Stephen E. Ambrose draws upon extensive sources, an unprecedented degree of scholarship, and numerous interviews with Eisenhower himself to offer the fullest, richest, most objective rendering yet of the soldier who became president. He gives us a masterly account of the European war theater and Eisenhower's magnificent leadership as Allied Supreme Commander. Ambrose's recounting of Eisenhower's presidency, the first of the Cold War, brings to life a man and a country struggling with issues as diverse as civil rights, atomic weapons, communism, and a new global role.

Along the way, Ambrose follows the 34th President"s relations with the people closest to him, most of all Mamie, his son John, and Kay Summersby, as well as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Harry Truman, Nixon, Dulles, Khrushchev, Joe McCarthy, and indeed, all the American and world leaders of his time. This superb interpretation of Eisenhower"s life confirms Stephen Ambrose"s position as one of our finest historians.

1 Abilene, West Point, World War I

2 Between the Wars

3 Preparing the First Offensive

4 North Africa, Sicily, and Italy

5 D-Day and the Liberation of France

6 The West Wall and the Battle of the Bulge

7 The Last Offensive

8 Peace

9 Columbia, NATO, and Politics

10 Candidate

11 Getting Started

12 The Chance for Peace

13 Peace in Korea--Coup in Iran--Atoms for Peace

14 McCarthy and Vietnam

15 ChiNats and ChiComs

16 The Geneva Summit and a Heart Attack

17 The 1956 Campaign

18 Little Rock and Sputnik

19 1958--A Most Difficult Year

20 A Revival

21 1960--High Hopes and Unhappy Realities

22 Transition and Assessment

23 Elder Statesman

Epilogue

Notes

Bibliography

Index

MAPS

North Africa and Sicily and the Invasion of France

The Defeat of Germany