The History Book Club discussion

Hello Everyone,

For the week of June 8th through June 14th we are reading CHAPTER(S) 26, 27 and 28: Little Rock and Military-Industrial Complex and Taps - pages 705 - 766 of the book - Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith.

The nineteenth week's reading assignment is:

Week Nineteen -> CHAPTER(S) Twenty Six, Twenty Seven and Twenty Eight: Little Rock and Military-Industrial Complex and Taps - pages 705 - 766 - (June 8, 2015 - June 14, 2015)

We will open up a thread for each week's reading. Please make sure to post in the particular thread dedicated to those specific chapters and page numbers to avoid spoilers. We will also open up supplemental threads as we did for other spotlighted books.

This book was kicked off on February 2nd

We look forward to your participation. Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other noted on line booksellers do have copies of the book and shipment can be expedited. The book can also be obtained easily at your local library, local bookstore or on your Kindle.

This weekly thread will be opened up on June 8th.

There is no rush and we are thrilled to have you join us. It is never too late to get started and/or to post.

Bentley will be leading this discussion and back-up will be Assisting Moderator Teri.

Welcome,

~Bentley

TO ALWAYS SEE ALL WEEKS' THREADS SELECT VIEW ALL

by Jean Edward Smith

REMEMBER NO SPOILERS ON THE WEEKLY NON SPOILER THREADS - ON EACH WEEKLY NON SPOILER THREAD - WE ONLY DISCUSS THE PAGES ASSIGNED OR THE PAGES WHICH WERE COVERED IN PREVIOUS WEEKS. IF YOU GO AHEAD OR WANT TO ENGAGE IN MORE EXPANSIVE DISCUSSION - POST THOSE COMMENTS IN ONE OF THE SPOILER THREADS. THESE CHAPTERS HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION SO WHEN IN DOUBT CHECK WITH THE CHAPTER OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY TO RECALL WHETHER YOUR COMMENTS ARE ASSIGNMENT SPECIFIC. EXAMPLES OF SPOILER THREADS ARE THE GLOSSARY, THE BIBLIOGRAPHY, THE INTRODUCTION AND THE BOOK AS A WHOLE THREADS.

Notes:

It is always a tremendous help when you quote specifically from the book itself and reference the chapter and page numbers when responding. The text itself helps folks know what you are referencing and makes things clear.

Citations:

If an author or book is mentioned other than the book and author being discussed, citations must be included according to our guidelines. Also, when citing other sources, please provide credit where credit is due and/or the link. There is no need to re-cite the author and the book we are discussing however.

If you need help - here is a thread called the Mechanics of the Board which will show you how:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Introduction Thread:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Table of Contents and Syllabus

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Glossary

Remember there is a glossary thread where ancillary information is placed by the moderator. This is also a thread where additional information can be placed by the group members regarding the subject matter being discussed. Since we are discussing the same time period and the same people will be discussed in this book as in the Liberation Trilogy - please utilize those three glossary parts. They will be very helpful to you and will provide a wealth of knowledge.

This is the glossary for this book:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

However, we have an in depth glossary for the Second World War period:

Glossary - Part One - http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

Glossary - Part Two - http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Glossary - Part Three - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Bibliography

There is a Bibliography where books cited in the text are posted with proper citations and reviews. We also post the books that the author used in his research or in his notes. Please also feel free to add to the Bibliography thread any related books, etc with proper citations. No self promotion, please.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Book as a Whole and Final Thoughts - SPOILER THREAD

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

by Jean Edward Smith

Directions on how to participate in book discussions and how to follow the t's and c's - look at directives given for the discussion Landslide - What Do I Do Next?

I will modify these directives as we go along but for now utilize the information here.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

All, we do not have to do citations regarding the book or the author being discussed during the book discussion on these discussion threads - nor do we have to cite any personage in the book being discussed while on the discussion threads related to this book.

However if we discuss folks outside the scope of the book or another book is cited which is not the book and author discussed then we do have to do that citation according to our citation rules. That makes it easier to not disrupt the discussion.

Everyone, for the week of June 8th, 2015 to June 14th, 2015, we are reading Chapter(s) Twenty Six, Twenty Seven and Twenty Eight.

The nineteenth week’s reading assignment is:

Week Nineteen - June 8th, 2015 to June 14th, 2015
Chapter(s) Twenty Six, Twenty Seven and Twenty Eight: Twenty Six, Twenty Seven and Twenty Eight: Little Rock and Military-Industrial Complex and Taps 705 - 766

Chapter Overview and Summary

Chapter 26: Little Rock

Racial tension comes the forefront with the decision of Brown v. Board of Education. Desegregation issues arise in Little Rock, Arkansas.

A most interesting subject for detailed study would be Eisenhower’s role in connection with the segregation storm in the South, his part in bringing about that storm, in subtly promoting its increased violence, and in steering it toward the ultimate objective of his Communist bosses who planned the whole thing far in advance.
— Robert Welch, Founder, The John Birch Society

Chapter 27: Military-Industrial Complex

Attention now turns to outer space and the arms race. The Soviet Union successfully launces Sputnik and Sputnik II, raising national security concerns in the US. Eisenhower continues to have health issues. Issues continue in Europe and the Middle East throughout Ike’s second term.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.
— Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 17, 1961

Chapter 28: Taps

Eisenhower ends his two terms in office. JFK is elected President. Ike retires to Gettysburg and writes his memoirs.

Lower the shades. Pull me up. Higher. I want to go. God take me.
— Dwight D. Eisenhower, March 28, 1969

Folks, we are kicking off the nineteenth week of the Presidential Series book discussion on former President Dwight David Eisenhower - we welcome you to this discussion which will last for a few months. There is no rush and we are happy to have all of you with us. I look forward to reading your posts in the months ahead.

Quite honestly, I am a little disappointed in Smith’s writing here. He basically condensed Ike’s last term in office and then his 8 post-presidency years into three chapters. Admittedly, his chapter on Little Rock was eye-opening (see below), but all of the major issues of Ike’s second term get crammed into the next chapter. He mentions Sputnik and how Ike defused the nation’s anxiety, but he doesn’t mention how NASA was set up in response to create America’s own space program. Just by creating NASA the moon landing was a part of Ike’s legacy as much as Kennedy’s. The U2 incident with Gary Powers gets good coverage here, but where is Khrushchev’s shoe-pounding UN protest? Where is Nixon and Khrushchev’s Kitchen Debate? And the fact that Smith doesn’t even mention the Cuban Revolution or Ike’s part in the Bay of Pigs is, in my mind, an unforgivable omission as it was one of the big events that would lead to the Cuban Missile Crisis. And only seven pages for Ike’s post-presidency?! Did he do nothing of note during that time? I think Smith rushed through this period way too fast.

Having said that, his chapter on the Little Rock incident was particularly revelatory to me. I thought Ike had played a more behind-the-scenes approach to the incident and begrudgingly sent troops as a last resort. Smith dispels these notions instantly as he shows how intimately involved he was with the whole thing. Once again, Ike comes across as cool under pressure and ready to make the right call when trouble comes knocking. He also shows how the incident at Little Rock was a fabricated crisis by Arkansas’ governor, Orval Faubus, in order for him to secure reelection, which he did. Smith also makes it abundantly clear that events got out of Gov. Faubus’ control and without Ike things could have gone really bad really quick. Thus, it seems to unfair that Ike would be called aloof about the Civil Rights movement, even if he wasn’t as openly supportive of it as Kennedy and Johnson after him were.

I agree, Christopher, these last two chapters went faster than a water slide!! I was disappointed, too. I wished half the book would have covered the presidency.

Little Rock is interesting, as well. I think it is a good example of how Ike tried to work with white Southerners, the dominant political strategy at the time.

Bryan wrote: "I agree, Christopher, these last two chapters went faster than a water slide!! I was disappointed, too. I wished half the book would have covered the presidency.

Little Rock is interesting, as we..."

Bryan, if you are looking for a book that focuses on Eisenhower's presidency like a laser beam, of course there is Stephen Ambrose's stuff, but I have also seen a more recent book that focuses solely on Eisenhower's presidential years written by Jim Newton. And, of course, there is Ike's Bluff written by Evan Thomas.

by Stephen E. Ambrose.

by Jim Newton (no photo).

by Evan Thomas.

With all due respect, I'm going (on June 21, 2015) to take an opposing view. Those chapters were quite interesting! I agree that perhaps the balance of the book should have included more material on his presidential years (at the expense of his Columbia presidency and interim years between being a General and US President). However, I enjoyed the writing on Little Rock, for it gave us a view of a segregationist (e.g. the Arkansas governor, and society at that time). Military Industrial Complex was particularly enjoyable because of the DeGaulle - Khrushchev exchange, and the U2 incident (and Ike's honesty, which is refreshing considering today's politicians). That chapter also gave us a glimpse into how cool relations were between Eisenhower and Nixon. I wish a picture or additional material was included on the Eisenhower - Truman reconciliation at JFK's funeral, and wish I had been a fly on that wall. I didn't know that Ike and Mamie spent considerable time in the 60's in California. All in all, I have enjoyed this book, and in my mind - Dwight Eisenhower should have been revered in the same breath as Ronald Reagan, for he did well domestically and kept the peace. It is funny how history adjust over time, and that is a topic for further review. I want to thank the History Book Club for being patient with my amateurish reviews and comments, and I've enjoyed reading those excellent reviews from fellow club members. Completing this book on the day (June 21) is an accomplishment I'm quite proud of. Thank you again!

I really have to agree with Christopher that the last two chapters ran by.

I had made notes for Chapter 26 because there was so much content before going on to the last two which were almost empty considering what they seem to have possibly been able to cover

Anyway before comments here are those notes for your comments if any

Eisenhower in war & Peace - Chapter 26 – Little Rock

This section in the reading covers three chapters and I felt that I had to put down my many thoughts for this chapter before reading further even – maybe I will not post all onto Goodreads anyway

First I note that this is a rather more contemporary biography in that Smith refers to Blacks as “African Americans” –

Second I note that Smith editorializes towards a positive view & positive judgments of Ike, as he did with Grant, - maybe he only does biographies for people he respects and likes. I have had and now have reinforced a strong positive opinion of Ike and will wonder if Smith has influenced me unduly in the future. The many Ambrose books reinforced some of m positive attitude about Ike and since I read them Ambrose has been accused I do believe of some plagiarism and in footnote n in this chapter Stephen Ambrose’s creditability is again undercut. I always had thought that Ambrose met with Ike often.

Also for me I did not know that in 1942 Australia prohibited Blacks from entering the country. I have to read up more anyway as I go there in January.
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After my comment here it is harder to take Christopher's advice on the Ambrose but OK on the Newton I assume for an overall look.

My comment to Brian is that I could not ever Ronald Reagan in general and certainly not compare him to Ike. Ike balanced his budget and reduced the debt.

I think also Christopher depicting Ike as less supportive of Civil Rights than Kennedy is a real miscall - JFK never bruised toes waiting for his second election while Ike from the very beginning pushed thru the desegregation of the military and faced up to Forbus, and won, empowering all futures integration efforts by American presidents.

I do like the mental picture of Ike and Nikita K sitting together at Camp David or Gettysburg watching western movies - John Wayne was a good republican I wonder if he got preferred treatment.

So I will still give this book five stars - in spite of the last two paragraphs and that time frame as the first 26 chapters were worth 5.2 stars or so and Ike was a five star kind of guy

Great comments Brian, Vincent, Bryan and we were delighted to you post and discuss this book.