Ikes Bluff President Eisenhowers Secret Battle to Save the World

Based on years of archival research and interviews with the last surviving aides and Roosevelt family members, Nigel Hamilton offers a definitive account of FDRand#8217;s masterfuland#8212;and underappreciatedand#8212;command of the Allied war effort.and#160;Hamilton takes readers inside FDRand#8217;s White House Oval Studyand#8212;his personal command centerand#8212;and into the meetings where he battled with Churchill about strategy and tactics and overrode the near mutinies of his own generals and secretary of war.and#160;

Time and again, FDR was proven right and his allies and generals were wrong.and#160;When the generals wanted to attack the Nazi-fortified coast of France, FDR knew the Allied forces werenand#8217;t ready.and#160;When Churchill insisted his Far East colonies were loyal and would resist the Japanese, Roosevelt knew it was a fantasy.and#160;As Hamiltonand#8217;s account reaches its climax with the Torch landings in North Africa in late 1942, the tide of war turns in the Alliesand#8217; favor and FDRand#8217;s genius for psychology and military affairs is clear.and#160;This intimate, sweeping look at a great president in historyand#8217;s greatest conflict is must reading.

"Franklin D. Rooseveltand#8217;s role as commander in chief of the military during World War II has not been covered as much as other aspects of his presidency. Hamilton (senior fellow, McCormack Graduate Sch., Univ. of Massachusetts-Boston; JFK: Reckess Youth) is well qualified to remedy that, showing how FDR worked with individuals and nations. He blasts Winston Churchilland#8217;s colonialist values, poor selection of military leaders, and constant meddling in their tactical plans, as well as Douglas MacArthurand#8217;s vanity and failure to prepare for a Japanese attack, but shows that FDR appreciated both men as fighters. Hamilton presents FDR as a serious student of world affairs who learned from his six years as assistant secretary of the navy. Unlike most books on Henry Stimson, FDRand#8217;s secretary of war, and George C. Marshall, his chief of staff of the army, Hamiltonand#8217;s work critiques them for their opposition to Operation Torch in French North Africa in 1942, opposition that was near mutiny against the president. Marshalland#8217;s disagreement, Hamilton charges, cost him command of the Normandy invasion: FDR brought Adm. William Leahy out of retirement to be chairman of the combined chiefs of staff, putting the Pentagon in its place just as he did the Axis powers. VERDICT This convincingly written and gripping volume is essential for historians, political scientists, and history buffs, for a deeper understanding of the principle of civilian supremacy of the military in the U.S. political system." and#8212;Library Journal, STARRED review

"Accomplished biographer Hamilton (Biography: A Brief History) delivers an analysis of President Franklin Roosevelt in the role of Commander-in-Chief through the first two years of WWII. The author follows his subject through 14 pivotal periods of the early war years and demonstrates that F.D.R. frequently trusted his own judgment over the advice of the military professionals who surrounded him. Central to the book and its thesis is the contest of wills between F.D.R. and his group of distinguished military advisors regarding the proposed invasion of North Africa in 1942, which was aggressively opposed by General Marshall and Secretary of War Stimson. This decision almost resulted in a and#8220;mutinyand#8221; against the President. Events ultimately vindicated the Presidentand#8217;s decision and firmly established his talent for grand strategy. Though itand#8217;s a weighty tome, and is based extensively on Rooseveltand#8217;s own notes, Hamilton keeps a brisk pace throughout to produce what will likely be seen as a definitive volume on this aspect of Rooseveltand#8217;s career and essential reading for anyone interested in WWII, the Roosevelt Presidency, and presidential leadership." and#8212;Publishers Weekly

and#160;

"FDR has frequently been underestimated as a military leader, yielding, in the historical imagination, to George Marshall and Winston Churchill, among others. Nigel Hamilton attacks this view with his characteristic verve, portraying a president with the reins of war fully, if often subtly, in his hands. The conventional wisdom will never be the same." and#8212; H.W. Brands, author of Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and#160; "Nigel Hamiltonand#8217;s Mantle of Command is a stirring and noteworthy book about Rooseveltand#8217;s crucial role as commander-in-chief during World War II. Hamilton writes with insight, passion, and a great grasp of history. I believe this book will become the standard by which other books about FDRand#8217;s role in World War II will be measured." and#8212; Carlo Dand#8217;Este, author of Patton: A Genius for War and Warlord: A Life of Churchill at War, 1874and#8211;1945 and#160; "This is not the Roosevelt (or Churchill) you'd expect. From the start, an aggressive, in-charge FDR emerges from a wonderful weaving of established scholarship and the fascinating bits and pieces that make history live. Churchill is an inspirational nag, with a busy, unfocused strategic vision. A key entry into the ongoing debate over who made grand strategy in the early war years and#8212; Roosevelt or Churchill?" and#8212; Warren F. Kimball, author of Forged in War: Roosevelt, Churchill, and the Second World War and#160; "Nigel Hamilton in Mantle of Command presents a very different wartime Franklin Delano Roosevelt than the one we are used to seeing. Whether or not one agrees with all his conclusions, Hamilton clearly shows that FDR was an extremely strong and effective commander-in-chief. This volume should go a long way to dispelling popular myths about Roosevelt as a naand#239;ve and weak war leader." and#8212; Mark Stoler, editor of the George C. Marshall Papers and Professor Emeritus of History, University of Vermont

and#160;

"Nigel Hamilton has written a spirited and thoughtful and#8216;revisionistand#8217; study of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as commander-in-chief during the first phase of U.S. involvement in the Second World War. Hamiltonand#8217;s narrative skill brings alive the human dramas, logistic hurdles, and strategic debates to show how FDRand#8217;s indispensable drive and forward-looking leadership tamed his own and#8216;team of rivalsand#8217; and set the United States and its Allies on the road to victory over the Axis. The books enlivens the often murky worlds of bureaucratic struggle and military detail to demonstrate how important it was for the United States to and#8216;get it rightand#8217; early in the war and how FDR accomplished this." and#8212; Michael Schaller, author of Douglas MacArthur and Regents Professor of History, University of Arizona

and#160;

"A popular biographer of various twentieth-century leaders, Hamilton here addresses a seemingly exhausted subject. Not so, he avers. FDRand#8217;s leadership as commander-in-chief is a space Hamilton offers to fill with this work. The first of two projected volumes, it chronologically extends from FDRand#8217;s August 1941 meeting with Churchill to the November 1942 Allied landings in French North Africa. Thematically, Hamilton depicts FDRand#8217;s assertion of his authority over American army and navy chiefs and, increasingly over time, Churchill. Palpably gleeful when pinpointing unflattering episodes these figures omitted from their memoirs, Hamilton is tantamount to the amanuensis for the memoir FDR never wrote. The portrait that emerges is complimentary and praises FDR as a strategist superior both to fellow Allies and to Axis enemies. He insisted MacArthur fight in the Philippines, he rejected British requests to defend India, he refuted his military officersand#8217; proposals to invade France and to concentrate on Japan, and he ordered them to carry out Operation Torch, the North African invasion. Well researched and confident in its conclusions, Hamiltonand#8217;s study ably augments the gallery of WWII leaders."--Booklist

and#160;"A deeply engrossing study of the first year of Franklin Rooseveltand#8217;s prescient military leadership in World War II.

Consummate biographer Hamilton (How to Do Biography: A Primer, 2008, etc.) ably captures the charming, astute personality of FDR, especially his role as foil to the dogged, imperious Winston Churchill. Considering that so many facets of the Roosevelt era have already been amply scrutinized, it is to Hamiltonand#8217;s considerable credit that he manages to impart singular, fresh nuance and depth to his hero. Hamilton aims to set the record straight on three counts: First, despite the postwar preening by his generals, FDR had fended off various defeatist and ineffectual proposals after the attack on Pearl Harbor and held firm to the necessity of a quick reprisal in the Pacific to check Japanand#8217;s further incursions into the Indian Ocean. Subsequently, working with the British (and against a near-mutiny of his generals), FDR seized on a massive combined force in northwest Africa, which would become Operation Torch, to pincer the Germans under Erwin Rommel, thus opening up a second front, to the delight of the Russians. Second, Hamilton aims to emphasize how important it was to FDR, a born aristocrat yet man of the people, that he and Churchill hammer out an understanding that the Americans would enter the war not to help Britain prop up its collapsing empire; on the contrary, FDR touched this sore spot frequently, such as by pressuring Churchill to let the beleaguered Indians fight for their self-determination. Finally, Hamilton wonderfully delineates FDRand#8217;s ability to elicit news from his many and#8220;eyes and earsand#8221; in the fieldand#8212;in opposition to the Victorian, prideful Churchill. However, as the author portrays through Churchilland#8217;s extended White House Christmas visit in 1941, the two leaders learned a great deal from each other.

Lively, elucidating, elegant and highly knowledgeable."--Kirkus, STARRED review

Praise for IKE'S BLUFF:

"With grace, insight, and originality, Evan Thomas has written a brilliant and engaging book about the most important of subjects: how close we came to Armageddon in the seemingly placid 1950s. Thomas's Eisenhower is a canny savior, a president who kept the peace through feint and bluff. No one writes more astutely or more honestly than Evan Thomas. This is the work of a master of storytelling at his best."--Jon Meacham, author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

"Evan Thomas has written an insightful and penetrating study of my father, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Dad was a hard man to know; he played it close to the chest. So despite my extensive exposure to him throughout forty six years, I still found myself learning new aspects, some of which, I must admit, are a bit painful. But the balance that Thomas achieves between Eisenhower the public servant and Eisenhower the man is, in my opinion, as close to the mark as we are likely to see."--John Eisenhower

"Evan Thomas's profoundly important book shows how the card-playing general who did as much as anyone to win World War II became the president most adroit at preserving peace. Behind his open smile, Eisenhower was a secretive and subtle leader with quiet moral courage. By projecting confidence while keeping his intentions concealed, he became the model of a nuclear-age peacekeeper. Thomas has produced a fascinating history that is also a brilliant guide to great leadership."--Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs

"Dwight Eisenhower was a great general and President because he was a great leader, and Ike's Bluff uncracks the code. Evan Thomas's original and fascinating book is an immersion in the Eisenhower School of Leadership, with lessons not only for Presidents and military officers but leaders in other arenas of American life operating in moments of both tranquility and rapid change. Especially in these times, Thomas's book is an essential reminder that strong leadership can be exercised with kindness, morality and respect for opponents."--Michael Beschloss, author of The Conquerors

"[Thomas is] a five-star biographer who blows apart that image [of Ike as a bumbling old man] with devastating detail."--Vanity Fair

"A bustling, anecdotal book with a high-concept premise. [Thomas] approaches the ever more changeable Eisenhower legacy with new and intriguing questions."--Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"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

"Thomas has written a book that elucidates Eisenhower's wisdom for general readers."--Richmond Times-Dispatch

"A thoroughly researched, tightly organized and briskly written biography...Thomas is especially skilled at bringing characters of the era to life..."--James Ledbetter, Washington Post

"Highly absorbing."--Tom Alderman, Huffington Post

"An imaginative, approachable volume that may well accelerate Eisenhower's slow but seemingly inexorable movement toward presidential greatness. Evan Thomas is right. The greatest victories of the man who helped win World War II were 'the wars he did not fight."--Boston Globe

"An enjoyable book, fast-moving and packed with anecdotes."--Los Angeles Times

"Engaging and insightful...Thomas' treatment is valuable...for the verve of its telling and convenience of bringing disparate and specialized sources together."--National Interest

"Incisive and direct...Evan Thomas brings considerable rhetorical power to his examination of the Eisenhower presidency."--Dallas Morning News

"[Thomas's] detailed, engaging pictures of Eisenhower's personality bring him vividly to life. Most important, by the end of the book Thomas has made his case that Dwight Eisenhower's 'greatest victories were the wars he did not fight.' "--New York Times Book Review

"Works such as Ike's Bluff are encouraging historians and the media to take a closer and more objective look at Dwight D. Eisenhower."--Washington Times

"[Thomas] is doing [for Eisenhower] what David McCullough did for John Adams."--Chris Matthews on Hardball

"When the stakes for America and the world were highest, Eisenhower played a winning hand. So, too, does his latest biographer."--Eric Spanberg, Christian Science Monitor

"Ike's Bluff is a testimony to the need for national leaders who place the nation above self...The book should be required reading for every member of Congress and the president as well."--Richard Fisher, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

"Historian and journalist Evan Thomas argues convincingly that keeping the United States out of war is a chief reason [Ike's reputation is on the rise]."--Timothy J. Lockhart, Virginian-Pilot

Terrific Praise for The War Lovers:

No biographer at work today has a surer feel for the human dimension of history than Evan Thomas...The War Lovers is as good as popular history gets."--Jon Meacham, author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

"In his absorbing narrative of men who found duty or fulfillment or personal meaning in a war for empire-and of other men, like William James, who feared that such a quest would rot the nation's soul-Thomas has illuminated, in a compulsively readable style, a critical moment in American history. This is a book that, with its style and panache, is hard to forget and hard to put down."--Ronald Steel, New York Times Book Review

"Thomas has delivered an innovative, frequently entertaining and valuable retelling of an episode that set the pattern for more than a century of foreign military adventurism. This timely book is a cautionary tale about how the psyche of powerful and ambitious leaders may matter more than fact-or even truth-when the question of war arises."--James McGrath Morris, The Washington Post

"Thomas takes some risks in his biography of Theodore Roosevelt and his cohorts, trying to get not just inside their actions, but inside their heads. The result is an intriguing examination of the pull that war has on men."--Steve Weinberg, Minneapolis Star Tribune

andquot;The Mantle of Command is splendid: Itandrsquo;s the memoir Roosevelt didnandrsquo;t get to write.andquot;

andmdash;New York Times Book Reviewand#160;andquot;Masterly.andquot;

andmdash;Wall Street Journaland#160;andquot;FDR has frequently been underestimated as a military leader, yielding, in the historical imagination, to George Marshall and Winston Churchill, among others. Nigel Hamilton attacks this view with his characteristic verve, portraying a president with the reins of war fully, if often subtly, in his hands. The conventional wisdom will never be the same.andquot;

andmdash;H.W. Brands, author of Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

andquot;Nigel Hamiltonandrsquo;s Mantle of Command is a stirring and noteworthy book about Rooseveltandrsquo;s crucial role as commander-in-chief during World War II. Hamilton writes with insight, passion, and a great grasp of history. I believe this book will become the standard by which other books about FDRandrsquo;s role in World War II will be measured.andquot; andmdash; Carlo Dandrsquo;Este, author of Patton: A Genius for War and Warlord: A Life of Churchill at War, 1874andndash;1945

andquot;This is not the Roosevelt (or Churchill) youand#39;d expect. From the start, an aggressive, in-charge FDR emerges from a wonderful weaving of established scholarship and the fascinating bits and pieces that make history live. Churchill is an inspirational nag, with a busy, unfocused strategic vision. A key entry into the ongoing debate over who made grand strategy in the early war years andmdash; Roosevelt or Churchill?andquot; andmdash; Warren F. Kimball, author of Forged in War: Roosevelt, Churchill, and the Second World War

andquot;Nigel Hamilton in Mantle of Command presents a very different wartime Franklin Delano Roosevelt than the one we are used to seeing. Whether or not one agrees with all his conclusions, Hamilton clearly shows that FDR was an extremely strong and effective commander-in-chief. This volume should go a long way to dispelling popular myths about Roosevelt as a naandiuml;ve and weak war leader.andquot;

andmdash; Mark Stoler, editor of the George C. Marshall Papers and Professor Emeritus of History, University of Vermont

andquot;Nigel Hamilton has written a spirited and thoughtful andlsquo;revisionistandrsquo; study of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as commander-in-chief during the first phase of U.S. involvement in the Second World War. Hamiltonandrsquo;s narrative skill brings alive the human dramas, logistic hurdles, and strategic debates to show how FDRandrsquo;s indispensable drive and forward-looking leadership tamed his own andlsquo;team of rivalsandrsquo; and set the United States and its Allies on the road to victory over the Axis. The books enlivens the often murky worlds of bureaucratic struggle and military detail to demonstrate how important it was for the United States to andlsquo;get it rightandrsquo; early in the war and how FDR accomplished this.andquot;

andmdash;Michael Schaller, author of Douglas MacArthur and Regents Professor of History, University of Arizona

Upon assuming the presidency in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower came to be seen by many as a doddering lightweight. Yet behind the bland smile and apparent simplemindedness was a brilliant, intellectual tactician. As Evan Thomas reveals in his provocative examination of Ike's White House years, Eisenhower was a master of calculated duplicity. As with his bridge and poker games he was eventually forced to stop playing after leaving too many fellow army officers insolvent, Ike could be patient and ruthless in the con, and generous and expedient in his partnerships. Facing the Soviet Union, China, and his own generals, some of whom believed a first strike was the only means of survival, Eisenhower would make his boldest and riskiest bet yet, one of such enormity that there could be but two outcomes: the survival of the world, or its end.

This is the story of how he won.

A closeup, in-the-room look at how FDR took masterful command and control of the Second World War, from wresting key decisions away from Churchill and his own generals, to launching the first successful trial landing in North Africa, and beginning to turn the tide away from the Axis.

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.

NIGEL HAMILTON is a best-selling and award-winning biographer of President John F. Kennedy, General Bernard andldquo;Montyandrdquo; Montgomery, and President Bill Clinton, among other subjects. His most recent book, The Mantle of Command: FDR at War, 1941-1942, was longlisted for the National Book Award. He is a senior fellow at the McCormack Graduate School, University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Prologueand#8194;ix

PART ONE: PLACENTIA BAY

Before the Stormand#8194;3

PART TWO: PEARL HARBOR

The U.S. Is Attacked!and#8194;43

Hitlerand#8217;s Gambleand#8194;76

PART THREE: CHURCHILL IN THE WHITE HOUSE

The Victory Planand#8194;99

Supreme Commandand#8194;136

The Presidentand#8217;s Map Roomand#8194;145

PART FOUR: TROUBLE WITH MACARTHUR

The Fighting Generaland#8194;157

PART FIVE: END OF AN EMPIRE

Singaporeand#8194;195

The Mockery of the Worldand#8194;207

The Battleground for Civilizationand#8194;214

PART SIX: INDIA

No Hand on the Wheeland#8194;223

Lessons from the Far Eastand#8194;228

Churchill Threatens to Resignand#8194;236

The Worst Case of Jittersand#8194;254

PART SEVEN: MIDWAY

Doolittleand#8217;s Raidand#8194;267

The Battle of Midwayand#8194;274

PART EIGHT: TOBRUK

Churchilland#8217;s Second Comingand#8194;289

The Fall of Tobrukand#8194;303

No Second Dunquerqueand#8194;310

Avoiding Utter Catastropheand#8194;317

PART NINE: JAPAN FIRST

Citizen Warriorsand#8194;325

A Staggering Crisisand#8194;330

A Rough Dayand#8194;337

PART TEN: THE MUTINY

Stimsonand#8217;s Betand#8194;349

A Definite Decisionand#8194;359

A Failed Mutinyand#8194;363

PART ELEVEN: REACTION IN MOSCOW

Stalinand#8217;s Prayerand#8194;373

PART TWELVE: AN INDUSTRIAL MIRACLE

A Trip Across Americaand#8194;381

The Presidentand#8217;s Loyal Lieutenantand#8194;390

PART THIRTEEN: THE TRAGEDY OF DIEPPE

A Canadian Bloodbathand#8194;395

PART FOURTEEN: THE TORCH IS LIT

Something in West Africaand#8194;401

Alameinand#8194;409

First Lightand#8194;413

The Greatest Sensationand#8194;423

Armistice Dayand#8194;430

Acknowledgmentsand#8194;441

Notesand#8194;447

Indexand#8194;497