At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends

I felt compelled to read my wife many passages. This joins my list of favorites. I was suprised to find this book so interesting. This is a must read for anybody who wants to know the man. The book ends before Ike enters the presedential campaign.

I must admit, I was surprised when I read this one (after putting it off a number of years). Eisenhower did indeed have a knack for story telling and this becomes quite apparent with the first read of the first page of this book. This work gives us an inside look into the mind of a truely great man. I, like a couple of other reviewers here, was quite delighted with the candor, and insightfulness of this President. Actually, I found the work to be quite refreshing in this area...it is so unlike many of the autobiographies of some of the more recent presidents. Anyway, this book is well written and extremely informative and very, very readable. I highly recommend it to any history buff and highly recommend it to anyone having even the slightest interest in this individual the times he lived in. Recommend you add this one to your libary as you will no doubt want to give it a reread.

Recently I went and toured the Eisenhower farm in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. It was a facinating tour (Given by Ike's personal physician and family friend) and when it was over I asked the gentleman what book I should read to learn more about Eisenhower. He recommended this one and a fine recommendation it was.One nice thing about Eisenhower is he had a gift for story telling and he puts that gift to good use here. You discover when reading his books that they have a very comfortable feel to them. No dry read here. Eisenhower had a real talent for writing (He didn't use a ghost writer but wrote his books completely on his own) and you come away with a better appreciation of the man's intelligence and strong wit.I was also surprised in the book at how much candor Ike shows. One half expects when reading a book like this you would get a lot of political stories or things to try and justify some of his political choices while President but that is not the case. It really is a book that the title says it is. Personal stories that Ike liked to tell his friends. The result is we get a nice look at the man. Not General or President Eisenhower but the man himself looking back at his life as a soldier, husband and father.One note on this book. WW II is only lightly covered in this. Eisenhower covers that subject in "Crusade in Europe" which I also recommend.If you're are interested in learning more about Ike and his life, this is a great place to start.

"At Ease" is a great compliment to Ike's "Crusade in Europe." In "At Ease", Ike describes his pre-WW2 years in the Army adding many colorful stories. My favorite stories were of the years George Patton and Ike spent in the 1920's researching the tank's future in war. Eisenhower had a interesting career as a mid-level officer including many assignments to football teams as a coach. Most interesting are his tales of his assignment in Panama, which were to have a significant affect on his career.Ike leaves most of his WW2 stories to be told in "Crusade in Europe." In "At Ease" he covers in depth his career after WW2 and the plans Maime and Ike had for life after the Army. This work goes right up until the key role Ike played in the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Orginization defense force. Although Ike doesn't say much about the Presidency, he describes many of the reasons why he would end up later accepting the nomination in 1952."At Ease" is a very enjoyable collection of stories for anyone wishing to know more about the famous 5-star General and President, as well as his contemporaries.