Synopses & Reviews
Evan Thomas's startling account of how the underrated Dwight Eisenhower saved the world from nuclear holocaust.
Upon assuming the presidency in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower set about to make good on his campaign promise to end the Korean War. Yet while Eisenhower was quickly viewed by many as a doddering lightweight, behind the bland smile and simple speech was a master tactician. To end the hostilities, Eisenhower would take a colossal risk by bluffing that he might use nuclear weapons against the Communist Chinese, while at the same time restraining his generals and advisors who favored the strikes. Ike's gamble was of such magnitude that there could be but two outcomes: thousands of lives saved, or millions of lives lost.
A tense, vivid and revisionist account of a president who was then, and still is today, underestimated, Ike's Bluff is history at its most provocative and thrilling.
Review
"[Thomas is] a five-star biographer who blows apart that image [of Ike as a bumbling old man] with devastating detail." Vanity Fair
Review
"A bustling, anecdotal book with a high-concept premise. [Thomas] approaches the ever more changeable Eisenhower legacy with new and intriguing questions." The New York Times
Review
"Well-researched and highly readable....Thomas' account is sure to appeal to older readers who can recall the mandatory duck-and-cover drills in the classroom and to others with an interest in a fascinating and pivotal period when the nation was in better hands than many at the time probably realized." The Associated Press
Review
"Thomas has written a book that elucidates Eisenhower's wisdom for general readers." Richmond Times-Dispatch
Review
"A thoroughly researched, tightly organized and briskly written biography....Thomas is especially skilled at bringing characters of the era to life." Washington Post
About the Author
Evan Thomas is the author of several bestselling works of history including The War Lovers, Robert Kennedy, Sea of Thunder and, with Walter Isaacson, The Wise Men. Currently teaching at Princeton University, he lives in Washington, D.C.