Synopses & Reviews
Review
"David Nichols makes a fascinating and persuasive case that President Eisenhower, for all his rhetorical flubs, made great contributions to the advance of civil rights. Deeds, not words, as Nichols puts it."
-- Anthony Lewis, former New York Times columnist and author of Gideon's Trumpet
Review
"David Nichols has mastered the last frontier of Eisenhower revisionism -- civil rights.
A Matter of Justice is a triumph."
-- Daun van Ee, editor of The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
Review
"This is revisionist history at its best -- provocative yet unbiased. With anyone else in the White House during the 1950s, the civil rights movement would have emerged more slowly. Nichols's brisk account is also a terrific character study of Eisenhower as a misunderstood but effective politician."
-- Jonathan Alter, author of The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope
Review
"A Matter of Justice is a fascinating and important book. Unbeknownst to most Americans, the Eisenhower administration presided over major civil rights advances, paving the way for the better-known breakthroughs of the 1960s. David Nichols vividly narrates this crucial but hitherto unappreciated aspect of the civil rights revolution."
-- Fred I. Greenstein, author of The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader
Review
"David A. Nichols has written an important, revealing book about Eisenhower's extensive civil rights record.
A Matter of Justice will be indispensable to future Eisenhower biographers."
-- James F. Simon, Martin Professor of Law at New York Law School and author of Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney
Review
"Eisenhower is one of the unsung heroes of the quest for civil rights and racial justice, and David Nichols captures the essence of his quiet leadership in this compelling, well-researched, and judicious book. Fifty years after his deft handling of the Little Rock crisis, Eisenhower gets his due in this important and readable work."
-- Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe
About the Author
David A. Nichols, a leading expert on the Eisenhower presidency, holds a Ph.D. in history from William and Mary. A former professor and academic dean at Southwestern College, he is the author of A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution, and Lincoln and the Indians. He lives in Winfield, Kansas.