Truman (1992)

Well-written and -researched and an interesting, illuminating read. I would have given this five stars if it wasn't so damned long. ( )

Truman was average.
But I think that is what makes him so admirable.
I disagree with him in method, but in values we had so much in common. And that, I think, is the brilliance of McCullough. He can take people that I don't really agree with and somehow help me see the relatablity of the man.

I loved the small-town, frank, genuine person that Truman became. Did he have his faults? Yes. Anger for one. His commendable loyalty for a corrupt system (the ever-powerful boss) was perhaps another.

I'll admit, it got rather dry after WWII, with pockets of interesting occurrences. I wouldn't say that this is McCullough's best work either, but it was good. ( )

The audio book format is probably a good compromise for readers reluctant to tackle the full 1000 page print book. The version I had was only six CDs, and therefore could be finished in a few days, depending on how much traffic you face on your daily drive. The CD version highlights all the key points of Truman's life and Presidency, without making you feel cheated of essential information. ( )

Author David McCullough’s writing flowed with an ease and clarity that made this biography of Harry S Truman read like a novel. It captured the complexity beneath Truman’s common man simplicity, his capacity to grow and ‘prove equal to tasks seemingly too large for him’ and brought a sense of drama to the events and accomplishments of his presidency. For me, the greatest revelation was in how limited Truman's options were when he made the decision that ended WWII and that he later refused to consider using nuclear weapons against China during the Korean war.
Overall, this was an outstanding portrait of an extraordinary man and a fascinating overview of a pivotal time in American and world history. Reading it has been my evening quiet time companion for several months now and I am genuinely going to miss it. ( )

Born in Missouri a generation after it was the western frontier of the young nation, he led an emerging superpower into the atomic age at the end of the largest war in human history. Truman is all-encompassing biography of the 33rd President of the United States by one of the best biographers and historians of the past half century, David McCullough.

McCullough begins by quickly covering the lives of Truman’s grandparents and parents who relocated and lived on the frontier of Missouri beginning 40 years before his birth. McCullough then guides the reader through Truman’s childhood as his father attempt to succeed in various businesses with mild to no success while young Harry went through school and attempt to strike out on his own in nearby Kansas City until finally joining his family when they went working his maternal grandmother’s large farm that he would continue to work until he joined the Army in 1917 where he would see combat as a Captain of the artillery during the Hundred Days Offensive that led to the armistice. After the war, Truman opened a business that started well but failed during the recession of 1921 after which he turned to attention to politics and becoming a part of the Pendergast political machine. Successful in his first campaign to be a county administrative judge, he failed in reelection only to succeed in the next election to becoming the presiding judge which was a position he used to transform Jackson County with numerous public works that eventually gets him noticed by the new Roosevelt administration that eventually got him a position in the New Deal programs in Missouri. After Pendergast rejected Truman for a run for governor or Congress, he selected him a run for Senate in 1934 and Truman’s victory in the primary he was considered the Pendergast Senator not a Missourian. Through hard work during his term, Truman became a respected member of the Senate but when he went to be reelected, the Pendergast machine was in disarray due to various federal criminal trials and the Roosevelt administration didn’t support him, he was in a uphill battle. In a forerunner to his 1948 upset, Truman outworked his opponents and received support from the St. Louis political machine, which had opposed Pendergast’s Kansas City machine for decades, to a slim victory. During his second term, Truman became a national figure with his Select Committee to Investigate Defense Spending that investigated wasteful spending that saved roughly $15 billion that eventually would get him to be selected as Roosevelt’s 1944 Vice Presidential running mate that was essentially a nomination to be Roosevelt’s successor because everyone knew he would not live out his term. Truman’s nearly 8 years in office cover nearly 60% of the book that started off with his decisions and actions for the five months that dealt with challenges that no other President save Lincoln had to deal with. The challenges of a post-war America especially in the economic sphere led to a Republican takeover of Congress that many blamed Truman for, who used the loss to his advantage to stake differences between both parties that would eventually lead to his strategy for the 1948 Presidential campaign that led to him becoming President in his own right. Truman’s second term was dominated by his decision to military intervene in Korea that would lead to a confrontation with General Douglas McArthur that put civilian control of the military at stake, but also would continually lead to charges of Communist subversion of government jobs that reached a fever pitch with Joseph McCarthy. Once out of office, Truman transitioned to a regular citizen and began figuring out how to financially support his family, which eventually lead to Presidential pension laws for Truman and future holders of the office and creating the Presidential Library system that we know today. But after leaving office very unpopular, Truman’s popularity grew over the two decades of his post-Presidency so upon his death he was genuinely mourned by the public.

McCullough’s writing reads like a novel with his subject his main character and every other individual in a supporting character to reflect upon the protagonist. As I noted in my synopsis, most of the book covers Truman’s time in office that McCullough documents with detail and when doing a Presidential biography of the man who essentially had to deal with the end of the largest war in human history and the beginning of the Cold War is to be expected. With documentation of Truman’s early life not a prevalent, McCullough’s decision to turn a spotlight to his grandparents and parents at the beginning of the book and throughout Truman’s life added depth to the man and the also the area where he grew up and shaped him.

Truman brings the humble man from Missouri to life for those that have only seen him in black and white photographs and film, David McCullough’s writing hooks the reader from the beginning and makes you want to see how Harry S. Truman’s life played out in all facets. ( )