I’ve read extensively on both of these men and find both endlessly fascinating.
Churchill? Good Lord. Brilliant? Of course. Infuriating? Yes indeed. Wrong, wrong, wrong about so much. The Dardanelles in WW1, the abdication, colonialism. Maudlin, overly emotional, never wrong, at least in his mind.
And with all that against him, he was the one who stood up in 1940-41. There were others of course, but he was the bulwark. Without him the last 80 years are very different.
As a child of the sixties I heard about Eisenhower the boring, the sleepy, the do nothing President.
Nope. I’m convinced he was the last great American president. He made the hard decisions, not all of which worked out. (See Iran 1954). But every decision was thought thru. Above all, he was an ADULT. A species so sadly lacking today.
The book did a great job following the twists and turns of their relationship. Two fascinating personalities intertwined. Well worth the read.
I love Jordan's books. He does such a bang up job of showcasing the personalities of these individuals. This book has been sitting on my to-read pile for awhile and this was a nudge to finally ready it.
Thank you for this review and I can't wait to read the book! I've read almost everything I could get my hands on about Churchill, one of my heroes. I'm slogging through his own 5-volume set about WWII and have always loved his prose. Majestic! I am learning more about Eisenhower. Have you seen the relatively new movie about him called Pressure? I saw it twice and enjoyed it.
I’ve read extensively on both of these men and find both endlessly fascinating.
Churchill? Good Lord. Brilliant? Of course. Infuriating? Yes indeed. Wrong, wrong, wrong about so much. The Dardanelles in WW1, the abdication, colonialism. Maudlin, overly emotional, never wrong, at least in his mind.
And with all that against him, he was the one who stood up in 1940-41. There were others of course, but he was the bulwark. Without him the last 80 years are very different.
As a child of the sixties I heard about Eisenhower the boring, the sleepy, the do nothing President.
Nope. I’m convinced he was the last great American president. He made the hard decisions, not all of which worked out. (See Iran 1954). But every decision was thought thru. Above all, he was an ADULT. A species so sadly lacking today.
The book did a great job following the twists and turns of their relationship. Two fascinating personalities intertwined. Well worth the read.
I am currently reading Jon Meacham’s Franklin and Winston. Will add this to my to-read shelf. I have to admit I don’t know much about Ike.
I love Jordan's books. He does such a bang up job of showcasing the personalities of these individuals. This book has been sitting on my to-read pile for awhile and this was a nudge to finally ready it.
This is the first one I've read; can't wait to dig into the others.
Thank you for this review and I can't wait to read the book! I've read almost everything I could get my hands on about Churchill, one of my heroes. I'm slogging through his own 5-volume set about WWII and have always loved his prose. Majestic! I am learning more about Eisenhower. Have you seen the relatively new movie about him called Pressure? I saw it twice and enjoyed it.
Oh gosh, I'm going through his memoirs right now as well. There are some brilliant sections, but it's somewhat tough slogging for sure.
And yes, I saw Pressure in theaters with my son. Really good!
This is an excellent review of these two powerful world leaders. I am looking forward to reading this book.
Im pretty sure the photo of Ike and Winston in the golf cart with Ike driving was taken at Ike's farm in Gettysburg Pennsylvania.
I live very close to Gettysburg and have been to Ike's farm several times and I believe I remember this photo from there.
Indeed it was! Good eye.