SOLDIER OF DEMOCRACY

So far this makes the third Eisenhower biography of which this one is the most comprehensive, giving -- in close to 600 pages -- the externals of his life, personal and military. It continues, without the sentimentality of the Hatch biography, to convey the image of the man, his stamina and courage, candor and selflessness, assurance and casual charm. Here is his family background, his childhood in Abilene, the years at West Point, his marriage to Mamie Doud. Early sorrows, the loss of their first son, the failure to get overseas during World War I. Then the intervening years of staff work in Washington, the appointment to the Philippines, the advance to the highest command with this war, and the campaigns in North Africa, Italy and the European theatre. Davis has drawn on interviews with friends, family, military associates and the General himself for his material; he has done a full-sized job of biography, occasionally -- but only occasionally -- obscuring the man in pursuit of the fact.