Dwight Eisenhower was a man of simple tastes but decisive action. Behind the dry smile was a brilliant, intellectual tactician, an attribute—also evident at the poker table—that served to keep dozens of Cold War standoffs from flaring into full-scale war during his two terms as president.
Former
Newsweek editor-at-large
Evan Thomas draws from his book
Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World in discussing the central Kansas war hero turned commander-in-chief, who navigated the nation through some of the most perilous times the world has known.
The presentation kicks off a new series,
Eisenhower 125, commemorating the 125th anniversary year of his birth in 1890. The series is co-presented by the
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home with support from the
W.T. Kemper Foundation.