Crusade in Europe

by Dwight D. Eisenhower

Book Overview

A classic of World War II literature, an incredibly revealing work that provides a near comprehensive account of the war and brings to life the legendary general and eventual president of the United... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080185668X
• ISBN13: 9780801856686
• Release Date: July 1997
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 608 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Should Be Required High School, College Reading

This should be required reading in high schools and universities. The description of battles is not the primary focus. The book is about the political and military personalities, the political and economic considerations, the benefits and problems of press coverage, risk management, planning and preparation, limitations of material and transportation, the justification of risking lives, military vs. social issues, the impossibility of knowing everything and always being right, individual efforts (from generals to troops), the consequences of weather, seasonal considerations, the importance of unified command, team building, and morale. Morale is critical, requiring many factors and constant effort. It is the fleshed out, rounded picture of war and people that makes it interesting. Of course, he is an politically astute, or he would not have been able to do the job; so, he doesn't really give the dirt on people even while indicating problems. He fully understands the critical issues of logistics and the productive capacity of a nation at war. (For an even deeper understanding of this, and how it fails under dictatorships from ancient Sparta and Rome to modern Germany and Japan, see the chapter, "The Energy Circuit in Wartime," in Paterson's "The God of the Machine.") Given the various failures and miscalculations of large operations, the reader can easily imagine that given the attitudes of modern press coverage of Iraq by shallow minded news anchors and politicians, neither Eisenhower, nor Bradly, nor Montgomery, nor Patton would have been able to keep their jobs. One lesson: It takes months, even years to properly plan and prepare for major military operations, depending on the strength of the enemy. In this case, from the need to design and build new types of landing craft to the need for feeding the civilians of Europe.

Another Crusade

General Eisenhower, contrary to press reports and revisionist historians, was a man of great intelligence, strength, and discipline. He wrote this book in 1948 without ghost-writers, and his wit and wisdom are stunning. Everyone needs to read this to understand the issues that face us in Iraq and elsewhere today. The general explains how the real work of the military is developing strategy, drawing up plans, building relationships with governments and civilians, and quickly implementing and changing the plans as required. Only criticism is his tencency to dismiss the inappropriate behavior of Patton, but keep in mind that Patton was already dead when this book was written and Eisenhower would not criticize those who were not positioned to defend themselves. He is critical of others, especially Montgomery for his foolish proposal of launching a blitz on Berlin to bring the war to an early end. Another lesson for our time is the treachery of the French troops both in Vichy and Algeria, who fight the Allied invasion and put personal objectives above military and political goals. Unbelievable candor throughout such as when Eisenhower reports that an obviously overwhelmed Truman offers to help Eisenhower in any way that he can, including supporting him for the Presidency in 1948. Important career lesson: Eisenhower did not receive any significant promotions in the 20 years after WWI and was doing staff work under McArthur for 5 years, building up the Filipino military, yet became the highest rank allied commander, through hard work, dedication, and leadership.

A great military as well as personal account

Eisenhower quickly brings us up to speed with the US armed forced when Germany overruns Poland and later when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. He gives the state of our preparedness, discusses the able officers who were headed to develop our forces, and describes episodes that changed our training and effectiveness. He meets daily with the major players and heads of state and gives glimpses of their personalities as well as their views. He discusses where politics and the military overlap and where damages might occur. He discusses strategy and tactics and carefully distinguishes for the reader the differences. He clearly demonstrates pitfalls and purposes in the practice and preparation and execution of a successful war. From top to bottom along the line, he explains stresses on commander as well as enlisted troops, such as confidence and morale among other aspects. Throughout the book we gain confidence in Eisenhower's easy, open style, his sincerity and his trustworthiness. A remarkable man makes clear and plain a very complex time in our country's history, including his own views on the aftermath of WWII and the growing tensions between ourselves and Russia.A wonderful book for veterans and non-veterans alike.

Eisenhower's own story of the war in Europe

Since nobody has yet reviewed this, I thought I'd take a shot, even though it's been about 27 years or so since I read the book.This is Eisenhower's own story from the early days when he was called by Marshall to Washington to analyze propects for the war in the Pacific, to his being Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe.As most everyone knows, once the US was involved in a serious war, Eisenhower jumped in promotion over many others. After reading this book it's easy to see why.This book is not as frank as we would expect today, and some of incidents are presented as if written by Norman Rockwell. Yet this book is excellent in presenting Eisenhower's view of the war. It is a view from on high, and it is best contrasted with Bradley's book, _A Soldier's Story_, which is much more emotional, direct and forthright.But it's easy to see Eisenhower's much broader perspective. He's much more concerned with the issues of organizing and prosecuting the war from the questions of where are we going to get the materials, the ships, the troops, the ammunition, the landing craft, etc., than is Bradley, who is almost completely--again remembering from 27 years ago--involved only with the battles and which division is where.Also, it's often not hard to read between the lines on those occassions when Eisenhower retreats into puff prose, to know what he was really thinking.5 stars, because I don't see how one can understand the military aspect of WWII in western Europe without having read this book.