This book made the New York Times Best-Seller list in January 2017. I read this only because it was the April book for the St. James reading group.
Although the book is entitled Three Days in January, these "three days" are actually not discussed until the final third of the book. The first sections of the book provide background leading up to the final three days of Eisenhower's presidency as he prepare to leave the White House in the hands of John F. Kennedy.
The first portion of the book describes Eisenhower's early life and military life. The second portion delves into his presidency, before finally reaching the final 3 days.
I grew up after this transition, and do not know a lot about the history of the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations. This book, however, gives a rather slanted opinion of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy. The author doesn't much care for Democrats.
Also, was this book fact checked? As I noted, I do not know a lot about this time in history, but several small "facts" were clearly false. The author stated that Oveta Culp Hobby was the first woman cabinet member. While she was the first Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (a position created during the Eisenhower administration), Frances Perkins was the first woman cabinet member when she was appointed the Secretary of Labor during the Roosevelt administration. Also, the author made reference to Eisenhower's displeasure at advertisements in the Smithsonian magazine. The magazine was first published in 1970, a year after Eisenhower's death. These are just a few of the incorrect "facts", that I noted. What else did the author try to put forward that are not quite correct.
To learn about this era in history, I will definitely rely on other, more scholarly books.
Read: April 9, 2017
2 Stars
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