaches, but he failed to react quickly enough. The one man who would have reacted quickly and decisively had he been on the spot, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, was home on leave and didn't arrive back at his headquarters until it was too late. It was Ike's plan, Ike's decision, Ike's responsibility. He alone, among all the Allied generals, could win or lose the war in one day, and knew it.

But of course there is more to this book than military history. It is a full biography of a remarkable man, ambitious, a late starter, a brilliant leader of men and perhaps the only American general who could command such a difficult coalition, and win the respect of not only his own soldiers, but also those of Great Britain and France, and lead them to a triumphant victory.

It is also the story of a remarkable family. Ike grew up in Abilene, Kansas, and the Eisenhowers were Mennonites, who, like the Amish, were deeply committed pacifists, so it is ironic that he went to West Point and became a general, to his mother's horror. It is as well the portrait of a tumultuous and often difficult marriage, for Mamie was every bit as stubborn and forceful as her husband, and it was by no means the sunny, happy marriage that Republican publicists presented to the public when Ike made his first moves towards the presidency.

Indeed, behind Ike's big grin and the easy–going, affable personality he liked to project was a very different man, fiercely ambitious, hot–tempered, shrewd, and tightly wound. He was a perfectionist for whom duty always came first, and a man of immense ability. In 1941 he was a soldier who was still an unknown and recently promoted colonel, and just two years later he was a four–star general who had commanded the biggest and most successful amphibious operation in history –– TORCH, the Anglo–American invasion of North Africa. He commanded respect and was dealt as an equal with such world figures as President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Charles De Gaulle.

Customer Reviews (49)

One-sided history: the U.S. Army did not win WWII by itself
In Korda's article in American Heritage magazine, he writes "On the morning of June 6 it was still just possible for Hitler to win the war, however slim the margin."This is nonsense.By the time of the Normandy invasion, the Red Army had already thrown the Nazis out of Russia.The Nazis had been soundly beaten at Stalingrad and Kursk in 1943.On June 22, 1944, the Red Army launched Operation Bagration which destroyed German Army Group Centre.The Red Army was just outside Warsaw in July 1944; they ruthlessly waited until the Nazis killed the brave Poles before occupying Poland for the second time in a few years.

All of this is not to excuse Stalin's gross incompetence and murder of millions of innocent people.And there is no doubt the Normandy invasion and subsequent Allied advances drastically reduced the duration of the European portion of WWII.But as brave and efficient as the Allied troops were on June 6, 1944, the Soviets would have entered Berlin regardless of what the USA and Britain did, albeit a year or three later than they actually did.

An unreliable mess
I only read about ten pages of this book and did not intend to write a review at this time.But I was so struck by the errors that I saw that I came here to Amazon to have a look at the reviews.I ended up appending a substantial comment to the two-star review by lecudedag and will not repeat my comments here.

After adding lecudedag's observations to my own, I decided that I would not read any more of it.I am posting this review because I want to ding the book's rating score.

Poor proofreading by Harper Collins
There is a difference between casualties and causalities, but Harper Collins is not aware of it, nor does Harper Collins know much about commas. Harper Collins does know all about the bottom line (profit or loss) and is aware that readers don't know and don't care about misspelling and mispunctuation.

I'd never read a book by the somewhat ancient author Michael Korda -- he's three months older than me -- until now. He occasionally repeats himself, but the old boy is still a thrilling writer. If, as pointed out by one musical reviewer, Korda in one book is not as good on the subject of Eisenhower as Ambrose in two books, so be it, but I am enjoying this book to the maxarooney, despite not enough time and money being spent on orthography.

I'm learning so much about World War Two, the military, and many other subjects. Write on, Korda!

IKE... A Great Americam
One of the best biographies that I have read in a long time. I am not a literary critic and unlike so many people leaving reviews, believe that they are. I just know what I like.
Although a long book, it was an easy read. Michael Korda seems to have done a great job thoroughly researching Eisenhower. I found facts to be factual without any undue exaggeration. Even better was the fact , as many other authors are compelled to do, Michael Koorda was able to keep his own political leanings out of the text. The book is about Ike, and only Ike.
I found this book easy to read, informative, and was one of those books that is just impossible to put down.

Inspiring, but Glaring Omissions and Amateurish Civil War Analogies
Pros:
- Wording style is breezy to read
- Some facts are neat and presented well
- Upbeat defense of Eisenhower makes for a positive read

Cons:
- Civil War analogies disruptive, mostly due to author having only a topical understanding of the Civil War.(It was Lincoln, NOT General Grand who had the policy in place for years to deaf generals concerning attacking the enemy army and not the enemy capital.Also, the author should look up the Secretary of War's phrase "Lincoln's Terrible Numbers" and see why he also mis-credited that concept to General Grant.Other analogies fall flat.Great concept, terrible and amateurish application.)
- Huge omissions are glaring.(Where is a discussion of Market Garden beyond a sentence here or there?The introducing statement clearly assumes the book discussed it.Was it cut before publication?Unforgivable Omission!BTW, there are several such omissions.)
- 1/2 the book on WWII, barely a chapter on the Presidency, and even then a choppy one, in terms of the time-line.
- While the words are easy to read, the writing is not always easy to follow.Sometimes there are very abrupt transitions jarring the reader into wondering how they got from THIS subject all of a sudden to THAT one.

Had the Civil War analogies been cut or knowledgeable AND appropriate plus ALL necessary topics concerning WWII and Eisenhower's Presidency been at least considered in proportion to their importance, then this book could have been a 5 star.

Summary: amateurish and misapplied Civil War analogies, flow interrupted by lack of proper transitions, glaring omissions of HUGE subjects, but otherwise a breezy read for a beginner.
I'd say the book was rushed, and the author had a recent but only topical reading of the American Civil War.

Update:I am reading Army at Dawn and am amazed on how many bits I already know.Looked up this book's reference and sure, lots of references.Check this books references.This author relies on second hand sources a lot, whereas groundbreaking biographies today often seek first sources more.See Team of Rivals for the type of modern greatness being written from first sources (instead of just repeating other authors)

In this regard, this book is more like a term paper than scholarly research.Check out Army at Dawn, 541 pages, 540 references.

... Read more

Product Description
Parry-Giles challenges the scholarly assumption that the rhetorical presidency refers to presidential messages delivered from the bully pulpit only. By examining early Cold War discourse, she demonstrates how Presidents Truman and Eisenhower transformed the U.S. propaganda program into an executive tool reliant on presidential surrogates in the promulgation of a covert and monolithic Cold War ideology. ... Read more

Product Description
The United States is not a preternaturally inward-looking nation, and isolation is not the natural disposition of Americans. The real question is not whether Americans are prone to isolation or engagement, but how their engagement with the world has evolved, how events have made the United States a superpower, and how these developments have been guided by political leadership. Indeed, the great debates on foreign affairs in American history have not been about whether to have debates on foreign affairs; they have been between the competing visions of American influence in the world.In Architects of Power, Philip Terzian examines two public figures in the twentieth century who personify, in their lives, careers, and philosophies, the rise of the United States of America to global leadership: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Terzian reveals how both men recognized and acted on the global threats of their time and questions whether America can rise to the same challenges today. Without this clear window into the stricken world that Roosevelt inhabited and Eisenhower understood, we are unlikely to recognize the perils and challenges of the world we have inherited. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Roosevelt and Eisenhower:The tacit truth of power architects.
A glance at the book shows its explantory power.The urge to make sweeping prouncements in an age of 24/7 cable and the omnipresent internet and "sound bites" for the blagosphere obscure the undeniable fact that presidential power is NOT always about ringing pronouncements made FOR DOMESTIC-AND PARTISAN effect that may come back to haunt you.Vietnam for JFK and LBJ illustrates that.I try to focus on what the Russian call "za kulisami"-behind the scenes.This may not be perfect transparency but it is sometimes neceassary-even imperative!

elegant, precise and engaging mix of biography and analysis
Phil Terzian's pointillist portraits of FDR and Eisnhower are riveting in and of themselves. They are a model of great learning lightly worn (check out the frightening bibliography). But they are also directly applicable to today's foreign policy dilemmas. When Terzian writes, "The stated reasons for American participation in World War I ..were legitimate, to be sure, but they failed to define any fundamental American interest in the war's outcome", he might be writing about Afghanistan today. When he says, "Pearl Harbor...exploded the notion that self-sufficiency and generous impulses were sufficient to defend America" he might be talking of another more recent surprise attack on the U.S.. None of this is heavy handed or partisan, and Terzian has a magical gift for making his ideological points persuasively and with exemplary civility. A small gem. ... Read more

Product Description
The complete texts of all U.S. presidential inaugural addresses from George Washington in 1789 to Barack Obama in 2009.

The Kindle Edition includes a full Table of Contents. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

All the speeches, in one place
Following Obama's inauguration speech, I was interested in comparing it to the ones that had come before. This book brings them all together, and, through the hyper-linked front index indicating the president's name and the year of the inauguration, they are very easy to browse and read. Fascinating stuff. ... Read more

Product Description

It is a time of turmoil, with the nation mired in an unpopular war in Korea and with Senator Joseph McCarthy stirring up fear of a lurking Communist "menace." Racial discrimination is rampant. A woman's place is in the home. And when a shocking act of God eliminates the Democratic presidential nominee, the party throws its support to an unlikely standard bearer: former First Lady and goodwill ambassador to the world Eleanor Roosevelt.

Captivating and fast-paced, Eleanor vs. Ike pits the unforgettable Eleanor against the enormously popular war hero Gen. Dwight David ("Ike") Eisenhower. But while the opponents promise "an honest campaign," their strategists mire the race in scandal and bitter innuendo.Suddenly Eleanor finds herself a target of powerful insiders who mean to destroy her good name—and Ku Klux Klan assassins dedicated to her death—as she gets caught up in a mad whirl of appearances and political maneuvering . . . and a chance encounter with a precocious five-year-old named Hillary Rodham.

Customer Reviews (26)

Could be more
I liked the book, but found it left me longing for something deeper. It came across as somewhat flighty, and I was longing for some more depth to be brought to the characters. I felt as if the author wanted to almost show off research skills - just throwing out names and facts, without really developing the main charecters in any great depth. I've read worse, and liked the idea, but it could have been done better.

historical fiction
i was very interested in this book, entralled by the premise of the title and i wasnt disappointed .

Great Alternative Fiction
Could a woman have won the Presidency in 1952? That's the premise of this interesting alternative history novel where Adlai Stevenson has a heart attack at the Democratic National Convention and the best candidate left is Eleanor Roosevelt (with Sam Rayburn as her running mate). Gerber does a great job of recreating 1950s politics (there are almost too many explanations of who these people are, I'm sure intended for modern readers who have minimal knowledge of the real 1950s, rather than the Happy Days view of the era), and I found the subsequent campaigns and characters believable. My only two pauses: a silly "kiss with history" where Eleanor is introduced to a little girl named Hillary Rodham and a piece of narrative on the convention floor when "paramedics" go to Stevenson's side. The "paramedic" did not exist in the 1950s and it brings the narrative back to the present with a thump. Otherwise this is recommended.

I LOVED it - I wish I could give it ten stars
I've always admired Eleanor Roosevelt - I share a Mayflower ancestor with her and FDR.

I couldn't put the book down. It had everything.Romance, political intrigue...

More like this!

Excellent book to read during the current political compaign
Thought provoking book. Made great reading during the political compaigning. Alot of "what ifs". Liked the writing style. Our book club had a lively discussion. ... Read more