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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1978)
Books Adlai Stevenson and the World By John Bartlow Martin ©1978 Anchor Press/ Doubleday $7.95 paperback In his sequel to Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, John Bartlow Martin completes his task of chronicling the career of two-time presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson. Adlai Stevenson and the World covers Stevenson’s life from his defeat for the presidency by Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, his years as the leading liberal spokesman of the land, his sec ond defeat to Eisenhower in 1956, his years as United States Am bassador to the United Nations, to his death on a London street in 1965. Few men have had theirlives as fully exposed as Stevenson, whose major claim to fame was two unsuccessful bids for the pres idency of the United States. Vet it is those very campaigns that give such treatment legitimacy. The 1952 campaign may stand as the finest example of the art of re sponsible, partisan political de bate during the last half of the 20th century. Martin provides a wealth of de ir tail to his biography, so much de tail, in fact, that the essential fiber of Stevenson the man is at times drowned in a sea of triviality. Martin s treatment of Stevenson's daily life (gathered from over 65,000 index cards — nearty three for every day he lived) at times reaches beyond academic or even personal interest to such minutiae as what Stevenson ate, drank, what time he went to bed and how well he slept. Even when reporting substantive activities, few details were overlooked. One example should suffice: “On April 14 (1953) Stevenson and his companions left Singa pore at 8:15 a.m. aboard a U.S. Airforce DC-3 for Kuala Lumpur, capital of the Federation of Malaya.” As an introduction for a major event such detail may be justified, but this excerpt is typical of mere daily diary type reporting. But the main purpose of the book — to record Adlai Steven son, the man and his career — is achieved Stevenson's impact on the politics of the 50s was enorm ous. For nearly 15 years Steven son was the personification of political decency and moral and intellectual integrity. While Senator Joseph McCarthy witch hunted and Eisenhower shunned the intellectual, Stevenson, through his leadership, laid the foundation for programs that were to become the "New Frontier” of John Kennedy and the "Great Society" of Lyndon Johnson. Stevenson's flaws also were many, and are recorded with equal concern for detail. His views on Indo-China were scarcely dis cernable from those of John Fos ter Dulles or Richard Nixon. Stevenson, whose main ooncern was always with global politics, saw the emerging civil rights struggle of the 1950s and 1960s as an annoyance. Described by some as "complex, ambitious, and aristocratic," Stevenson could also be vain, pompous and frivolous. He was a womanizer of renown, preferring the rich and/or powerful female to the exclusion of all others. Near the end of his life, Steven son was a worn and tired man. His hectic social life, and ever pressing need to speak out on the issues of the day and a demand ing schedule as a representative of the United States to the rest of the world, left him physically and emotionally drained. George Ball (ten days before Stevenson's n <-.# /f.VtA V »'><»•• /II UIMt /, 1/ / C >t TO LIVE UNTIL WE SAY GOODBYE Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, the world-renowned authority on death and dying, presents her own commentary on increasing our understanding of the final stages of life and the transition to yet another form of existence. We discover what it means to help the dying live until they die, and to see dying as she does, not as a “negative destructive force,” but as an important part of life that can lead to new growth. $12.95 Upstairs In THE TRADEBOOK DEPARTMENT 13th & Kincaid 686-4331 Open: Mon-Fri 8:15-5:30 Sat 10:00-2:00 death) described him as “a terribly unhappy man. History had passed him by." But thanks to Martin and others, history has not passed Adlai Stevenson by. His career shines as a model for all liberal intellectu als as an example of what can be accomplished within the framework of honest and honora ble politics. Stevenson's comment about possible epitaphs may be truer than he hoped....''I have often thought that if I had any epitaph that I would rather have than another, it would be to say that I had disturbed the sleep of my generation." Our current gen eration could well use being dis turbed by the spirit of Stevenson. By Dan Spickler American Caesar By William Manchester ©1978 Little. Brown & Company $15 hardbound. 793 pages During the siege of Corregidor (the Rock) and Bataan in World War II, the American soldiers commanded by General Douglas MacArthur composed some verse which they sung to the tune of “The Battle Hymn of the Repub lic." One stanza went: Dougout Doug MacArthur lies ash akin' on the Flock Safe from all the bombers and from any sudden shock Dugout Doug is eating of the best food on Bataan And his troops go starving on... Dugout Doug come out from hiding Dugout Doug come out from hiding Send to Franklin the glad tid ings That his troops go starving on! But this man whom the soldiers of Bataan ridiculed as a coward had earned nine decorations from bravery on the battlefields of France in World War I in 1918 MacArthur’s fellow officers pre sented him with a cigarette case inscribed ‘‘The Bravest of the Brave,” and his immediate superior described him as "the bloodiest fighting man in this army." William Manchester of Death of a President fame has chosen both a compelling and difficult subject for his latest biography. MacArthur is a compelling protagonist be cause of his pivotal role in Ameri can history. MacArthur’s life began in a frontier fort where he grew up surrounded by bugles and columns of blue-coated sol diers; his life ended during the Cold War with the atomic bomb as the ultimate weapon. MacArthur fought in five wars, was a general in three, and several times was touted as a presidential candi date. Such life begs for biographi cal scrutiny. But, as the anecdotes of his bravery and cowardice suggest, his character also defies ready analysis, and herein lies Manchester's greatest problem. Manchester calls him "a great thundering paradox of a man... the most protean, most ridiculous, most sublime. ” To Manchester's great credit he suc ceeds in revealing both the ridiculous and the sublime in MacArthur. MacArthur’s best moments on the battlefield and off are artfully described, as well as his equally common moments of paranoia, spitefulness, and in subordination. Manchester is less successful, though, in illuminating the founda^ tions of his subject's character — the forces that molded him into the complex man that he was. At the end of the book I knew about Douglas MacArthur, but I still did not understand him. Manchester refrains from exten sive psychoanalysis of MacAr thur; perhaps more analysis of his personality would have been ap propriate. MacArthur's father (a Medal of Honor winner in the Civil War) and mother influenced him greatly, of course. Manchester suggests that Douglas spent his entire life trying to live up to the heritage of his father’s heroism. But Manchester deals with MacArthur's childhood and adolescence in less than ten pages, and that is not enough. The roots of his personality re main a mystery. MacArthur's public life makes for fascinating reading, though, and in this area Manchester is at his best. History buffs, especially those interested in military of Far Eastern history, should find the accounts of MacArthur's role in Korea. Japan, and the Phillippines valuable, Manchester’s prose is deft; his research is thorough. Douglas MacArthur will be re membered as one of the most im portant individuals erf the 20th cen tury, and American Caesar de serves reading for its fine elucida tion of MacArthur's place in his tory. By Martin Stadius 50c Off coupon Professional Shampoo and Conditioners The perfect gift REDKEN *We will help you make your selection 'We will stand behind our products Downstairs in the Emu close to the recreation center 687-1347 40 E. 10th Ave Downtown 484-1200 561 E. 13th Ave across from Max's 485-4422
