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Truman (1992)

by David McCullough

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5,859821,687 (4.4)225
Biography & Autobiography. History. Nonfiction. HTML:The Pulitzer Prizeâ??winning biography of Harry S. Truman, whose presidency included momentous events from the atomic bombing of Japan to the outbreak of the Cold War and the Korean War, told by America's beloved and distinguished historian.
/> The life of Harry S. Truman is one of the greatest of American stories, filled with vivid charactersâ??Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Wallace Truman, George Marshall, Joe McCarthy, and Dean Achesonâ??and dramatic events. In this riveting biography, acclaimed historian David McCullough not only captures the manâ??a more complex, informed, and determined man than ever before imaginedâ??but also the turbulent times in which he rose, boldly, to meet unprecedented challenges. The last president to serve as a living link between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, Truman's story spans the raw world of the Missouri frontier, World War I, the powerful Pendergast machine of Kansas City, the legendary Whistle-Stop Campaign of 1948, and the decisions to drop the atomic bomb, confront Stalin at Potsdam, send troops to Korea, and fire General MacArthur. Drawing on newly discovered archival material and extensive interviews with Truman's own family, friends, and Washington colleagues, McCullough tells the deeply moving story of the seemingly ordinary "man from Missouri" who was perhaps the most courageous president… (more)
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Showing 1-5 of 81 (next | show all)
McCullough writes another amazing biography. A narrative style that brings the lives and history to the reader in an engaging manner without losing accuracy. I was amazed at the decisions that were made by Truman, along with the respect he earned from so many that were well educated leaders of their time. Well worth the time to listen or read this heavy tome 55 hours audio or over 1,100 pages. ( )
  wvlibrarydude | Jan 14, 2024 |
At one time I owned a hardbound copy of this book. I never read it, I gave it to a friend. I finally listened to the 6-hour Audiobook version read by the author. I think this version is abridged. I really liked the book and enjoyed learning about the details of the life of Harry S Truman. ( )
  MrDickie | Oct 20, 2023 |
Great book about a great president. The obstacles Truman had to face as president were unprecedented. How many presidents could have negotiated the U.S. through such difficult times. ( )
  CMDoherty | Oct 3, 2023 |
Great biography. Very readable. Read it slowly, on my Kindle, in the middle of the sleepless nights, and it worked well for that. ( )
  jjbinkc | Aug 27, 2023 |
Excellent, human biography of the self-underrated president who led the U.S. during a period of unimaginable change and danger. McCullough writes wonderfully, with a dramatist's flair but without gilding the lily whatsoever. This is a richly rewarding experience for history buffs and anyone interested in great biography. ( )
  jumblejim | Aug 26, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 81 (next | show all)
THROUGH most of his nearly eight years as President, Harry Truman was profoundly unpopular. Joe Martin, the Republican Speaker of the House in the late 1940's, called Truman "the worst President in history." Liberals so despaired of him during his first term that they tried to draft Dwight D. Eisenhower to replace him as the Democratic nominee in 1948. Even among the many who liked Truman personally, there was always a tendency to view him as one member of the Cabinet did on April 12, 1945, the day Franklin Roosevelt died. Truman was sitting alone in a big leather chair against a wall in the Cabinet Room of the White House, waiting for the Chief Justice to arrive and swear him in as President. The Cabinet member glanced at him and later remembered thinking: "He looks like such a little man."

Truman's popularity revived at times during his Presidency, most notably during his remarkable campaign for re-election in 1948. But the revivals were always brief. The real rehabilitation of his reputation -- the process that has turned him into something of a folk hero -- began later, well after he left office, and has accelerated in the 20 years since his death. Its culmination may be "Truman," David McCullough's warm, affectionate and thoroughly captivating biography. "Truman," Mr. McCullough writes near the end of this long book, "held to the old guidelines: work hard, do your best, speak the truth, assume no airs, trust in God, have no fear." He was "a figure of world stature, both a great and good man, and a great American President." . . .
added by PLReader | editNY Times, Alan Brinkley (Jun 21, 1992)
 
No brief review can begin to do justice either to Truman or to the monumentally persuasive job McCullough has done re-creating his life and times.
 
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Epigraph
We can never tell what is in store for us.
---Harry S. Truman
Dedication
For Dorie Kane McCullough
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In the spring of 1841, when John Tyler was President, a Kentucky farmer named Solomon Young and his red-haired wife, Harriet Louisa Young, packed their belongings and with two small chidren started for the Far West.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Biography & Autobiography. History. Nonfiction. HTML:The Pulitzer Prizeâ??winning biography of Harry S. Truman, whose presidency included momentous events from the atomic bombing of Japan to the outbreak of the Cold War and the Korean War, told by America's beloved and distinguished historian.
The life of Harry S. Truman is one of the greatest of American stories, filled with vivid charactersâ??Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Wallace Truman, George Marshall, Joe McCarthy, and Dean Achesonâ??and dramatic events. In this riveting biography, acclaimed historian David McCullough not only captures the manâ??a more complex, informed, and determined man than ever before imaginedâ??but also the turbulent times in which he rose, boldly, to meet unprecedented challenges. The last president to serve as a living link between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, Truman's story spans the raw world of the Missouri frontier, World War I, the powerful Pendergast machine of Kansas City, the legendary Whistle-Stop Campaign of 1948, and the decisions to drop the atomic bomb, confront Stalin at Potsdam, send troops to Korea, and fire General MacArthur. Drawing on newly discovered archival material and extensive interviews with Truman's own family, friends, and Washington colleagues, McCullough tells the deeply moving story of the seemingly ordinary "man from Missouri" who was perhaps the most courageous president

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