Three Days in January: Dwight Eisenhower’s Final Mission
by Brett Baier and Catherine Whitney, 2017, William Morrow
The more I read this book, the more I didn’t like it. It’s an overview of Ike’s days in the White House, but is built on the premise that his last three days in office were somehow momentous and important. The book, however, doesn’t have much to say about those three days, and, instead, gives a somewhat condensed biography of Eisenhower and his presidency. The problem is that it’s a biased account, generally praising (worshiping?) him for about everything, constantly criticizing his predecessor, Harry Truman, and the man who followed him in office, John Kennedy.
What is really the corker for this book, however, is the end of the book where the author(s) attempt to draw a favorable comparison between Ike’s approach to problem solving and that of Donald Trump. Throughout the book they describe Eisenhower’s very deliberative, respectful, consensus-building style. They then suggest that there are close parallels between the Eisenhower presidency and Trump’s. After reading in the book all the steps that Eisenhower would take in coming to a decision and knowing that Trump likes to rely so much on his own instincts and intuition, I found it ludicrous that someone would even attempt to suggest that there are similarities. Also, the way Ike would treat his subordinates with respect and consideration versus the way Trump denigrates his associates (Jeff Sessions, Wilbur Ross, Rex Tillerson), not to mention his name calling and insults of women, make one wonder if both individuals belong to the same species.
Frankly, this book, while it describes a lot of what went on in the Eisenhower administration, it’s bias in favor of Ike versus the other presidents and it’s absurd comparison of Eisenhower and Trump, lost it for me.
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