President Eisenhower was a hero in our family. My Dad considered him one of the greatest Americans ever. So naturally I grew up initially thinking the world of him, then going through the transition of establishing my own perspective apart from my parents and seeing Ike as a goofy conservative do nothing President. Then I grew up and came back full circle to have a deep appreciation for the man.

So I like learning more about Eisenhower. Evan Thomas has written Ike’s Bluff: President Eisenhower’s Secret Battle to Save the World to add a more nuanced and insightful analysis of how Ike handled the dawn of the nuclear age. It’s a sympathetic look at Eisenhower, but not one without real scholarship and strong arguments.

Basically, Thomas states that Eisenhower detested nuclear bombs and would have never used one. He knew the impact of war and saw the devastation in Japan. To him, the bomb was a horror. But he also knew he could never say that to anybody. The threat of using the bomb was too powerful in shaping world affairs. If America’s enemies thought the nuclear option was off the table, they would be far more inclined to aggression.

It was, as the title of the book implies, a huge bluff. And Eisenhower pulled it off.

The book looks at Eisenhower’s leadership style, his political skills, and his diplomatic talents. Just as importantly, it looks at the character of a great warrior who despised war. The liberator of Europe knew what war did to the world, and he had no intention of allowing it to happen again. Eisenhower was phenomenally successful at protecting America’s interests without a single American military death during his Presidency. That’s quite an accomplishment.

What fascinates me is that all of this happened during the height of the Cold War. Hostilities with the Chinese or the Soviets could have broken out at any minute, for any reason, and they almost did. But Eisenhower found the balancing act. It’s an amazing accomplishment.

This is a really good book, one of the best on the topic that I’ve read. If you know somebody who loves history and lived through this era, this book would be a great Christmas present!