A gripping tale of international intrigue, betrayal, and personal drama during the darkest days of the Cold War, Eisenhower 1956 is the first major book to examine the event in thirty years.

Debunking most historians’ opinion that the Suez crisis was merely a minor incident linked to the end of colonial rule in Egypt, Eisenhower 1956—drawing on hundreds of newly declassified documents—makes clear that it was the most dangerous crisis of Eisenhower’s presidency. Eisenhower used economic threats to force his British, French, and Israeli allies to withdraw from Egypt and put U.S. military forces on alert to deter Soviet intervention in the Middle East. Current U.S. policy in the region dates to the Suez crisis, when we replaced Great Britain as the guarantor of stability.

Acclaimed Eisenhower expert David Nichols masterfully weaves great personal drama—Eisenhower’s two life-threatening illnesses—with simultaneous world crises (America’s closest allies invade Egypt while the Soviets invade Hungary) and the final days of the 1956 presidential election campaign into a white-knuckle read. 

Draws on hundreds of newly declassified documents to present an account of the Suez crisis that reveals the considerable danger it posed as well as the influence of Eisenhower's health problems and the 1956 election campaign.