Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage

 

Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage by Jeffrey Frank

The presidential ticket of Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon is probably the most memorable one in terms of identification of the two individuals.  Eisenhower was famous as the Supreme Commander in Europe during WWII whereas Nixon, sadly, achieved his notoriety several years later due to Watergate.  As history goes on, many Presidents and Vice-Presidents simply become forgotten. Quick Trivia Question: Who was President’s Gerald Ford’s VP in 1976?  Most of you don’t know, do you?

What author Jeffrey Frank shares with us in this book is that these two individuals were radically different, didn’t seem to understand each other yet alone get along, but actually needed each other in order to win the presidency of 1952. Ike (Eisenhower) never seemed to care if he received the nomination or not. In fact, before 1952 no one even knew if he was a Democrat or a Republican (Current President Harry Truman tried to talk him into running as a Democrat).  So aggressively campaigning was never high on his priority list. He knew, however, that someone had to get out there and woo the masses, so young up-and-comer Dick (Richard) Nixon is recruited as his running mate.  Oh boy was Nixon aggressive.  He could actually be quite nasty as his campaigning record showed.  This, in my humble opinion, is why so many hated him throughout his career and ultimately caused his downfall.

Anyway, the problems start between the two before they even win the election.  I won’t go into all the squabbles in detail, but Nixon had to claw his way onto staying on the ticket when false accusations led him to his famous “Checkers” speech.  We then read later about Ike wanting to drop Dick off the ticket for the re-election of 1956.  Why?  Was he dissatisfied in Nixon’s performance? Well, no, it’s just that Ike really doesn’t understand, nor does he care, how politics works.  This is a world-renowned general who was used to constantly shuffling soldiers around so he always had the best military leaders where they were needed. That’s how you win wars. So shouldn’t he do the same when running a country?  Yes, but again, that’s not how politics works.  Then, when Dick runs for the highest office in 1960, Ike is asked for a significant decision Dick made during his 8-year tenure as VP. Ike’s answer? “Give me about a week and I can probably think of one.” Ouch.

This book seemed to focus a lot more on Dick than Ike. This really shouldn’t be surprising since Ike’s career during his presidency is peaking whereas Dick’s is just gaining momentum. Quite often we read about how frustrated Nixon is when his boss simply doesn’t know how to play the game. Ike doesn’t realize that when you make your VP look less than favorable, you make yourself look unfavorable as well.  But I guess 5-star generals don’t really give a rip.

It should be noted that this is not an exhaustive recollection of the presidency from 1952-1960.  Yes, there are plenty of highlights included, but the author smartly ensures that whatever he writes can somehow be tied to the uncomfortable relationship between the two.  There’s virtually nothing here, for example, about the downed U2 spy plane, nor the planning of Bay of Pigs.  I would almost recommend that one reads a bio of both of these men before tackling this one as it can more easily paint the entire picture of the whole 8 years. (Author Stephen Ambrose, ironically, penned a bio of both. His bio on Ike was 2 volumes; the one on Dick was 3 volumes. I would highly recommend both.)

Once we get past Nixon’s failed 1960 bid, the book tends to not be as captivating. I don’t blame this on the author, it’s just that the following decade wasn’t really that interesting in terms of the relationship between the two. Every time we read about Ike during the 60s, it’s seems like all ever does is play golf or is in the hospital due to various ailments (the man had an unprecedented seven heart attacks among other maladies).  We read about Dick’s climb to eventually become president in 1968, but the information of this whole decade is rather sparse. Give the author credit, however, for not getting sucked into the weeds and only focusing on Nixon and his many nuances.  Since Ike dies shortly after Dick becomes president, our story basically stops.  The author includes one coda-like chapter where we read about Nixon’s downfall and eventual resignation. This is probably necessary, yet it does leave one with a passion for more; which is why reading bios of the two might help with perspective.

This was a very enjoyable book. I can’t help but think about how nice it would be if we had more Ikes in the job as president (i.e. someone who can do the job but doesn’t care about politics) as opposed to less….um….Dicks.

The Judge's List

 

The Judge’s List – by John Grisham

As I’ve stated in my many other reviews of Grisham’s work, his main appeal is that he has a captivating writing style.  He hooks you in. You rarely get bored, and his observations of common human behavior often come across as quite amusing.  It’s not easy to keep your audience entertained for a long period of time. So regardless of whether or not you enjoy the particular story he’s telling, it’s always enjoyable to read what he has to say, and the chapters always seem to fly by.  It’s easy to read a 400-page Grisham book in the span of only one weekend.

This book is sort of a sequel to Grisham’s “The Whistler”. I remember very little about that story (Grisham’s tales don’t stay in one’s memory for very long) other than I did enjoy it.  Thankfully I can say I liked this one as well. I enjoyed this one overall despite some minor flaws.  The story revolves around Lacy Stoltz who works on the fictitious Florida Board on Judicial Conduct.  The main task of this entity is to review complaints against judges by those who feel somehow cheated by these pursuers of justice.

This is not an exciting job. Most complaints are ridiculous, and the serious ones aren’t that interesting. It doesn’t help when Lacy’s department is affected by drastic budget cuts.  When we read about Lacy in her office, we can almost see the outdated furniture, the shoddy carpeting, and we can taste the stale coffee.  Well, the boredom is about to change when a complaint comes across Lacy’s desk (so to speak) about a judge who is believed to have committed murder. Several actually. Murder?? A judge??

So into action we go. Overall I enjoyed how Grisham told the story.  A lot of the tale is told through the eyes of the actual murderer and how he’s able to conceal so many of his crimes. We enjoy reading the parts of the story from his point of view as opposed to Lacy’s.  Still, I can’t help but wonder if there were slight things about this novel that could have been better.  At times we read about Lacy and others who have “lunch” or “meet” with relatives for no other reason than to pad the book a bit.  When we read about Lacy’s obnoxious brother Gunther, his portrayal seemed a bit silly and contrived.  Then, of course, since Lacy is divorced and approaching 40, there’s a bit of a romantic diversion here as well. She has a boyfriend. Neither of them seriously love each other, but they stay together (I guess) because it’s nice to have someone around and neither fancy the prospect of growing old alone.  This side story leaves the door open for more “Lacy Stoltz” novels.  Not a bad thing really.  It just tended to divert a bit much from the story.

Also there’s the fact that I always question how things go down when I read suspense books such as this, and how realistic or unrealistic the event is portrayed. Example: When there are multiple murders committed over a relatively short period of time in a relatively small area of the country with the exact same murder weapon, wouldn’t this raise a lot of questions? Sure, Grisham educates us that most murders never get solved, but it seems that in this case a lot more eyes would be open to such circumstances. Another Example: I can believe that a criminal can hack into a hotel’s security system and unlock every guest’s door on the premise, but don’t most people in a hotel also use a deadbolt when they’re in the room?  Especially when they sleep?  And are already paranoid about being chased by a killer?   Anyway.

Since Grisham highly saturates the book market with at least two books per year, it becomes hard to really appreciate any of his novels as “top-notch”.  People felt that way about his first several novels, but once the conveyor belt started speeding up, his books became more of a pleasant diversion as opposed stellar works of fiction.   I’ll probably continue to read his books until he (or I) dies, and the man does succeed more than he fails. Even though his best stories may only grade about a “B”, his writing style and method has always been, and probably always will be, an “A+”.

Dave Grohl, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music

 

Dave Grohl, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

First thing’s first: This is NOT an autobiography. I kind of wish it was. I imagine it would have been quite brilliant. As soon as you accept that this isn’t an autobiography, you’re likely to enjoy this much more. Dave Grohl is a great storyteller.  I would also argue that he’s probably the most revered musician of the last 30 years. Not only has he played in two of the most popular and respected bands, but he did so utilizing two different instruments. (For those of you who stopped listening to music sometime in the 1980s, this would be “drums with Nirvana” and “guitar with Foo Fighters”.

He's also a genuinely great guy. Yeah, he parties. Yeah, he drinks quite a bit, and this book (as well as his vocabulary) is always littered with four letter words.  But how many rockstars do you know who would postpone a sellout concert in Australia so he can fly back home and attend a “Daddy Daughter Dance” with his young girl? And then quickly jump back on the plane for an 11-hour flight to get to the rescheduled show the very next night?  That’s one of the many great stories featured here.

So, yes, there are a lot of personal stories here, but there are plenty of musical ones as well.  Grohl wisely keeps his childhood memories to a minimum, but we read about his early love of music while being raised by a divorced mom who encourages her son to live out his dreams.  One early dream that comes true is when Grohl drops out of high school to join the punk band “Scream” and then he goes on a nationwide tour.  Don’t, however, confuse, “nationwide” with “lucrative”.  He and his bandmates drive cross country in a pot-soaked nasty old van and Grohl is given a $7.50 per diem. It doesn’t take long before a slightly more popular band named “Nirvana” recruits him, and it doesn’t take long, either, when Nirvana goes from being “slightly more popular” to “the biggest band in the world”.

The Scream and Nirvana stories are told in sequential order, yet after Nirvana explodes in popularity, the rest of the book goes back and forth highlighting different areas of Grohl’s life. I was surprised to find that there is nothing (I mean NOTHING) in this book about the In Utero album and/or working with Steve Albini.  So, yes, I was discouraged, but again, this isn’t an autobiography.

As talented as Grohl is, it seems like many of his great stories are the result of him being at the right place at the right time. In fact, many of the stories here focus on impromptu spontaneous meetings with celebrities.  And Grohl is ALWAYS surprised, flabbergasted, and gracious.  From Iggy Pop to Elton John. From George W. Bush to Joan Jett. From Neal Diamond to Lemmy Kilmister.  Grohl always comes across as a wide eyed, jaw dropped kid who just won a golden ticket to a chocolate factory when he meets such personalities.

So you get a great understanding of the man, and what makes him tick. This was a joy to read, but I can’t help but wanting more “facts” and maybe not so much “feeling”. We read, for example, very little about the formation and success of Foo Fighters. Maybe Grohl figures that most who read this book already have a thorough understanding of these many aspects of his life since they are so well documented. (Remember, Foo Fighters had an 8-part, 8-hour long special on one of the band’s albums that featured 8 songs on HBO not too long ago.)

He's also very good about keeping these stories out of the sewer.  These are mostly happy, fun stories. You don’t read anything at all, for example, about the tumultuous relationship with Courtney Love. We do read about her husband’s passing, though, but most of the details focus on the happiness and sadness about the lost relationship as opposed to the gritty details of Kurt’s death.

Although Grohl has had an awful lot of luck in his career, you can’t help but feel that if Grohl never had “made it” and ended up working at a Tire store for the rest of his life as opposed to joining Nirvana, he still would have been grateful for the experiences that he had, and he probably couldn’t care less if his career ended up differently and he was forced to play in front of 20-25 people on a good night.  He tells all of these stories with relish, and you can’t help but feel uplifted when he shares so many of these experiences with you.