Crusade in Europe

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Crusade in Europe (ISBN 0-801-85668-X) is a book of wartime memoirs by General Dwight D. Eisenhower published by Doubleday in 1948. Maps were provided by Rafael Palacios.

Crusade in Europe is a personal account by one of the senior military figures of World War II. It recounts his appointment by General George Marshall to plan the defense of the Philippines and continues to describe his appointment, and execution of the role of Supreme Allied Commander in Northern Europe.

Eisenhower's profit on the book was substantially aided by an unprecedented ruling by the Treasury Department that Eisenhower was not a professional writer, but rather, marketing the lifetime asset of his experiences, and thus only had to pay capital gains tax on his $635,000 advance rather than the much higher personal tax rate. The ruling saved Eisenhower approximately $400,000.[1]

TV series

In 1948, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. obtained the exclusive rights to create a television series called Crusade in Europe, based on the 1948 book, Crusade in Europe written by Dwight D. Eisenhower and published by Doubleday. Produced as part of The March of Time, the 26-episode TV series showed World War II film footage from the US military and other sources, with a voice soundtrack based on a narration of the book.

Crusade in Europe was the first extensive documentary series for television. Aired on ABC, the series received a Peabody Award and one of the first Emmy Awards (Best Public Service, Cultural or Educational Program).[2]

The TV series was also the subject of a U.S. copyright and trademark lawsuit filed in 1998. On appeal, in Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 539 U.S. 23 (2003), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on a narrow issue involving the applicability of the Lanham Act to works in the public domain.

References

  1. Pietrusza, David, 1948: Harry Truman's Victory and the Year That Transformed America, Union Square Punlishing, 2011, pg. 201
  2. Cook, Bruce, "Whatever Happened to Westbrook Van Voohis?" American Film, March 1977

External links


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