The Bitter Woods

A very readable study in command. Eisenhower, who is Ike's son and also an ex-army officer, focuses on Hitler's surprise Ardennes offensive--the Battle of the Bulge--for his examination of German and Allied command structures at all echelons. His portraits of the commanders, insights into the informality that characterized Allied decision-making in the field (""with a nod of the head, Eisenhower acknowledged responsibility for the decision""), and treatment of the officers as men rather than just military strategists make this an unusual analysis. What emerges is a clear description of how personal and professional style colored the conduct of the battle. Eisenhower relies heavily on memoirs, on his own sturdy knowledge of military strategy and staff procedures, and, possibly, on anecdotes he heard from Dad. But it is a book written with objectivity and no hint that the author is related to that Eisenhower who is one of the book's chief characters. Particularly interesting are the portraits of Montgomery, Bradley, and Otto Skorzeny, Hasso von Manteuffel, and Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz.