Eisenhower in Command at Columbia examines Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency of Columbia University in the context of higher education leadership. While the book brings historical perspective to his leadership of Columbia, it also suggests lessons that are applicable to leader...

From the beginning of World War II until he left the White House in early 1961, Dwight David Eisenhower played a leadership role on the world stage. This was longer than any American since George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams. His Columbia presidency was part of this period, yet the story has not been told. Scholars have repeated earlier critical contemporary assessments and largely dismissed or ignored that part of his career. Jacobs seeks to answer many of the open-ended questions about Eisenhower's tenure as successor to Nicholas Murray Butler, whom many consider the greatest university president of the century. Jacobs examines previously unused sources to analyze Eisenhower's leadership and accomplishments, his goals and intentions, and whether his presidency at Columbia, generally considered a failure, ever had a chance of succeeding.This insightful, well-written volume covers the years that played such a vital role in Dwight D. Eisenhower's journey to the White House. Jacobs reviews Eisenhower's appointment as chief of staff after his return from Europe after V-E Day, and, concurrently, looks at Columbia's difficulties in its troubled search for a president. He examines the deliberations on both sides before Eisenhower's acceptance of Columbia's presidency, and the circumstances surrounding his arrival and installation. Jacobs covers Eisenhower's subsequent leave of absence and return to duty at the Pentagon as NATO commander and the impact of his extended absence from Columbia. He resigned on the eve of his inauguration as president of the United States. Jacobs recounts the hostility of campus liberal intellectuals who had increasingly resented Eisenhower's presidency and were offended by the New York Times's endorsement of Eisenhower over Adlai E. Stevenson for the 1952 presidential campaign. Jacobs views Eisenhower's years as university president as playing a significant role in preparing him for his White House years.A thorough assessment of Eisenhower's career on Morningside Heights is long overdue. Jacobs' insights on Eisenhower's presidency at Columbia will be of interest to Eisenhower's biographers, college and university administrators, American studies students, and the general public, curious about Eisenhower's public service as a civilian, before he became U. S. president.

Dwight Eisenhower’s encounter with the Holocaust altered how he understood the Second World War and shaped how he led the United States and the Western Alliance during the Cold War. This book is the first to blend scholarship on Eisenhower, World War II, and the Holocaust together, constructing a narrative that offers new insights into all three, all while uncovering the story of how he became among the first to vow that such atrocities would never again be allowed to happen. From the moment he stepped foot in the concentration camp Ohrdruf in April 1945, defeating Nazi Germany took on a moral hue for Eisenhower that had largely been absent before. It spurred the belief that totalitarianism in all its forms needed to be confronted. This conviction shaped his presidency and solidified American engagement in the postwar world. Putting these pieces of the story together alters how we view and understand the second half of the twentieth century.

Contains primary source material.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Christian Science Monitor • St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Magisterial.”—The New York Times In this extraordinary volume, Jean Edward Smith presents a portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower that is as full, rich, and revealing as anything ever written about America’s thirty-fourth president. Here is Eisenhower the young dreamer, charting a course from Abilene, Kansas, to West Point and beyond. Drawing on a wealth of untapped primary sources, Smith provides new insight into Ike’s maddening apprenticeship under Douglas MacArthur. Then the whole panorama of World War II unfolds, with Eisenhower’s superlative generalship forging the Allied path to victory. Smith also gives us an intriguing examination of Ike’s finances, details his wartime affair with Kay Summersby, and reveals the inside story of the 1952 Republican convention that catapulted him to the White House. Smith’s chronicle of Eisenhower’s presidential years is as compelling as it is comprehensive. Derided by his detractors as a somnambulant caretaker, Eisenhower emerges in Smith’s perceptive retelling as both a canny politician and a skillful, decisive leader. He managed not only to keep the peace, but also to enhance America’s prestige in the Middle East and throughout the world. Unmatched in insight, Eisenhower in War and Peace at last gives us an Eisenhower for our time—and for the ages. NATIONAL BESTSELLER Praise for Eisenhower in War and Peace “[A] fine new biography . . . [Eisenhower’s] White House years need a more thorough exploration than many previous biographers have given them. Smith, whose long, distinguished career includes superb one-volume biographies of Grant and Franklin Roosevelt, provides just that.”—The Washington Post “Highly readable . . . [Smith] shows us that [Eisenhower’s] ascent to the highest levels of the military establishment had much more to do with his easy mastery of politics than with any great strategic or tactical achievements.”—The Wall Street Journal “Always engrossing . . . Smith portrays a genuinely admirable Eisenhower: smart, congenial, unpretentious, and no ideologue. Despite competing biographies from Ambrose, Perret, and D’Este, this is the best.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “No one has written so heroic a biography [on Eisenhower] as this year’s Eisenhower in War and Peace [by] Jean Edward Smith.”—The National Interest “Dwight Eisenhower, who was more cunning than he allowed his adversaries to know, understood the advantage of being underestimated. Jean Edward Smith demonstrates precisely how successful this stratagem was. Smith, America’s greatest living biographer, shows why, now more than ever, Americans should like Ike.”—George F. Will

In this comprehensive guide to the language of contemporary American politics, Binning offers clear descriptions of terms such as soft money, gerrymandering, and blanket primary. Examples are frequently offered to help clarify definitions. Particular attention is given to the ever-changing organizational structure of parties and contemporary electoral systems. In addition to defining political terms and systems, however, this encyclopedia explains campaign finance reform laws and the Voting Rights Act. The more significant Supreme Court decisions in these areas are summarized, with an eye to giving readers a greater understanding of how these laws have been interpreted and applied. This encyclopedia also describes the modern political campaign. Highlighted are the role of the media, the significance of presidential debates, the influence of campaign consultants, and the importance, types, and timing of primaries and caucuses. Brief biographies of important political figures such as presidents, vice presidents, and congressional and party leaders are also included, along with a concise summary of every presidential election since 1789.

What makes a president great? Here is the ideal source for students, scholars, and the general public. The American Presidents is a collection of articles that analyze and evaluate the presidential careers of the men who have occupied the office since its inception in 1789. In this volume, the leading presidential historians in the United States offer insights into what makes a president great, mediocre, or--in the case of most of them--something in between. The contributors to The American Presidents were not asked to write straightforward biographies of the presidents; other sources are available for that. Rather, they were asked to evaluate their subjects. No strict patterns were imposed by the editor; each author approached his or her subject in the way that best illustrated the strengths and weaknesses of the president under consideration. Forty-one have held the office of president and all, in one way or another, were exceptional men. Some, like Andrew Jackson and Harry Truman, are usually thought of as representing the common folk, but nothing was common about either of them. Each proved to be an extraordinary and singular politician able to rally and represent the country through the challenges of their times. Some presidents had achieved brilliance in other fields (Ulysses Grant in the military and Herbert Hoover as an engineer and humanitarian, for example) but had presidencies that are considered unsuccessful. What accounts for this seeming paradox, in which insight, sensitivity, and competence suddenly become nontransferable when the man reaches the White House? This book offers the reader multiple perspectives on this and other issues. Examination of the ways in which challenges affect presidential greatness Theodore Roosevelt, a successful president by any standard, was acutely aware that the prosperity and peace the country enjoyed during his two terms in office would, ironically, prevent him from reaching the upper tier of greatness enjoyed by Washington and Lincoln. After he left office, he yearned to return in hope of finding the challenge that would seal his greatness. Earlier, in the late nineteenth century, the electorate placed competent men such as Rutherford B. Hayes, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison in the White House, but they are little remembered today. None faced earth-shaking challenges at home and abroad, and their presidencies slipped into obscurity. Discussion of personal characteristics and presidential performance For more than two centuries the presidency has proved a remarkably durable institution. Presidential personalities have varied widely from the patrician aloofness of Washington to the moody introspection of Lincoln to the noisy exuberance of Theodore Roosevelt. The articles in The American Presidents consider the ways in which personality has affected performance. Special features *41 signed essays by the leading experts, illustrated with portraits of the presidents *Selected bibliographies *At-a-glance summaries of each president's achievements *Useful charts and tables on cabinet members, first ladies, and vice presidents from Washington to Clinton *Addresses and Web sites for major presidential libraries.

Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater Through the storms of Time abide Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater Through the storms of Time abide. "Stand, Columbia!" by Gilbert Oakley Ward, Columbia College 1902 (1904) Marking the 250th anniversary of one of America's oldest and most formidable educational institutions, this comprehensive history of Columbia University extends from the earliest discussions in 1704 about New York City being "a fit Place for a colledge" to the recent inauguration of president Lee Bollinger, the nineteenth, on Morningside Heights. One of the original "Colonial Nine" schools, Columbia's distinctive history has been intertwined with the history of New York City. Located first in lower Manhattan, then in midtown, and now in Morningside Heights, Columbia's national and international stature have been inextricably identified with its urban setting. Columbia was the first of America's "multiversities," moving beyond its original character as a college dedicated to undergraduate instruction to offer a comprehensive program in professional and graduate studies. Medicine, law, architecture, and journalism have all looked to the graduates and faculty of Columbia's schools to provide for their ongoing leadership and vitality. In 2003, a sampling of Columbia alumni include one member of the United States Supreme Court, three United States senators, three congressmen, three governors (New York, New Jersey, and California), a chief justice of the New York Court of Appeals, and a president of the New York City Board of Education. But it is perhaps as a contributor of ideas and voices to the broad discourse of American intellectual life that Columbia has most distinguished itself. From The Federalist Papers, written by Columbians John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, to Charles Beard's An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution and Jack Kerouac's On the Road to Edward Said's Orientalism, Columbia and its graduates have greatly influenced American intellectual and public life. Stand, Columbia also examines the experiences of immigrants, women, Jews, African Americans, and other groups as it takes critical measure of the University's efforts to become more inclusive and more reflective of the diverse city that it calls home.

Stephen E. Ambrose draws upon extensive sources, an unprecedented degree of scholarship, and numerous interviews with Dwight D. Eisenhower himself to offer the fullest, richest, and most objective rendering yet of the soldier who became president. At various times in his life, Eisenhower was a soldier at wartime, the Chief of Staff, patron to the North American Treaty Organization, president of Columbia University, and the Supreme Commander of the United States. However, he was also a father, son, husband, and friend. This deeply personal biography concerns itself less with the “life and times” of Eisenhower and more on the man himself, his achievements and triumphs, failures and concerns, as well as his relationships with those closest to him. A charismatic leader with a high degree of intelligence, integrity, tremendous energy and a commitment to basic principles that drew soldiers, civilians, and foreigners alike to him, Eisenhower was also ambitious, sensitive to criticism, and avid sportsman who was terribly loyal to his friends and family. Ultimately, Ambrose presents a masterful portrait of Eisenhower that finely delves into his personal life during his presidency, the onset of the Cold war, and as the leader of a rapidly evolving nation struggling with issues as diverse as civil rights, atomic weapons, and a new global role. Ambrose shows what an extraordinary person Eisenhower was and the extent to which many who live in freedom today owe to him. This superb interpretation of Eisenhower's life confirms Stephen Ambrose's position as one of the nation’s finest historians.

An analysis of Eisenhower's leadership and managerial style and exploration of the significance of the decisions Eisenhower made on a whole range of issues, from civil rights to atomic testing.