Writing a biography is reclaiming a person and the world that he or she inhabited to public memory. The events of World War II created an unlimited source of material for biographers who even today are still examining documents hoping to gain and present new insights. The individual subjects and inspirational moments appear to be never-ending.

IKE AND WINSTON by Jonathan W. Jordan is a scholarly and sometimes gossipy account of two men whose influence on the battlefields and political debates of WWII can never be minimized. But beyond detailing their efforts to achieve victory over Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler, this entertaining work delves into the post-war lives of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Winston Churchill. 

"IKE AND WINSTON is a glorious and sweeping narrative that reminds readers how history can often turn on individual personalities and the personal bonds forged during crisis."

Following WWII, the United States became the leader of the free world, and Eisenhower would soon assume the presidency. Churchill, defeated at the polls at the end of the war, would come back into power as Prime Minister in 1951. Ike and Winston were now world leaders fighting a different war: the Cold War.

By 1940, when they began the task of securing military victory in Europe, they had led vastly different lives. Churchill, born into aristocracy, rose through politics. As an officeholder, writer and public speaker, his words were familiar to England and the world. Eisenhower was a West Point cadet during World War I and served mostly as a desk officer writing strategy for other officers. Fortunately, General George Marshall recognized his skills. He moved him to Washington and then eventually to England, where Eisenhower and Churchill met.

It was not an easy relationship for them, but they teamed up repeatedly to find ways to solve the major problems of waging war. They accomplished this with guile, charm and sometimes stubbornness. While Jordan focuses on Eisenhower and Churchill, the story is incomplete without numerous references to Stalin, de Gaulle, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the countless military officers of the United States and Great Britain.

Once WWII ended, Ike and Winston led separate but still connected lives. Eisenhower sought civilian life but was never content outside the military. Ultimately, he would accept the entreaties of those who believed military leadership skills could be applied to politics. When Eisenhower was elected to the White House, both he and Churchill were leading their respective nations. 

Throughout the 1950s, the two men and their governments would shape world events in Europe, Korea and the Middle East. Some of their decisions remain a part of international policy even today. While they often disagreed, their friendship remained vibrant. Jordan does a superb job of conveying the delicate shift in their dynamic as they faced political stress. Eisenhower, the WWII subordinate, had now become the leader of the free world. Both were aware of the change but would not allow their relationship to be harmed.

IKE AND WINSTON is a glorious and sweeping narrative that reminds readers how history can often turn on individual personalities and the personal bonds forged during crisis. Eisenhower and Churchill saved and changed the world and were allies to the end.