Leaders: Ike by Michael Korda
An American Hero
When Cadet Dwight Eisenhower was graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, he was meeting with a colonel to receive his formal Army commission.
The colonel was reluctant to grant one because Eisenhower had received a serious injury horseback riding at the Academy.
Eisenhower told the colonel that a commission in the US Army wasn’t necessary as he was just as happy to go to South America and become a gaucho.
Taken aback, the colonel offered Eisenhower a dead-end assignment in what was known as the coastal guard — Eisenhower refused. It was only then that he was offered a commission as a second Lieutenant in the infantry that he accepted.
The rest, as they say, is history, but history worth reading.
Eisenhower, one of five brothers from an impoverished Kansas family, attended West Point because it was free. While there he was a ne’er-do-well, constantly busting curfew and smoking on the sly.
Korda’s big book (700+ pages) largely focuses on Ike’s early life, WWII and interwoven throughout, his relationship with Kay Summersby and Mamie, his wife.
Summersby was Ike’s British wartime driver with whom he, at the very least, engaged in an emotional affair much to Mamie’s deep concern and irritation.
It is through that triangular relationship that Ike, the human being, is most nearly visible.
He spent a lot of time around the vaunted Douglas MacArthur, both in the Philippines and in D.C. Later, when asked by someone if he knew the famous general, Ike said, “Of course, I studied dramatics for eight years under him.”
Working for MacArthur undoubtedly helped prepare him for dealing with other titanic egos. MacArthur’s ego was approximated if not matched by many of the other generals (and there are many) in the book.
George Patton and Bernard Montgomery come off the worst with Patton referring to Montgomery as “Chief Big Wind.” While Montgomery is insufferably arrogant and had what Abraham Lincoln would have referred to as the “slows” with his “time for tea” pace.
Eisenhower had the full backing of General Marshall and President Roosevelt even when the North Africa Campaign became a slog in the desert.
The relationship with Winston Churchill must have been interesting where Eisenhower went from a quasi-subordinate as wartime general to President of the United States during Churchill’s second stint as prime Minister. By then the U.S. had become the undisputed leader in world affairs displacing Britain.
Korda’s work is not a study of Eisenhower’s presidency offering what could best be described as a summary of events and his role in them.
Writers often refer to Eisenhower’s apparent affability but it came at a cost. When angered, which was often, first his neck and then his head would turn red. He mostly stifled his profane outbursts and internalized the emotion leading to multiple heart attacks, ulcers and a stroke. He smoked four packs of cigarettes a day for much of his life.
What made Eisenhower special?
Some great leaders have the knack of seeing the big picture and the ability to delegate while also knowing when (and how) to wade into the details. Eisenhower surely had these traits along with humility and an easy manner coupled with diplomacy and tact--but he could be tough when called for.
Dwight David Eisenhower died in May of 1969, age 78, after suffering from congestive heart failure. Mamie died a decade later.
