Eisenhower

I've almost finished yesterday and today (while on vacation) Eisenhower: Soldier & Statesman by Stephen Ambrose. I've always been fascinated by WWII, but always thought little of Ike. He was the President when I was born, but was never impressed with him as leader of the European campaign in the war or in what I had read of him as President. The book treated him positively but balanced. It pointed out his weaknesses and biases often based in his background.
But I was impressed with his warmth, his calm and his decisiveness in most crucial situations. His intelligence to analyze complex situations and see the essence of the issue - is a skill I wish I more often possessed. His ability to build teams, often of those who style and approach was very different from his, was a precious gift. In reading about his presidency I was most impressed with his constant striving to have a military that met our needs for self defense but not more. The ability to deter an enemy or strike an opponent does not require every piece of expensive military hardware. His immense prestige in leading the victory against Nazi Germany in the West enabled him to balance the demands with the needs and to save billions that helped the prosperity of the 50s and the relative peace of the latter part of that decade. Never having read about him before - an impressive legacy of military and political leadership.