Cocktail Reception and Author Talk with English Speaking Union

The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the American Superpower
By Michel Paradis
"Gorgeously written. The only must-read book to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day."
--ALEX KERSHAW, New York Times bestselling author

Monday, November 17 | 6:00 – 8:00pm
The Chilton Club, 287 Dartmouth Street, Boston

To further highlight the importance of WWII to the understanding of our contemporary history, the ESU Boston board has invited Michel Paradis to speak. Professor Paradis is a graduate of Oxford University and Columbia University Law School.

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 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 the 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.

Please register by November 9. The event price of $55 includes hors d’oeuvres and a dessert buffet.