Thursday, February 28, 2019

They led in different eras, but the parallels between Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower are striking – both successful army commanders in high-stakes conflicts and then president, with deep convictions about racial equity and determination to avoid war despite their military backgrounds. Ike greatly admired Grant, studying his leadership style and personality traits and scouring Grant’s memoirs for battlefield applications. John McManus, a Curators’ Distinguished Professor at the Missouri University of Science and Technology and one of the nation’s top military historians, examines those connections, in particular Eisenhower’s World War II military campaigns. This continues a series coinciding with the exhibit "Eisenhower’s Middle Road" at the Central Kansas City Public Library. The Lunch & Learn series is made possible by the Eisenhower Foundation and generous support from the Jeffcoat Memorial Foundation. Free, with a light lunch provided on a first come, first served basis.