931: 4/8 The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s, by William I Hitchcock
Image: A U-2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_U-2) reconnaissance aircraft in flight. On May 1, 1960, a U.S. one-man U-2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_U-2) spy plane was reportedly shot down at high altitude over Soviet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union) airspace. The flight was made to gain photo intelligence before the scheduled opening of an east–west summit conference, which had been scheduled in Paris, 15 days later. Captain Francis Gary Powers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Gary_Powers) had bailed out of his aircraft and was captured after parachuting down onto Russian soil. Historians have asked, Why did Eisenhower take an apparently unnecessary risk by sending he U2 at that moment? Later, it was found that Eisenhower’s secretary of state, John Foster Dulles, and others had sent the plane out on that day against Eisenhower’s instructions. The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s,by William I Hitchcock (https://www.amazon.com/William-I-Hitchcock/e/B001IODH70/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1) Drawing on newly declassified documents and thousands of pages of unpublished material, The Age of Eisenhower tells the story of a masterful president guiding the nation through the great crises of the 1950s, from McCarthyism and the Korean War through civil rights turmoil and Cold War conflicts. This is a portrait of a skilled leader who, despite his conservative inclinations, found a middle path through the bitter partisanship of his era. At home, Eisenhower affirmed the central elements of the New Deal, such as Social Security; fought the demagoguery of Senator Joseph McCarthy; and advanced the agenda of civil rights for African-Americans. Abroad, he ended the Korean War and avoided a new quagmire in Vietnam. Yet he also charted a significant expansion of America’s missile technology and deployed a vast array of covert operations around the world to confront the challenge of communism. As he left office, he cautioned Americans to remain alert to the dangers of a powerful military-industrial complex that could threaten their liberties. Today, presidential historians rank Eisenhower fifth on the list of great presidents, and William Hitchcock’s “rich narrative” (The Wall Street Journal) shows us why Ike’s stock has risen so high. He was a gifted leader, a decent man of humble origins who used his powers to advance the welfare of all Americans. Now more than ever, with this “complete and persuasive assessment” (Booklist, starred review), Americans have much to learn from Dwight Eisenhower. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074ZLNJJN/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1