Eisenhower vs. Warren

The Battle for Civil Rights and Liberties

By: James F. Simon

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

The bitter feud between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Chief Justice Earl Warren framed the tumultuous future of the modern civil rights movement. Eisenhower was a gradualist who wanted to coax white Americans in the South into eventually accepting integration, while Warren, author of the Supreme Court's historic unanimous opinion in Brown v. Board of Education, demanded immediate action to dismantle the segregation of the public school system.

In Eisenhower vs. Warren, two-time New York Times Notable Book author James F. Simon examines the years of strife between them that led Eisenhower to say that his biggest mistake as president was appointing that "dumb son of a bitch Earl Warren." This momentous, poisonous relationship is presented here at last in one volume. Compellingly written, Eisenhower vs. Warren brings to vivid life the clash that continues to reverberate in political and constitutional debates today.

©2018 James F. Simon (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

The Idealist and the Pragmatist

This story of President Ike Eisenhower and his Supreme Court Chief Justice, Earl Warren, reminds me a lot of Abraham Lincoln and Thaddeus Stephens in a prior American era. One seeks the straightest, shortest path to civil rights, while the other seeks reforms that will succeed and last, without symbolic stances (what today we might call "virtue signaling").

They were both strong on civil rights in an era when civil rights needed skillful promotion, and both had their great successes. Their differences in approach led to social friction and political controversy.

While I admire Lincoln for his successes moreso than Stephens for his principles, I find myself admiring Warren for his successes moreso than Eisenhower for his caution. Still, Eisenhower is one of the great Presidents (some would say the last great Republican President), and it's good that his accomplishments and approach are remembered.

Great Read

This is a fair and parallel survey of two men who dominated the middle of the 20th century. Warren was far ahead of his time,Eisenhower a victim of it.Nether JFK not LBJ were really all that into Civil rights so my disdain of Ike in that category is somewhat muted but Eisenhower was a man of the 50s. People forget that Warren ran for vice president in 1948. I suspect that had he continued in electoral politics he might not have been so liberal.

Very deceptive title

The book does a great job in following mostly the Brown case and the Eisenhower administration handling of the dilemmas it created. I found it very educational, especially the brief biography of Earl Warren whom I knew very little of before he got to the supreme court. But many times the book goes on tangents of McCarthyism and meanders off topic.

But it is great. And from an audiobook perspective, the narration was ok, not great, but ok.

A Great Review of the Fight for Civil Rights

I have recently been reading books about the relationship between the President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. I got this book as it sounded most interesting.

This book is well written and meticulously researched. Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as Chief Justice. At that time the Court was under control of the conservatives. Gradually a controversy between Eisenhower and Warren occurred over McCarthyism and Civil Rights. Their disagreement was about the pace and means of effecting social change regarding Civil Rights. Eisenhower thought Brown Vs Board of Education was not enforceable.

I believe this is an important book particularly considering what is currently happening in our country. Eisenhower wanted to move slowly and use coaxing and reeducation to change behavior about Civil Rights. Warren disagreed and wanted to make legal changes. The book is easy to read. The author made complex legal issues easy to understand for lay people. The author attempted to stay neutral. This book is a great review of the fight for Civil Rights. I highly recommend this book.

The book is fifteen hours and fifty-five minutes. Jonathan Yen does a good job narrating the book. Yen is a well-known voice actor and audiobook narrator.

Interesting read that lacks a unifying thesis

This book offers a well researched and well presented narrative of the Warren Court's legal jurisprudence during the 1950s. I especially love the framing: a battle between the radical social libertarianism of Warren and the more reserved and incremental approach to social reform put forward by Eisenhower.

However, as entertaining as the narrative presentation may be, the book is messy in its thematic presentation. It spends much of its runtime talking about the Warren Court's civil rights jurisprudence, but at times, it will shift to lengthy digressions on Warren's decisions respecting civil liberties. Obviously, these two areas of law are interrelated, but they are not identical. And, unfortunately, the book does a poor job of unifying these disparate areas of Warren's jurisprudence into a unified theme or statement about either him or this period of U.S. legal history.

As you listen to this book, you'll be waiting for a denouement that never comes. It's a fun and informative read, but it doesn't have much to say about the ideological conflict between Warren and Eisenhower beyond the mere existence of said conflict itself.

Decent book on the Warren Court

The author does a pretty good job explaining Justice Earl Warren’s background and appointment by President Eisenhower. It is a book that I would recommend if you want some background on the relationship between the two members of the Republican Party. The book also gives some decent insight into the major decisions from the Court, including “Brown v. The Board of Education”. A decent book.