Ike and Dick

Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage

By: Jeffrey Frank

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Richard Nixon was a young Navy officer when he first saw Dwight D. Eisenhower through a storm of tickertape as Manhattan celebrated the end of the war in Europe. Seven years later, Nixon was Eisenhower's running mate on the Republican presidential ticket-the beginning of a political and personal relationship that lasted for nearly twenty years. Despite a gulf that separated them by age and temperament, their association evolved into a collaboration that helped to shape the nation's political ideology, foreign policy, and domestic goals, from civil rights to the civilian space program.

Ike and Dick relates much that occurred out of public view, such as the sensitive discussions among senior staffers concerned about Nixon's proper role when Eisenhower suffered illnesses that might have incapacitated him. Based on deep archival research and interviews with dozens of men and women who knew and worked with both men, including family members, it offers fresh views of Nixon, the striving tactician, and the legendary general, a distant man with a warm smile who could, and did, make Nixon's life miserable.

In rediscovering the circle that surrounded them and a cast that includes Billy Graham, Senator Joseph McCarthy, Martin Luther King Jr., powerful newspaper columnists, early television personalities, and even the chilly young adman H.R. Haldeman, Ike and Dick provides an intimate view of America during the Cold War and of two men whose influence has never waned.

©2013 Jeffrey Frank (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Pithily describing their relationship as having a filial aspect, though one without much filial affection, Frank chronicles it through Ike's presidency and Nixon's presidential campaigns with the rich, inside-politics mix of rumor and maneuver in which connoisseurs of political history love to marinate." ( Booklist)

Ike is the commander

What made the experience of listening to Ike and Dick the most enjoyable?

I appreciate the writer's well researched efforts of this highly important relationship between two giants of the twentieth century.

What did you like best about this story?

The unexpected behavior of Nixon coming across as a seemingly poor junior office while the commander-in-chief was always "The General". Not exactly a good working relationship nor did they really develop a close friendship.

Which character – as performed by Arthur Morey – was your favorite?

Nixon. That guy is so Shakespearean in depth of character along with the success he attained while feeling so inferior to Eisenhower.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, this book was highly interesting. Frank's efforts are clearly apparent while reading this superlative volume.

Any additional comments?

Poor Pat must have lived a miserable life. Disliking political campaigns as she did and living a fairly isolated life from her husband.

He's against NIxon

If you could sum up Ike and Dick in three words, what would they be?

informative, jaundiced, and still incomplete

What did you like best about this story?

You find out how spineless Ike was at times.

Which character – as performed by Arthur Morey – was your favorite?

Nixon

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. You have to take it in bites

Good view of a complex relationship

What did you love best about Ike and Dick?

This book gave a good insight into the complexities of the relationship between the 34th president and his vice president. Nixon never felt as if he was part of Ike's inner circle, and Eisenhower didn't feel that Nixon was up to the job of being president if the situation arose. There were a lot of stories I had never known (Ike's infatuation with Robert Anderson as a potential president, Ike pressuring Nixon to drop off the ticket in 1956).

Did Shakespeare come up with this plot?

What did you love best about Ike and Dick?

For those of us who liked neither of their Presidencies but cannot help being fascinated by the men, this is a superb focus on their relationship, less so on the rest of their momentous lives. One of the ultimate odd couples, they were thrown together, and their families ultimately joined by marriage. The author made me feel empathy for the position of both of these cold men.

Any additional comments?

The performer is one of my favorites. He minimally imposed his personality on the story, which stands well on its own, and he made none of the awkward pronunciation or sentence-splitting errors that annoy when traveling in the world of audiobooks.