Analyzes the last three days of the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower in January, 1961, including their foundations in Eisenhower's personal experiences as well as their effects on the presidency of John F. Kennedy and beyond.

Prologue : the visit -- The measure of Ike -- Ike in command -- A nonpolitician in the political arena -- Ike's hidden card -- Farewell in black and white -- Intimacy and interdependence -- The hostile landscape -- Dust to dust -- The military-industrial complex -- An unknowable successor -- The day before -- The passage -- A spring day at Camp David -- The last word : 2017.