Before He Was President

Eisenhower by John F. Wukovits

Given that this book is part of the “Great Generals” series, it focuses on Dwight D. Eisenhower’s life in the Army. I found it immediately interesting that Eisenhower did not feel a “calling” to serve in the military. As a young man entering West Point, the main draw seemed to be that he could play football on their team, and that it was a free path to higher education. His hardcore devotion to the Army came later. It was also interesting that Ike did not particularly stand out at West Point— but when he was participating in practical training later in his career, he rose to the top of his class. He excelled at the practical rather than the theoretical. Thank goodness for that. Another bit of information that was new to me: Eisenhower was not sent to Europe during WWI, much to his dismay. So WWII was his first entry into battle. It’s pretty astonishing.

I listened to this book on CD, and the audiobook was OK. The writing is a bit bland, and some of the sentences made me want to argue with their patness. Since I was enjoying learning about Ike, I let it slide, but there were moments when I made a stinkface as I was listening.

On the plus side, the author excels at giving a clear impression of the challenges Eisenhower faced while serving as supreme commander of the Allied forces— particularly the difficulties of dealing with other generals whose enormous egos created some issues. The author also gives us a look at Ike’s leadership style. Eisenhower believed the troops would perform best if they knew the reasons behind the orders they were given, and he made a point to visit the men and to talk with and listen to them. It seems that this type of interaction benefited both the soldiers and their commander, who said he was inspired and encouraged by his men. When the D-Day invasion was successful, he gave all the credit to the troops; in the press release he prepared in case the invasion did not succeed, he took full personal responsibility for its failure. It makes perfect sense to me that this man would later give the famous “Cross of Iron” speech and that he would conclude his presidency by warning us of the dangers of the military-industrial complex.

The terrific singer/songwriter Peter Mulvey wrote a song called
“Abilene (The Eisenhower Waltz),” which begins with the line “God bless you, Dwight D. Eisenhower…” Yes, indeed.

Remembering Diana

A Dress for Diana by David Emanuel and Elizabeth Emanuel

I have adored Princess Diana ever since I was a little girl and she was still Lady Diana Spencer. My wonderful mom indulged me back in 1981 by granting my wish to be awakened in the wee hours of the morning (I think it was 3 a.m.) to watch the Royal Wedding. (I was a geek even then: I remember taking notes.) And this beautiful book is all about the dress Diana wore that day. Authors David Emanuel and Elizabeth Emanuel were then very young designers, and Diana had met them when she decided to wear a blouse they had designed for her official engagement photo. When she chose them to design her wedding dress, they were launched onto the international scene. I remember the rumors that were recounted by reporters while we waited to see Diana appear in her wedding dress—that the dress might be pink, for example. The Emanuels went to great lengths to protect the secret of the dress’s design until the wedding day, and they succeeded. This book focuses on the design and assembly of the dress, and it is fascinating. Its only shortcoming, in my eyes, is that there are relatively few photos of Princess Diana on her wedding day. But this book is really about the months leading up to that day, so probably that’s not a fair critique. And besides, there are oodles of other books that provide great photos of the wedding day itself. A Dress for Diana is all about the behind-the-scenes preparations. And some of the close-up photos of the dress and the veil are breathtaking. This book makes me feel sad all over again that the world has lost the remarkable woman who awed us all that day.

Another "Wife" Book

The Doctor’s Wife by Elizabeth Brundage

Initially I was surprised by this book— because it starts from the viewpoint of a woman named Lydia, whom I expected to become the person with whom I would most sympathize. That was not to be. (Is this a literary convention the author has just turned on its head— a tendency to start a book with the character with whom we’re meant to identify?) This is one of those books that uses a style I love, in which we get to see various characters’ viewpoints. (I always think of Russell Banks’ The Sweet Hereafter as the benchmark for this technique.) In The Doctor’s Wife, each of the four main characters is interestingly flawed. There’s…

Annie— the “doctor’s wife” of the book’s title, who decides to have an affair with Simon;

Simon, an unconventional artist who took advantage of his wife Lydia in her youth;

Lydia, who joins an extremist group that protests abortion through violent means; and

Michael, Annie’s husband— the doctor, whose dedication to his work is straining his marriage.

This book has a gripping plot, and it was delightfully uncomfortable to read (those flawed characters again, wreaking havoc on their lives and the lives of others!) I’m not giving anything away to tell you that Lydia kidnaps Michael; this is revealed right at the beginning of the book. The rest of the story, which explains how they reached that point, is then revealed. I found it similar to some of Sue Miller’s books— the unforeseen effects of one’s choices creeping into life in unexpected ways.

A Young President

An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek

First-- we have a new president-elect! Without getting all partisan about it, I'll say simply: champagne toasts have occurred.

So, let's celebrate with a book about another young senator who became president-- and how also inspired a new generation in an unprecedented way...

In An Unfinished Life, we get a glimpse of JFK as we never knew him before. From this book, I gained an appreciation of Kennedy's humanity and his ability to learn from his mistakes. For example, following the Bay of Pigs fiasco, he was devastated by his error in judgment and ceased his unquestioning reliance on the advice of his military advisors. Dallek, professor of history at Boston University and author/narrator of a terrific audio series called American Presidency (part of the Modern Scholar series), reveals new information about the seriousness of Kennedy's illnesses and the extent to which he was medicated while president, his rampant infidelity (including flings with White House staffers, including-- gasp!-- an intern), and his innate fatalism. And still I adore JFK; this is vaguely unsettling. This is a large book, and it needed to be lengthy in order to do justice to the man whose complex life it describes. Dallek masterfully circumvents the legend and gives us the man.