Douglas Kinnard

Dwight David Eisenhower proudly claimed that he ôcame from the very heart of America.ö Yet it could be argued that, despite those provincial beginnings, no other American exerted more influence on world history during the twentieth century. From his humble birth in Abilene, Kansas, Eisenhower rose to the supreme command of the Allied armies that helped destroy Adolf HitlerÆs Nazi war machine and to the presidency of the United States. Douglas KinnardÆs profile of this great soldier-statesman describes his rise through the ranks of the peacetime army of the 1920s and 1930s the recognition of his abilities by such leaders as Douglas MacArthur and George C. Marshall, his ôgreat crusadeö in Europe during World War II, and his two terms in the Oval Office. KinnardÆs penetrating look at this great military leader and commander in chief serves as an introduction to EisenhowerÆs life and provides a concise account of the momentous military and political events of the first half of the twentieth century.