The acclaimed biographer presents an intimate and comprehensive portrait of the legendary president and WWII general: "An excellent book." — The Washington Post Book World Born into hardscrabble poverty in rural Kansas, the son of stern pacifists, Dwight David Eisenhower graduated from high school more likely to teach history than to make it. Yet he went on to become one of America's most important military leaders. Then, on the wings of victory, the career soldier ascended to the nation's highest political office. Casting new light on this profound evolution, Carlo D'Este chronicles the unlikely, dramatic rise of the supreme Allied commander. With full access to private papers and letters, D'Este has exposed for the first time the countless myths that have surrounded Eisenhower and his family for over fifty years. In this revealing biography, he identifies the complex and contradictory character behind Ike's famous grin and air of calm self-assurance.