<DIV><p>This volume paints a revisionist portrait of Dwight Eisenhower as a strategic communicator who was highly involved in the series of crises that characterized his administrations. As a consummate cold warrior, Eisenhower understood that words, images, perceptions, and the shaping of attitudes were central to the ongoing battle with the Soviet Union. He used rhetoric--actions and messages intentionally designed to persuade--to achieve many of his goals. To Ike, rhetoric was the central weapon for waging--and winning--the cold war. Understood as a strategic art of selection, arrangement, nuance, timing, and audience adaptation, rhetoric became, for Eisenhower, the preferred means for conflict resolution. <BR>      Examining both foreign and domestic crises, <i>Eisenhower's War of Words</i> reveals a chief executive who was always thinking, planning, and looking for the opportune moment to strike. Individual chapters are devoted to the crises concerning Vietnam, McCarthyism, the H-bomb, massive retaliation, Open Skies, the Suez, Sputnik, Little Rock, the U-2 Affair, and the military- industrial complex. Eisenhower's rhetorical leadership saw America through a decade that was anything but tranquil. This book examines one of the primary means by which he accomplished that goal.<br><br>  </p></DIV>