A Love Letter to Dwight Eisenhower

There are two kinds of popular presidential biographies. The first is a book that aims for detachment from its subject, examining a president in light of new evidence or offering a fresh, critical reinterpretation. James Mann’s "The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan" is a fine recent example. The second kind is a hagiography, a work that romanticizes a president and, in the process, often makes the reader feel good about America itself. David McCullough’s "Truman" is the gold standard in this stream.