Review of "Invincible Ike," by Don Russell

 Review of

Invincible Ike, by Don Russell

Five out of five stars

Reads like a publicity pamphlet for a presidential campaign

 This biography of Dwight David Eisenhower, (known as Ike), was published in 1952. It covers his life up to the point where others were placing his name in the slates of candidates running in presidential primaries on the Republican side. At the time, Eisenhower was still on active duty in the military, so was forbidden from campaigning.

 There is no question that Eisenhower was an exceptional military man. His work as the Allied commander in Europe held together a tight alliance where there was a lot of potential for friction and fracture. He somehow had to both reign in and let loose dynamic and arrogant men such as Bernard Montgomery and George Patton.

 This biography is not one of great depth, in many ways it reads like what it probably is, a book about a person that is in the process of mounting a major campaign for the presidency. In that respect it is well written. It gives the essence of the man up to the early months of 1952 yet does not embellish his exploits or engage in overt hero worship.