Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage - Hardcover

Frank, Jeffrey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1416587012 ISBN 13: 9781416587019

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2013

Synopsis

A groundbreaking narrative of the relationship between Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon—from the politics that divided them to the marriage that united their families.

Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon had a political and private relationship that lasted nearly twenty years, a tie that survived hurtful slights, tense misunderstandings, and the distance between them in age and temperament. Yet the two men brought out the best and worst in each other, and their association had important consequences for their respective presidencies.

In Ike and Dick, Jeffrey Frank rediscovers these two compelling figures with the sensitivity of a novelist and the discipline of a historian. He offers a fresh view of the younger Nixon as a striving tactician, as well as the ever more perplexing person that he became. He portrays Eisenhower, the legendary soldier, as a cold, even vain man with a warm smile whose sound instincts about war and peace far outpaced his understanding of the changes occurring in his own country.

Eisenhower and Nixon shared striking characteristics: high intelligence, cunning, and an aversion to confrontation, especially with each other. Ike and Dick, informed by dozens of interviews and deep archival research, traces the path of their relationship in a dangerous world of recurring crises as Nixon’s ambitions grew and Eisenhower was struck by a series of debilitating illnesses. And, as the 1968 election cycle approached and the war in Vietnam roiled the country, it shows why Eisenhower, mortally ill and despite his doubts, supported Nixon’s final attempt to win the White House, a change influenced by a family matter: his grandson David’s courtship of Nixon’s daughter Julie—teenagers in love who understood the political stakes of their union.

About this title

Review:

"Jeffrey Frank knows a good story when he sees one, or sees two....Ambition and hesitation, intrigue and indifference, scheming and serenity, infuse 31 chapters. His saga evokes the seamy underside of the sunny 1950s.....[A] detailed and charming history."--Martin F. Nolan "The San Francisco Chronicle "

"This is superlative, compelling, can't-put-it-down history. Jeffrey Frank is an elegant writer, with a novelist's eye; the relationship between Eisenhower and Nixon, in all its complexity and weirdness, is a treasure chest that he unpacks brilliantly. This is the perfect time for us to reconsider the trajectory of the Republican Party in the late twentieth century, and this book is a perfect way to do it."--Joe Klein "Time columnist "

""Ike and Dick" is enthralling, innovative, and judicious. It rivets the reader. Jeffrey Frank knows Washington and national politics inside and out. He employs numerous interviews and recently declassified information superbly. In critical respects, and by using their own words with meticulous care, he peels away layers of disingenuousness from both men. The cast of characters, including indiscreet aides, ranges from bright red to shady gray."--Michael Kammen "Pulitzer Prize-winning author and past president of the Organization of American Historians "

A "New York Times Book Review" Editors' Choice

Best Books of 2013: "Slate "Staff Picks

One of Jay Strafford's 10 favorite books of 2013: "Richmond Times-Dispatch"

Best Books of 2013: "Kansas City Star"

Books of the Year: "The Spectator" (Australia)

One of the Eight Best Books for "Potus Geeks in 2013"
One of Jay Strafford s 10 favorite books of 2013: "Richmond Times-Dispatch""

About the Author:

Jeffrey Frank is the author of the novels TheColumnist, Bad Publicity, Trudy Hopedale, and The Creep.
Arthur Morey has recorded over two hundred audiobooks in history, fiction, science, business, and religion, earning a number of AudioFile Earphones Awards and two Audie Award nominations. His plays and songs have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Milan, where he has also performed.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1416587012
• ISBN 13: 9781416587019
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 434