Why was he always smiling?

Review: IKE’S BLUFF, President Eisenhower’s Secret Battle to Save the World, by Evan Thomas

Puts the lie to the misconception “nothing happened in the 1950s.” In reality the 50s were a turbulent time where humanity teetered on the brink of nuclear annihilation. This is an appealing and eminently readable portrait of Eisenhower, war hero, now turned peacekeeper. Churchill gets all the credit for saving the West, and we don’t dispute, but now, here, Eisenhower gets his due for saving humanity. Well-crafted blend of human and institutional insights, clear-eyed, neither fawning nor cutting.

Special insight, comeback angle:

“The famous smile, Ike told his grandson, David, came not from some sunny feel-good philosophy but from getting knocked down by a boxing coach at West Point. The coach refused to spar anymore after Ike got up off the mat looking rueful. “If you can’t smile when you get up from a knockdown,” the coach said, “you’re never going to lick an opponent.” P30 IKE’S BLUFF, President Eisenhower’s Secret Battle to Save the World, by Evan Thomas