From the Publisher
Bret Baier has given history a great gift: a riveting account of Dwight Eisenhower’s determination to call on his vast experience to prepare America for the perils of the new war—the cold war.” — Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation
“Captures the essence of Ike’s leadership style. Through stories and the keen observations at the time, Baier makes Ike’s world view and philosophy come to life. Three Days in January is a great read.” — Susan Eisenhower, CEO and Chairman of The Eisenhower Group, Inc. and Chairman Emeritus at the Eisenhower Institute of Gettysburg College
“Bret Baier’s Three Days in January brilliantly illuminates the genius and intrigue behind Eisenhower’s historic Farewell Address. Written with verve and deeply researched, Baier ably dissects fact from myth. A landmark achievement in U.S. presidential history.” — Douglas Brinkley, author of Cronkite
“Magnificently rendered, Bret Baier’s Three Days in January is destined to take its place as not only one of the masterworks on Eisenhower, but as one of the classics of presidential history. Impeccably researched, the book is nothing short of extraordinary. What a triumph!” — JAY WINIK, New York Times best-selling author of April 1865 and 1944
“Brilliantly captures the drama of January 1961. ... Three Days in January is the BEST book on Eisenhower to appear in a very long time.” — DAVID EISENHOWER, Director, the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Public Service, and author of Eisenhower: At War, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History
“A valuable contribution to our appreciation of Ike, describing some of his most important qualities of character, wisdom, and leadership, which are so needed in the public figures of our own era.” — MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, author of Presidential Courage
“Superb. ... A quintessential American story of transcending dignity and success, of personal humility and enormous self-confidence, and unique achievements of which all Americans can be proud. ... Many have tried to assess Ike. Few succeed. Baier does.” — U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, Washington Times
“Bret Baier has written a great book about a great president ... and the lessons in leadership that ‘Ike’ offers to today’s era of polarization and gridlock.” — CLARENCE PAGE, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated Chicago Tribune columnist
“Brings new relevance to Eisenhower’s parting message. ... A focused and timely study of Eisenhower’s significant speech and the sticky transition to JFK’s inherited new world.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Vital lessons for our time. ... Powerful and enlightening, Three Days in January sheds light on a little-known Eisenhower.” — The Costco Connection
Tom Brokaw
Bret Baier has given history a great gift: a riveting account of Dwight Eisenhower’s determination to call on his vast experience to prepare America for the perils of the new war—the cold war.
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts
Superb. ... A quintessential American story of transcending dignity and success, of personal humility and enormous self-confidence, and unique achievements of which all Americans can be proud. ... Many have tried to assess Ike. Few succeed. Baier does.
DAVID EISENHOWER
Brilliantly captures the drama of January 1961. ... Three Days in January is the BEST book on Eisenhower to appear in a very long time.
Susan Eisenhower
Captures the essence of Ike’s leadership style. Through stories and the keen observations at the time, Baier makes Ike’s world view and philosophy come to life. Three Days in January is a great read.
JAY WINIK
Magnificently rendered, Bret Baier’s Three Days in January is destined to take its place as not only one of the masterworks on Eisenhower, but as one of the classics of presidential history. Impeccably researched, the book is nothing short of extraordinary. What a triumph!
The Costco Connection
Vital lessons for our time. ... Powerful and enlightening, Three Days in January sheds light on a little-known Eisenhower.
CLARENCE PAGE
Bret Baier has written a great book about a great president ... and the lessons in leadership that ‘Ike’ offers to today’s era of polarization and gridlock.
MICHAEL BESCHLOSS
A valuable contribution to our appreciation of Ike, describing some of his most important qualities of character, wisdom, and leadership, which are so needed in the public figures of our own era.
Douglas Brinkley
Bret Baier’s Three Days in January brilliantly illuminates the genius and intrigue behind Eisenhower’s historic Farewell Address. Written with verve and deeply researched, Baier ably dissects fact from myth. A landmark achievement in U.S. presidential history.
SUSAN EISENHOWER
Captures the essence of Ike’s leadership style. Through stories and the keen observations at the time, Baier makes Ike’s world view and philosophy come to life. Three Days in January is a great read.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY
Bret Baier’s Three Days in January brilliantly illuminates the genius and intrigue behind Eisenhower’s historic Farewell Address. Written with verve and deeply researched, Baier ably dissects fact from myth. A landmark achievement in U.S. presidential history.
TOM BROKAW
Bret Baier has given history a great gift: a riveting account of Dwight Eisenhower’s determination to call on his vast experience to prepare America for the perils of the new war—the cold war.
Clarence Page
Bret Baier has written a great book about a great president... and the lessons in leadership that ‘Ike’ offers to today’s era of polarization and gridlock.
Michael Beschloss
A valuable contribution to our appreciation of Ike, describing some of his most important qualities of character, wisdom, and leadership, which are so needed in the public figures of our own era.
David Eisenhower
Three Days in January is the BEST book on Eisenhower — and the best book written about a presidential speech — to appear in a very long time.
Library Journal
02/01/2017
Using the 34th U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's (1890–1969) farewell address to the nation as a launching point for each chapter, this debut by Baier (Fox News Channel chief political anchor & former White House correspondent), with writer Whitney (The Calling), covers the general-turned-president's life and legacy. Baier offers a nonchronological narrative, combining biography with accounts of Eisenhower's most famous actions and decisions, effectively explaining how this transfer of power demonstrated the evolution of a changing American culture and mind set. Overall, this book tends to be laudatory of Eisenhower but not overly so; Baier provides readers who are unfamiliar with Eisenhower a thorough overview of his life, career, and the transitional period between presidents. While certainly packed with wonderful information, at times the format tends to be choppy and the writing somewhat stilted. Nevertheless, this account is well researched and shines when providing comparisons between Eisenhower and his successor John F. Kennedy. Boasting more than 20 pages of citations, many from primary sources, the appendix is rounded out with a full transcription of Eisenhower's final speech before becoming a private citizen. VERDICT Recommended for readers interested in presidential history; the history of World War II, the Cold War, or U.S. history; and fans of biographies.—Benjamin Brudner, Curry Coll. Lib., Milton, MA
FEBRUARY 2017 - AudioFile
Narrator Danny Campbell makes what could have been a dry political science text into a relatively engaging examination of the last days of the Eisenhower administration. Campbell’s conversational style carries the listener along, even during some of the more arcane sections. The focus of the work is Ike’s efforts to make the transition to the Kennedy administration as smooth as possible. The audiobook also examines at some length the outgoing president’s farewell message, which was far more than its memorable warning about the growing military industrial complex. The author opens with a biography of Eisenhower that is detailed enough to provide context but short enough that it doesn’t slow the work or detract from its major premise. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2016-11-24
A sobering return to Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address, arriving just before our own moment of uncertain presidential transition.Eisenhower was a paradox: a former supreme commander devoted to peace who managed to keep the country out of war for eight years and left a haunting warning in his final televised speech on Jan. 17, 1961, that the United States had become a "permanent war-based industry." With co-author Whitney, Fox News host Baier (Special Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love, 2014, etc.) brings new relevance to Eisenhower's parting message to the young, relatively inexperienced new president, John F. Kennedy. The author explores Eisenhower's last days in office, especially his sense of needing to prepare JFK for the "fate of the civilized world" and brace him against the military-driven mindset. Unlike his relations with his own predecessor, Harry Truman, which were strained and chilly, the World War II hero came around to respecting the glamorous young senator despite their vastly different backgrounds and his inglorious defeat of Richard Nixon. In the 1960 campaign, Kennedy had run on the "missile gap" between the U.S. and Soviet Union—the Soviets had launched the world's first artificial satellite—which Eisenhower knew was "a clever, yet devious, tactic." It was also misleading, since both countries had enough nuclear weapons to leave the world "a moonscape of radioactive ash." This was Eisenhower's message in his parting address, which is included in its entirety in an appendix: that industry had taken over the military; that bright retiring military people had gravitated to aerospace and other related industries; and that massive federal funding outlays were being granted for scientific-military research. As Baier notes, his speech warning of "unwarranted influence…by the military-industrial complex" proved enormously prescient even though it was not widely reported on at the time. Kennedy would learn this lesson quickly in the Bay of Pigs fiasco. A focused and timely study of Eisenhower's significant speech and the sticky transition to JFK's inherited new world.
