Exploring Eisenhower's Formative Years

Abstract

Exploring Eisenhower's Formative Years Becoming Eisenhower: How Ike Rose from Obscurity to Supreme Allied Commander Michael Lee Lanning Stackpole Books. 288 pages. $29.95 While World War II has faded from living memory and the Eisenhower presidency is not too far behind it, the legacy and historical reputation of Dwight Eisenhower continues to rise. Whereas scholarship on Eisenhower's exemplary service as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force during World War II and his presidential administration is legion, comparatively few published works have focused on Eisenhower's military career before his assumption of high command. At a time when too many books have become longer than they need to be, this is a quick and lively read, a rather remarkable feat considering that its focus is on the part of Eisenhower's career during which not many momentous events occurred.

Exploring Eisenhower's Formative Years Becoming Eisenhower: How Ike Rose from Obscurity to Supreme Allied Commander Michael Lee Lanning Stackpole Books. 288 pages. $29.95

While World War II has faded from living memory and the Eisenhower presidency is not too far behind it, the legacy and historical reputation of Dwight Eisenhower continues to rise. Whereas scholarship on Eisenhower's exemplary service as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force during World War II and his presidential administration is legion, comparatively few published works have focused on Eisenhower's military career before his assumption of high command.

A new book by prolific author and retired Lt. Col. Michael Lee Lanning has attempted to fill this gap-a "gaping hole," as the author puts it.

Lanning's Becoming Eisenhower: How Ike Rose from Obscurity to Supreme Allied Commander sets out to explain the circumstances, events and personal character that propelled an individual to true greatness by examining the middle years of his career. A concise description of many of these years is aptly provided by Lanning, who writes of Eisenhower, nicknamed "Ike," that "his accomplishments were far overshadowed by his disappointments."

Much of the material in Becoming Eisenhower has been addressed in other works, such as Eisenhower's excellence as a football coach, his fondness for pranks, his skill at playing cards, and his courtship and marriage to Mary Geneva "Mamie" Doud. The importance of his family background and his ability to make friends are deservedly well covered, as is the painful loss of the first Eisenhower child, Icky, on Jan. 2, 1921, from scarlet fever. The key mentorship of Army general officer Fox Conner and the sometimes difficult seven years of service under Douglas MacArthur in Washington, D.C., and the Philippines, also are thoroughly examined.

However, it is lesser-known but crucial career events that make this book remarkable. For example, when Eisenhower was courting Doud, he made clear his intention to become an aviator, but Doud's parents would not consent to the marriage if he pursued this course, so he remained in the infantry.

Another, even more compelling, yet largely unknown, event is how Eisenhower was almost court-martialed in 1921 for defrauding the government by "drawing an allowance for quarters for which he was not authorized." Fortunately for Eisenhower and the United States, Eisenhower received a reprimand, repaid the funds, and his career continued with the episode forgotten.

At a time when too many books have become longer than they need to be, this is a quick and lively read, a rather remarkable feat considering that its focus is on the part of Eisenhower's career during which not many momentous events occurred. As Lanning wryly observes of Eisenhower, by May of 1939, "during the past eighteen years, he had served a mere six months with troops."

Despite some minor errors, such as suggesting there were no Hispanics in Eisenhower's West Point Class of 1915-Luis Raul Esteves from Puerto Rico was the first member of that class to become a general officer-Becoming Eisenhower succeeds in what it sets out to do. This book is recommended for anyone interested in a more thorough understanding of how Eisenhower became the great leader he was or what a career in the Army between the world wars entailed.

Col. Kevin Farrell, U.S. Army retired, is the ormer chief of military history at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. He commanded a combined arms battalon in Iraq. He holds a doctorate in history rom Columbia University, New York. His most recent book is The Military and the Monarchy: The Case and Career of the Duke of Cambridge in an Age of Reform.