Book Review: Ike's Final Battle
Earlier this week I finished reading Ike's Final Battle: The Road to Little Rock and the Challenge of Equality by Kasey Pipes. I enjoyed it very much. Following is a review of the book that I wrote for Amazon:
Kasey Pipes writes a very objective account of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's effort to confront and manage the challenges of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and a conflicted nation's battle over segregation. Despite being a former GOP speechwriter, there is nothing sycophantic or party line in Pipes' historical account of Eisenhower's handling of the nation's most important domestic issue of his Presidency. He begins by giving the reader a vivid picture of it's main character, beginning with the Kansas high school football player who opposes African-American players on the gridiron. We next see Ike as a young soldier who forms a negative impression of African-American soldiers and of their work ethic, abilities and aptitudes. Years later as the architect of D-Day and the Supreme Allied Commander, Ike's opinion of African-American soldiers undergoes a positive change as he fills a military need by utilizing them at the Battle of the Bulge.
Returning to America as the conquering hero, sought by both parties as their dream candidate, Eisenhower sees a nation's attitude towards civil rights evolving. Eisenhower is sympathetic but cautious. He is a product of his times and his life experience. On the one hand, he sees inequality as inherently wrong, but also recognizes that his nation will not accept sudden and radical change. When campaigning for the White House, Eisenhower tries to be all things to everyone and is seen as the better of two unsatisfactory choices by those on both sides of the issue.
When the Supreme Court of the United States tosses the "separate but equal" doctrine on its head in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, Eisenhower believes that the decision is unwise, but he is equally determined to follow the law. When southern governors like Arkansan Orville Faubus vow to defy the court ruling, they and the nation as a whole come to learn the metal of the man in the White House.
Despite an opening disclaimer in which Pipes claims that has no special insight into Eisenhower, he presents the reader with tremendous insight into Eisenhower himself and into those factors which played into his decision, including the Civil Rights movement, northern sympathies, southern opposition, key players within both parties and Eisenhower's own health challenges. The book follows Eisenhower through the crisis and confrontation and beyond, as he watches his successors confront the same issues. For example Pipes points out how Senator John Kennedy was critical of Ike's handling of the issue and how President John Kennedy's failure to follow Eisenhower's example in use of force resulted in a greater loss of life.
Pipes clearly points out how Eisenhower was deserving of his reputation as a strong leader, but how he was still very human, complete with faults and prejudices. He writes with a remarkable grasp of all of the factors entering into consideration of the issues as they existed at the time. This is a very balanced and objective portrait of a principled, conservative-thinking leader confronting a very divisive issue. Whether your interest is in Eisenhower himself, the politics of the fifties or the civil rights movement and its history, this is an excellent book that gives tremendous insight and an enjoyable read.
Kasey Pipes writes a very objective account of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's effort to confront and manage the challenges of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and a conflicted nation's battle over segregation. Despite being a former GOP speechwriter, there is nothing sycophantic or party line in Pipes' historical account of Eisenhower's handling of the nation's most important domestic issue of his Presidency. He begins by giving the reader a vivid picture of it's main character, beginning with the Kansas high school football player who opposes African-American players on the gridiron. We next see Ike as a young soldier who forms a negative impression of African-American soldiers and of their work ethic, abilities and aptitudes. Years later as the architect of D-Day and the Supreme Allied Commander, Ike's opinion of African-American soldiers undergoes a positive change as he fills a military need by utilizing them at the Battle of the Bulge.
Returning to America as the conquering hero, sought by both parties as their dream candidate, Eisenhower sees a nation's attitude towards civil rights evolving. Eisenhower is sympathetic but cautious. He is a product of his times and his life experience. On the one hand, he sees inequality as inherently wrong, but also recognizes that his nation will not accept sudden and radical change. When campaigning for the White House, Eisenhower tries to be all things to everyone and is seen as the better of two unsatisfactory choices by those on both sides of the issue.
When the Supreme Court of the United States tosses the "separate but equal" doctrine on its head in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, Eisenhower believes that the decision is unwise, but he is equally determined to follow the law. When southern governors like Arkansan Orville Faubus vow to defy the court ruling, they and the nation as a whole come to learn the metal of the man in the White House.
Despite an opening disclaimer in which Pipes claims that has no special insight into Eisenhower, he presents the reader with tremendous insight into Eisenhower himself and into those factors which played into his decision, including the Civil Rights movement, northern sympathies, southern opposition, key players within both parties and Eisenhower's own health challenges. The book follows Eisenhower through the crisis and confrontation and beyond, as he watches his successors confront the same issues. For example Pipes points out how Senator John Kennedy was critical of Ike's handling of the issue and how President John Kennedy's failure to follow Eisenhower's example in use of force resulted in a greater loss of life.
Pipes clearly points out how Eisenhower was deserving of his reputation as a strong leader, but how he was still very human, complete with faults and prejudices. He writes with a remarkable grasp of all of the factors entering into consideration of the issues as they existed at the time. This is a very balanced and objective portrait of a principled, conservative-thinking leader confronting a very divisive issue. Whether your interest is in Eisenhower himself, the politics of the fifties or the civil rights movement and its history, this is an excellent book that gives tremendous insight and an enjoyable read.