Dwight D. Eisenhower is recognized as one of the towering figures of our time—and one of the most popular. He was a leader who preserved the common touch, a "G.I's General" who led allied forces to victory in Europe, and a President known to millions as "Ike".

One of six boys growing up on a farm in Kansas, he helped with the farm work, housework and cooking. As he grew older, he took his turn working in his father's creamery. Ike fished, hunted, played baseball and football and became the first President of the Athletic Association of Abilene High. Though his mother was a fervent pacifist, Ike decided on a military career, and was accepted at West Point.

Graduated in 1915, he rose through the ranks and in 1943 became Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces. After the German surrender, he succeeded General Marshall as Chief of Staff of the Army. He was elected President of the United States by an overwhelming landslide in 1952, and served for two terms. His most deeply felt goal as President was the assurance of world peace and his last and perhaps greatest Presidential message was a stern warning to America against the dangers of a vast military-industrial complex.

To liberals, he was a hidebound conservative; to conservatives, a dangerous liberal; but to the overwhelming majority of Americans, he is a man they can unceasingly trust.

From the book