by Evan Thomas
First published 2012
Dwight Eisenhower enters the presidency in 1953 facing a brutal stalemate in Korea. The public sees a bumbling grandfather with a vacant smile and folksy manner. His own military advisors push for nuclear strikes against Communist China. Behind this facade, Eisenhower orchestrates a dangerous deception. He signals to the Chinese that America might deploy atomic weapons while secretly working to prevent their actual use. The president walks a razor's edge between his hawkish generals who want to attack and Communist leaders who might call his bluff. Thomas reveals how this calculated gamble could have saved thousands of Korean lives or triggered global nuclear catastrophe. The book exposes a president far more cunning than his contemporaries recognized, showing how Eisenhower's greatest victory came through masterful misdirection rather than military force.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, political-science, military-history, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, military-strategy
Setting: China, Korea
Period: 1953
484 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company