Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but needs polish
Review: D'Este appears to be well qualified to present a soldiers story. The book is entertaining in a way that only authenticism carries. If you read it you will believe that he knows what he is talking about. D'Este presents Ike free from either adulation or vendetta. You get the whole man, warts, luck, falibility, and all. The Summersby story seems too glossed over. Even if we believe, as D'Este does, that theire was no illicit liason going on, there was obviously a lot of inappropriate intimacy that compromised Ike's work, extending into his treatment of secret information, and his working relationships with his Army, and his masters. Even if Ike felt comfortable sharing everything with Kay, he should not have always presumed that his subordinate commanders did. Eisenhower would have been the first to condemn and probably sack a subordinate who let his personal life intrude so strongly into his professional responsibilities. D'Este neglects this avenue of analysis and simply declares that there was nothing scandalous going on. The other major fault of the book lies with the editor. The book contains a lot of repetition and overly simple statements of the author's opinions without justification or supporting arguments. A careful editor should have corrected some of that.
Rating: 
Summary: "I Like Ike!"
Review: Dwight D. Eisenhower was President all during my years in grade school, and so he was the first political figure about whom I learned. My impression always was that he was an easy-going fellow who spent more time golfing than working, and who couldn't give a straight answer to a reporter's question if his life depended upon it. After reading this masterful biography, I am ready to concede that my impression of the man was completely wrong! The Eisenhower who emerges from these pages was a man of sharp intellect, with an intense interest in history, and a person who could, when pressed, speak and write concisely and intelligently on many subjects. He had a famous smile, but it hid a volatile temper that often mastered him, rather than the other way around. From this biography, we learn that Ike just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and he was helped in his career by powerful superiors, who recognized his merits as a soldier. The author takes us through the European theater of operations very well, and explains everything clearly, without falling into the habit of many military history writers, who give troop movements, etc., in mind-numbing detail. Here we know what happened, and why it happened, without the extraneous detail that bloats a book, without adding anything to its substance. This is a new Eisenhower to me, and one with whom I can readily say I would be proud to have known. Thank you very much to this author, who has done so much to enlighten all of his readers to the man within the public front.
Rating:
Summary: A Fair and Balanced Look at Ike
Review: Dwight Eisenhower's life has been so thoroughly written about and re-written that another biography seems laughable. Nevertheless, Carlo D'Este deserves credit for this highly readable description and analysis of Ike's career through the end of WWII. D'Este highlights Eisenhower's strengths but also his weaknesses, some of which are in the eye of the beholder (the debate over the "Broad Front" strategy in late 1944-45 will likely never be settled). Some Eisenhower worshippers may be offended by D'Este's detailing of Ike's faults (both as D'Este defines them and Ike's troublesome British and American contemporaries). However, he always comes back to the one ultimate, essential point: who else could have led the coalition better?
Rating:
Summary: A Fair and Balanced Look at Ike
Review: Dwight Eisenhower's life has been so thoroughly written about and re-written that another biography seems laughable. Nevertheless, Carlo D'Este deserves credit for this highly readable description and analysis of Ike's career through the end of WWII. D'Este highlights Eisenhower's strengths but also his weaknesses, some of which are in the eye of the beholder (the debate over the "Broad Front" strategy in late 1944-45 will likely never be settled). Some Eisenhower worshippers may be offended by D'Este's detailing of Ike's faults (both as D'Este defines them and Ike's troublesome British and American contemporaries). However, he always comes back to the one ultimate, essential point: who else could have led the coalition better?
Rating:
Summary: Decent biography & honest look at Allied commanders of WW2
Review: Eisenhower was never one of my favorite generals and this book didn't change my opinion, but it did give me a better understanding of the man and the tremendous problems he faced as the Allied Commander of the European Theater during World War II. I don't know why Roosevelt and Marshall picked Eisenhower for a job he wasn't qualified for. The British had little faith in him but accepted him because they figured they could manipulate him, and this proved to be true early in the war. But in the end, Eisenhower shouldered the responsibilities, made the tough decisions, dealt with the French, and got the job done. This book gives an honest insightful look at the men that ran the war, their strengths and weaknesses, and their triumphs and disasters. I found that D'Este's coverage of such luminaries as Montgomery, Patton, Bradley, and Alexander (to name but a few) a real education. This is a real eye-opener for those who thought the Allied Armies were the best trained, equipped, and led. This book led me to the conclusion that we won the war because we were better able to recover from our mistakes and replace our losses. This is a great read for World War II history buffs.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating read; somewhat inconclusive.
Review: Every biographer will put his own spin on his subject. The problem with D'Este is that the spin seems inconsistent. Does he think that Ike was a brilliant leader or an indecisive incompetent? Apparently some of each. Would Montgomery, if given free rein, have ended the war sooner? According to D'Este, maybe -- and maybe not. Should Ike have more solidly favored Patton with logistical support at Monty's expense? Maybe, maybe not. Was Bradley overrated? Maybe -- etc. Perhaps there's nothing wrong with this ambivalence; it would be absurd to rate Eisenhower's performance as Supreme Commander as either white or black; of course he will come out some shade of grey, with failures and setbacks to go along with sound decisions and triumphs. Whatever your opinion of Ike, Monty, Patton, and the rest, this book is fascinating reading for any student of the war. (P.S. - I'm tempted to give another star, bringing it up to a General-of-the-army-5 star rating, just because D'Este had the guts to dismiss the Kay Summersby story for what it probably was: a man finding comfort in non-sexual companionship with a pleasant young woman -- a welcome distraction from the immense pressures and inherent loneliness of his job).
Rating:
Summary: Decent biography !
Review: Exhaustive, highly readable study of Ike the soldier, from his modest Kansas origins through V-E Day. Descended from a long line of religious pacifists, Dwight D. Eisenhower was to end his political career by decrying the "military-industrial complex." Yet, retired US Army officer and military historian D'Este (Patton: A Genius for War, 1993) points out, although he was president of the US, Eisenhower "would have been elated merely to be remembered as a soldier." Thus, D'Este limits his treatment to Ike's military accomplishments. The first was graduating in the class of 1915 at West Point, where his indifference to discipline won him many demerits. After WWI, which he sat out as a trainer of the infant Tank Corps, Eisenhower distinguished himself in staff assignments, through associations with key officers who aided his climb up the Army ladder. D'Este portrays his subject as a complex personality, beneath whose sunny smile and easygoing manner lay ruthless ambition and a first-rate intelligence. After an important stint in 1925 at the Staff School in Fort Leavenworth, Eisenhower commenced a career as a high-level staff officer, mostly engaged in turbulent service stateside and in the Philippines to the imperious, histrionic Douglas MacArthur. After WWII began, Eisenhower's mastery of the problems of industrial mobilization endeared him to George Marshall and won him assignments as strategic planner for the Mediterranean campaigns. The bulk of D'Este's account is devoted to Ike's masterful command of the Allied effort in Europe, which entailed brilliant diplomacy as much as military acumen. The biographer not only conveys the strategic problems Eisenhower faced, but shows how the general's personal qualities-his unpretentiousness, single-minded dedication to the task, and sensitivity to the difficulty of forging unity between two proud allies who were often mistrustful of each other-ultimately drove the Allied war machine to victory. An absorbing portrait of the growth of Eisenhower the man and a fine analysis of the accomplishments of Eisenhower the general.
Rating:
Summary: The Human Dimensions of An American Hero
Review: Having already read D'Este's Patton: A Genius for War, I was eager to read this biography of Eisenhower and found it to be of comparable quality in terms of scope, depth, and eloquence of analysis. Moreover, D'Este offers a portrait of Eisenhower somewhat different from those I had previously found in other studies of one of our nation's greatest generals. For example, until reading this book I was unaware of the nature and extent of Eisenhower's stress-induced illnesses and am now curious about their impact on his judgment. (Do they help to explain his commitment to the Market Garden initiative?) Also, D'Este indicates that Eisenhower was by no means the great strategist which I had once assumed him to be, nor especially effective as a field commander. Prior to leading the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942, he had never been in combat. His promotion less than two years later (from colonel to four-star general) removed him entirely from field operations. He had a volcanic temper and tended to play favorites (e.g. Bradley, Hodges, and Clark). If the buck stopped on his desk, he must assume primary responsibility for failures such as the Anzio and Salerno invasions as well as for the vulnerabilities which German strategists exploited during the Battle of the Bulge. His greatest strengths include being able to resolve or at least neutralize conflicts between and among prima donnas such as Patton and Montgomery; gaining the loyalty and devotion of his staff officers; being revered and trusted by the troops; and meanwhile, sustaining the support of Roosevelt, Churchill, and (most importantly) Marshall. It is important to keep in mind that D'Este limits his attention almost entirely to Eisenhower's military career, devoting almost no attention to Eisenhower's private life. Readers must seek elsewhere for a probing analysis of Eisenhower's personal relationships such as those with wife Mamie and his female driver, Kay Summersby. For me, the book's greatest value is derived from what I characterize as D'Este's "You Are There Strategy" as he enables his reader to accompany Eisenhower throughout his military career. Along the way, we learn about his childhood, his erratic years at the U.S. Military Academy, various peacetime assignments following his commission, and finally his tenure as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces during World War Two. According to D'Este and countless others, Eisenhower was probably the only person (with the possible exception of Marshall who was needed elsewhere) who could have assumed and discharged the duties and responsibilities entrusted to him in that position. His 'finest hour" occurred when he (and he alone) had to decide whether or not to launch the invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944. Perhaps at no other time (before or since) did Eisenhower feel greater pressure. He fully accepted that burden and, as specified in writing on the eve of the invasion, he accepted full responsibility if the invasion failed. British General Alan Brooke once observed that Eisenhower "learned a lot during the war, but tactics, strategy, and command were never his strong suits." I am unqualified to comment on that observation but D'Este seems to agree with Brooke. Be that as it may, Eisenhower's position is secure among our nation's most distinguished military leaders. Moreover, there are also quite specific reasons why so many people loved him. His is an eminence few other American heroes can claim.
Rating:
Summary: Well written but a little disappointing.
Review: Having never read a biography on Ike, I was intrigued quickly by this book. Mr. D'Este paints an interesting portrait of Dwight's childhood, his time at West Point and the Interwar years in the Army. The book also gave a good overview of the politics of Torch and the North African campaign. However I feel the book lacked several important elements. First, I don't think Mr. D'Este described in detail what Ike did as MacArthur's assistant. Second, I don't feel he adequately explained how George Marshall decied that a lieutenant colonel with no combat experience became his choice for Supreme Commander. Third, The book goes to great lengths to paint an overworked Ike, but doesn't give a good 'feel' for what work he was doing on a daily basis. The reader is told he was often out of touch with his field commanders and overwhelmed by politics but I think there should have been more description of the details of his days as Supreme Commander. Finally, the title "A Soldier's Life" led me to believe the book would continue the narrative after the war to describe Ike's duties as Commander of Allied Powers in Europe, Army Chief of Staff and his role as NATO chief. I was disappointed that the book ended abruptly on VE-day. All this being said, I will still read other works by Carlo d'Este for his writing ability and knowledge of military matters.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining read, impressive!
Review: I admit I approached this book with some trepidation. After all, Stephen Ambrose is considered the definitive Ike biographer, and I doubted that D'Este could do proper justice to Eisenhower. Boy, was I mistaken. D'Este writes well and weaves together all the characters in the Ike saga with effortless skill. The pro-Eisenhower prejudice which occasionally mars Ambrose's books is completely lacking here. The author respects Ike but plainly sees his shortcomings and faults. He gently argues that an essentially desk-bound general such as Ike can never be considered the equal of a battlefield general like Robert E. Lee or U.S. Grant. There is plenty of material here about Ike's famous disagreements with the bombastic Monty, as well as his views on Patton, Bradley and the other members of SHAEF. Also included is material on Ike's relationship with his driver, Kay Summersby. Did they or did they not "do" it? D'Este will tell you. I recommend this book for students of WWII or Eisenhower. It's very readable and factual.
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