Three Days in January

Before penning the recently released “Three Days in Moscow: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire,” Bret Baier spent a few days with another American president.

“Three Days in January: Dwight Eisenhower’s Final Mission” focuses on the last days of Eisenhower’s presidency.

“Moscow” and “January” each spotlights a speech given by the respective president. “Moscow” on Reagan’s 1988 speech to students of Moscow State University. “January” on Eisenhower’s farewell address on the growing “military-industrial complex” in America.

Baier is the Fox News chief political anchor. With co-author Catherine Whitney, “January” ably summarizes the life, World War II history and presidency of Eisenhower. 

Baier throws out the modern perception that Eisenhower was a place-holder president between Harry S Truman and John F. Kennedy. 

Instead, Eisenhower had a style that was understated but was successful on several stages from ending the war in Korea to maintaining a Cold War peace, creating the interstate highway system, applying early civil rights laws, etc., according to the book.

As with the Reagan book, “Three Days in January” spends the majority of its pages seizing on the events and mindsets shaping the roughly 72-hour period expressed in the title.

In Eisenhower’s case, he is preparing to leave office after two terms. He wants to give his final assessment as president to the American people. Not to review his achievements but to share his world view and issue a warning.

The days are filled with preparations to leave the White House in the days prior to Kennedy’s inauguration.

“Three Days in January” shines a light on the life and times of a president everyone thinks they know but most readers will discover they do not know.