Dwight D. Eisenhower : Man of Many Hats : With a Message from John S. D. Eisenhower (Picture-book Biography Series, 2) - Hardcover

Deitch, Kenneth M.; Weisman, Joanne B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1878668021 ISBN 13: 9781878668028

Publisher: History Compass, 1990

Synopsis

An illustrated biography of the four-star general who became the thirty-fourth president of the United States, from his childhood in Kansas, through his military career to his two terms in the White House.

About this title

About the Author

Historian and author for the past 10 years, after being on Harvard economics faculty and Heddmaster of a Connecticut Prep school. Co-founder of Discovery Enterprises, Ltd.

Reviews

Grade 5-7-- An admiring look at the stages of Eisenhower's life and career set off by the type of hat he wore during each period. While this is an interesting and unique way to organize a biography, the book is essentially a list of events and just doesn't work. It is extremely brief--a mere 24 pages of text--and the coverage is so shallow that readers will not get any real sense of Eisenhower as a man. The authors provide very little background and frequently discuss major events, such as the second World War, as though readers are familiar with them. There is no index or other supplementary material. Connolly's watercolor illustrations with black-and-white photos to set them off are the best part of the book, giving readers a look at both Eisenhower's life and the world events that influenced him. However, the intended audience is likely to be turned off by the picture book format, while the material is too advanced for young readers. A better choice is Van Steenwyk's Dwight D. Eisenhower, President (Walker, 1987), which covers much of the same material in a more comprehensive and informative way. --Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Overlord (Chapter 6): Overlord was the code name for the entire plan to invade France from Great Britain and to free the rest of Europe from the Nazis.

President Roosevelt was to choose Overlord's commander. He and Eisenhower met in North Africa on December 7, 1943, and he gave Ike the news: "Well, Ike, you'd better start packing, you are going to command Overlord."

With Overlord's pressures lying ahead for Eisenhower, General Marshall insisted that Ike get at least a brief change of scene while he could. Early in January, he travelled to the United States, his first visit home in a little over a year and a half. He had a round of meetings, a reunion with family in Kansas, and an all-too-brief few days with Mamie....

The orders Eisenhower had received were simple and direct: "You will enter the continent of Europe and, in conjunction with the other Allied nations, undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces." The planning required to carry out these orders was a huge task.

D-Day, the name reserved for the day of the invasion, had to be chosen carefully. It had to be late enough in the year to allow preparations to be completed, but early enough to give the Allied forces several months in Europe before the arrival of winter weather. The moon and tides also had o be right. Together these conditions narrowed down the possible times for an invasion in 1944 to three: at the beginning of May or during the first or the third week in June. Although the weather was not predictable long in advance, the invasion could not be launched unless it was favorable when the chosen time arrived.

Edition details

• Publisher: History Compass
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1878668021
• ISBN 13: 9781878668028
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Connolly Jay
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48