Past Forgetting: My Love Affair with Dwight D. Eisenhower

by Kay Summersby Morgan

The true story of the most poignant romance of World War II.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, American History, War, Memoir, World War II

292 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1976

Reviews

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining account of the relationship between Dwight Eisenhower and Kay Summersby, who served as his driver during WWII. Was there or wasn’t there a romance? There was much speculation, ongoing. Thankfully, the general and his wife Mami were both dead by the time Kay set out to write her story. I found it intriguing, and this was definitely a different perspective on the momentous happenings of the era. Many famous personages appeared throughout, adding another dimension.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book up until the end of the war. By then everything was going backward for Kay. I liked her but never identified with her particularly. And I only got emotional when Telek died at 17. It was an interesting companion to Butcher's book. It's always interesting to read more than one account of events that interest you. I had already figured out that But her was being discrete in playing down her part in the lives of those around Eisenhower.

When I was searching for some place mentioned in the book,I read a bit by, I think, Stephen Ambrose, wondering if she embroidered a bit or a lot in her book. Clearly he didn't believe it all. I did I think. Am very curious about the reporter who told her about the letter Marshall wrote to Ike threatening dire things he he left his wife and married his driver. Supposedly Truman had seen the letter and took it out of official files. Very curious.

[Georgianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Kay Summersby Morgan, recalls her days as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's personal driver, office assistant, and aide during World War II in which her closeness to the General turns into a deep and mutual romantic love. When Kay decides to write this book, she is facing her own death and wishes to leave a record of those World War II days. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is her depiction of what it was like to be in on the planning and executing of the war. She takes readers into London, Algiers, North Africa, and France during many harrowing phases of the war. She shows how people with a stressful and focused mission can accomplish goals. She reveals General Eisenhower as a real but disciplined man as he carries out his leadership and later becomes President Eisenhower. The writing style of the book is conversational and personal.

[GarageNinja1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its about General Eisenhower's (Ike) affair with his driver Kay. Its part of history which is why I read it. It is my moms book. it was interesting to see how life was back then. And the general and Kay's relationship was interesting to read about. The book is written by Kay. It tells of her engagement to an officer, Dick. He got killed. It also tells alittle about Ike's wife. But it primarily touches on the happenings of the war, and Ike and Kay falling in love. Good read!

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

First let me state that my opinion of this book is based on personal experiences and how those experiences cloud our opinions. A friend (male) who did not have the same experiences recommended I read the book, his recommendation was based upon our mutual appreciation of history, and his admiration for one of the great military leaders of the 20th century.
While I did enjoy the book from a historical perspective, I had a real problem reading the book from a personal perspective, especially the second half. I thought Kay Summersby Morgan a total fool, and lost what admiration I had for Eisenhower. I know there is a tendency among the powerful to have extramarital affairs, and I understand the times (WWII) and the situation was stressful and extraordinary. What I became increasingly uncomfortable with however was Eisenhower's abuse of the boss/employee relationship between he and Ms. Summersby. By today's standards we would call that sexual harrassment. Why it bothers me on a personal level is that in the late 1970's my mother had an affair with her married boss. Again, such things were common in the workplace, and legislation had not been enacted to protect women from this. I am all too familiar with the manipulation, mentally, physically and emotionally, that her employer practiced with her, and recognized it immediately in the relationship between Ms. Summersby and General Eisenhower.
If you can ignore the part about their relationship, and Ms. Summersby's rather naive estimation of her importance in Ike's life, then this is a good read for the historical interpretation of a general's life in World War II. If not, don't even bother reading it, because I am sure there are other, better biographies of Eisenhower.

[Dvora Treisman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eisenhower was the first president that I can remember; I was six when he was elected. At that time of my life I didn't pay attention to politics. But years later, I noticed that I never hear any bad things about him, and often hear good ones. So when a GR friend read this and wrote a favorable review, I was curious to learn more about the man.

For some reason I can't quite put my finger on, I didn't much like Kay Summersby. Was she being coy? ingenuous? Something about the way she told her story -- some details -- didn't ring true to me. But overall it was an interesting, if not brilliantly-written, account of her affair with General Eisenhower during the Second World War. And of course, not just the affair, but all the events she describes, big and small, that provide an insider's picture of the General's life and that of his personal staff. It's very far from the usual pictures you get of either the fighting, the occupations, or the holocaust. And even though the writing was not great, it was good enough to tell the story clearly and capture my attention.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued, what does the other woman have to say for herself? It was quite different than I anticipated. A great behind-the-scenes look at a general at war - and not much time is spent on any physical relationship, if there really was any. No one will ever really know. If there was, that is best; If there wasn't, then I wish she would have just stayed with the facts. Since this book was ghost written, it is also entirely possible the facts were at the mercy of the real author.

[Cindy Mccrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about a love affair between Eisenhower and Kay Summersby Morgan, who was his driver during WWII. The love affairs of war usually end sadly, but this one continued into his Presidency. This love was mostly from a distance as the need to keep it quiet and apparently was never comsumated. Good book.

[John Horst · Rating 5 out of 5]

If they give a medal for a broken heart, then Kay deserves one. I enjoyed this story very much. It is a bit redundant with her previous book, Eisenhower Was My Boss, (which was also highly entertaining), but I can forgive that.

Yet another sad and tragic outcome of that war.

[Betty Pickard · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Past Forgetting, I feel melancholy. How many women during wartime have felt the heartbreak of a list love to a gallant soldier, who has gone home to his family & his world? I appreciate the discreetness of Kay Summersby during wartime & after. To leave the General to his own life & ambitions & to move on with her own life had to be difficult. Waiting on his death & her own imminent death to write & publish her love story was admirable. My dad was in the army in the European theater during WWII. His campaigns included North Africa, Sicily, Italy & the Balkans. So he fought under Eisenhower. He never talked about the war. It was good for me to read about these campaigns though from a different perspective than a soldier’s. I have the book written by Eisenhower. It is a tome & I’m a slow reader. It will be a while before I finish it. This was good for me to read from a woman’s view, on the front lines. I do recommend Past Forgetting to you.

[Kathie Kuehl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy, quick, yet very interesting read. This is the story of Eisenhower’s affair with his driver, Kay Summersby, during WWII. This book provided good insight into the pressures and stress Eisenhower dealt with as Supreme Allied Commander. I was impressed with how personable and concerned he was regarding the thousands of soldiers he was responsible for. I felt sorry for the way things ended between Ike and Kay but it was really the only way it could have ended given Ike’s devotion to duty and his Army career.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 star review about the affair of a five star general. An engaging tale of an army driver and the US general she was employed to chauffeur. Peppered with accounts of meeting famous characters of that period, life in London and trips on destroyers (that one sank) trains and airplanes across Europe and North Africa, with respites in Washington, New York and Moscow. What a well travelled young woman she was. I found the accounts of daily life interesting and plausible, would make a great film.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eisenhower was the first president that I remember in my life. This book gave such a human element to WWII and Ike’s time spent in Europe starting as Chief of Staff for the Third Army and ending as aFive-Star General and Supreme Allied Commander who commanded soldiers, sailors and airman as Germany was finally defeated.

Kay Summersby’s telling of her time with Ike was heartfelt and heartbreaking as it’s apparent that they loved each other. Such a worthy read.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a loving remembrance of a few years spent by Kay Summersby, working as Dwight Eisenhower’s driver and personal aid, but also his closest confidant and unrequited lover. It’s a passionate, thoughtful retelling of a time that she treasured and shared with a man she greatly admired and loved deeply.

[Brittany S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a book from what feels like a more innocent time. An interesting historical read with a sweet romance and obviously bittersweet ending.

[Jonathan Bahr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A welcome change of pace. Putting it at a solid 4 stars. Could change to 5 stars if I find that it sticks with me.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story of love and loss intertwined with great history. Eisenhower was one of our nation ‘s heroes and this defines his human side during WWII.

[Amy Pickens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting read on a true account & love “in a tunnel”…….the tunnel of war. I enjoyed the historical perspective & all the main players for D Day.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd call this fantasy and wishful thinking. A close relationship, no doubt--the times that brought them together were stressful. Love--perhaps. An affair--don't think so. She was vivacious, pretty, fun to have around and competent in her job. Divorced, engaged, a party girl and 20 years younger, I'm sure there was an attachment. War ended, he went home with his whole staff, excepting her. They saw each other again, briefly by her doing and it was over. She met famous people, drank lots of champagne, ate well, had uniforms tailored to order matching his, played bridge, sunned on the Riviera, drove his car, rode horses, batted around a golf ball. He got her a commission in the WACS and appointed his aide. He arranged for her to receive American citizenship on a fast track. Got her a couple of medals and promotions but didn't bring her to the Pentagon. War over, good-bye shadow. And, as a result, it was important to her, on her deathbed to make sure that we all knew he often became ill, smoked heavily and was impotent. Ah, so much for love

On top of that, though she died in 1975 and he was already dead, Mamie Eisenhower was still alive when this book was published in 1976. How cruel.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Club pick for November 2013. The setting - Europe during WWII. An extremely powerful man feels attracted to his twenty-year younger woman driver, Kay Summersby. Summersby's infatuation with the General grows into the pair's affection for each other. They shared off-work activities that moved on to a closeness with a few stolen kisses, hand holding, but ultimately an unconsummated "love" affair. At least that is the extent of the love affair that the book details.

The book was written during Kay's final year as she was dying of liver cancer. Not too deep of a war story, but I found that part to be the more interesting part. We get to read about her insights into the physical toll of command on Ike and her views of the personalities of King George VI, PM Churchill, Field Marshal Montgomery, General George S. Patton, plus other military and civilian people that meet with Eisenhower.

Did she read more into the relationship than was intended? I agree that there was a close romantic friendship for these two people who worked so closely during an intense and memorable time. But, as we all know, Ike returned home to his "Mamie".

[Laura Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engaging writing style. A good firsthand account of what transpires behind the scenes at a command post during wartime. It also accurately portrays the way relationships can accelerate during wartime and people may make decisions they never would in peacetime. I do believe there was a shared love between Kay and Eisenhower, though I think he always realized any sort of future was a fantasy which made it a grievous error that he kind of strung her along, thinking a future was possible right down to having her switch her citizenship. Honestly, if she had been ten years younger, I would have lost a little respect for the man. As it was, Kay probably should have been more aware things wouldn't work out as she hoped. The saddest part was at the end when Telek died. He was Kay's truest friend. I would have liked to hear a little more about her life after the army and her relationship with Reginald Morgan, but I also understand Eisenhower was the focus of the book, even more so than Kay herself. Maybe this was kind of like her love letter to him, so obviously Reginald Morgan would really not have a place in the narrative.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

As his drive and confidant, Kay shared the joys and sometimes sorrows of WWII. The writing was simple and innocent and many times it seemed more like fun, drinks, bridge and golf games, horseback rides and travels took precedent over war strategy and hardship. Maybe Kay wanted to explain the romantic innocence of a war time love affair where each day would be ones last.

I found that a British citizen having US war tactic knowledge and the whole DDE never spending time with his wife a little unbelievable. Also, what I didn’t realize is what a frail person (the constant colds and related stress problems) Eisenhower was.

Maybe I expected something a little juicer and scandalous from this biography.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was in the middle of reading Ike's biography and thought I would get her perspective related to what was being said in the biography. Simply written and one does wonder what exactly she remembers, but did show their closeness, although never consummated by her account. I never realized women in that war, other than nurses, got so close to war zones.

[Christian Godart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did they or not? There is no doubt Kay was in love with Ike. There is also no doubt Key was someone special to Ike. This is a good read not just because of their relationship but from a history standpoint it is interesting to read the accounts of Kay on FDR's visit, the accommodations, personal relationships and life in general for the higher ranking officers.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the history written about in this book. I learned a lot about a woman's role during WWII that I hadn't thought about. The very personal entries were minimal and written in the style of the 1940's.

[Cws]

92E

[Stacy]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/2540124

[Jrobert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this account of the rumors surrounding Eisenhower, especially since it was written by one who was involved.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you learn things about a person you'd rather not. Still, Eisenhower was always entertaining. And a great leader. This side of him wasn't what I wanted, but it was necessary to read.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

History that's easy to read.