A thrilling new biography of Dwight Eisenhower set in the months leading up to D-Day, when he grew from a well-liked general into one of the singular figures of American history.

"This is hands-down the most deeply researched, sensitive, intimate, and nuanced portrait of Eisenhower." —DAVID KENNEDY, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for History | "A masterly portrait." —General WESLEY CLARK | "Gorgeously written. The only must-read book to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day." —ALEX KERSHAW, New York Times bestselling author | STARRED reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Library Journal

On June 6, 1944, General Dwight Eisenhower addressed the thousands of American troops preparing to invade Normandy, exhorting them to embrace the “Great Crusade” they faced. Then, in a fleeting moment alone, he drafted a resignation letter in case the invasion failed.

In The Light of Battle, Michel Paradis, acclaimed author of Last Mission to Tokyo, paints a vivid portrait of Dwight Eisenhower in his role as Supreme Allied Commander as he learns to navigate the crosscurrents of diplomacy, politics, strategy, family, and fame with the fate of the free world hanging in the balance. In a world of giants—Churchill, Roosevelt, De Gaulle, Marshall, MacArthur—it was a barefoot boy from Abilene, Kansas, who would master the art of power and become a modern-day George Washington.

Drawing upon meticulous research and a voluminous body of newly discovered records, letters, diaries, and firsthand accounts from three continents, Paradis brings Eisenhower to life, as a complicated man who craved simplicity, a genial cipher whose smile was a lethal political weapon.

With a page-turning pace and an eye for the overlooked, Paradis interweaves the grand arc of World War II history with more human concerns, bringing readers into the private moments that led to Eisenhower’s most pivotal decisions surrounding Operation Overlord. By deftly integrating the personal and the political, he reveals how Eisenhower’s rise both reflected and was integral to America’s rise as a global superpower.

An unflinching look at how character is forged, and leadership is learned, this definitive Dwight D. Eisenhower biography breathes new life into the man who made “the leader of the free world” the mantle of the American presidency.

This deeply researched account reveals the leader behind the legend:

The Weight of Command: Go inside the room as Eisenhower, with the fate of the free world on his shoulders, drafts a secret resignation letter in case the Normandy Invasion fails.
Leadership in Crisis: Witness Eisenhower’s transformation as he learns to outmaneuver the titanic personalities of Churchill, Roosevelt, and de Gaulle to hold the fragile Allied coalition together.
Newly Discovered History: Explore a trove of newly unearthed letters, diaries, and firsthand accounts that paint a fresh, intimate, and surprising portrait of the man from Abilene, Kansas.
The Making of a President: Understand the pivotal months that forged Eisenhower’s character, turning a respected general into the figure who would define the American presidency for the modern era.