Eisenhower and the American Crusades

This is a major assessment of the American presidency during a critical mid-century period. The book follows the career of General Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1952, when he left his NATO command to campaign for the presidency, to his retirement nearly nine years later. His entry into politics was well-timed. A mood of conservatism was sweeping the country; surveys indicated that the majority of Americans felt it was time for a change from two decades of executive control "by those who had permitted events to get out of hand". Parmet based his study of the Eisenhower years on massive research, conversations with leading figures of the era, and previously unreleased documents. This wealth of material has enabled him to provide answers to questions frequently asked about the thirty-fourth president: Was Eisenhower the kind, fatherly man millions grew up to love on their television or was this an image created by a shrewd politician who knew what the country needed in a trying time?