Truman

Rating:
Summary: This would receive my vote for best biography of the decade.
Review: Too often, when biographies are written, the human quality of the subject is often forgotten, or at least not emphasized. As a result, at the end of a book, we really do not know the subject very well.

Over the course of over 1,000 pages, David McCullough proves not only that Harry Truman was a great human being, but also that being a great human being made him a great president.

It is a warm biography, and it skillfully analyses Truman's many failures in the business world, his involvement in a corrupt political machine, and his difficulties as president. Truman's personal qualities also show with his decisions with the atomic bomb (perhpas the hardest decision any president has had to make) and his firing of Douglas MacArthur.

Harry Truman was the kind of fellow you admired as a grandfather, the kind of fellow you would want as a teacher or neighbor. But most of all, he deserves respect as a man--and David McCullough fantasticly succeeds in proving this.

Also check out his other books, especially "The Johnstown Flood," his first book, and one of his best.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Biograhphy
Review: The author makes Harry Truman come alive.

Certainly the current occupant of the Oval Office makes Harry Truman's integrity and honesty shine even more brightly in comparison. Truman was a much simplier man (a la Reagan) who knew where he stood, knew right from wrong and accepted the responsibility that runs with great office.

This book captivates in part because there are many less ambiguities to Truman's life than seem to present themselves with other "famous" people. The facts of Truman's life story are interesting enough -- what sets this book apart is that the author tells the story in a fast-paced and engaging manner. He synthesizes the facts with just enough analysis to weave together a coherent book. He aviods the trap that many biographers fall into of over analysis -- letting Truman remain the story instead of having some interpretation of Truman become the story.

Note: I get to speak at a number of Eagle Scout ceremonies and mention this book along with Morris's "The Rise Of Theodore Roosevelt," as two inspiring books that can open up young minds to the possibilities available in life. Roosevelt for shear energy and action and Truman for persistance in the face of opposition.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book and very well read.
Review: I listened to this book on tape while driving across country and I REALLY enjoyed it. A very fascinating story, and it was very well read on tape. I also thought it was neat that they had audio clips of Truman's actual speeches in the book on tape. From what I have "learned" so far in my education, I think the book is accurate. The book has many wonderful anecdotes about Truman.

Rating:
Summary: American Reality Check
Review: This is a terrific reality check for Americans as they move into an election year. While his era was not so long ago, it is impossible to imagine a President today being elected with Truman's CV.

What is all the more amazing about this story is that his times were as complex, even more difficult, than today. After being on the job as Vice President for only a little more than 3 months, Roosevelt's (not completely unexpected) demise promoted Truman to the Presidency just as the leaders of the allied alliance were to meet in Potsdam. While there, the first nuclear bomb was tested. A few weeks after that, the Japanese surrendered. With the war over, all America went on strike (or so it seemed at the time). That crisis resolved, the UK melted down and de-colonization went into full swing. It just went on and on.

I was surprised to learn that the 1948 election cost both parties, in total, less than $5 million. Was it really Joesph McCarthy who was the first to coin the phrase "world wide web" in 1951 to describe the communist conspiracy "spun in Moscow"?

McCullough's contribution is that he put Truman in perspective. Based on what McCullough writes, it is surprising that more Americans do not consider Truman the most successful President ever.

This is a well-written biography, and one that I would recommend highly.

Rating:
Summary: Titillating hagiography for the popular culture
Review: A mass culture entertainment devoid of intelligent critical analysis

Rating:
Summary: The greatest book I ever read.
Review: I picked up Truman at age 16 and read it cover-to-cover in a little over a week. Today (at age 22) it remains the greatest book I have ever read. I can sit down on my couch, flip to a random page and begin reading for hours. Harry Truman lived through great times for America. He remains a beacon of light for those of us who see something noble in public service. This book captures that light and vision Truman had for America. Hands down, the greatest book I ever read.

Rating:
Summary: much romance -- an irresistible children's book for adults
Review: Halberstam and Caro manage to canvass their political portraits with brush strokes that evoke realism. As much as I enjoy reading "Truman" and McCullough's other works, it is hard for me to overcome a feeling that I am being pleasantly and agreeably conned as I am swept along, that I am complicit in my own deception. A kind of vaporous unreality inhabits the center of this work. Perhaps the secret of McCullough's genius is that he reveals the best of which human beings are capable, the best in the human spirit. That is a hard thing for any human being to resist. And I don't want to resist, because the world McCullough so adeptly conjures is one that I enjoy spending time in. Humankind cannot take much reality. McCullough is at once a national treasure who reveals the best that we can be and someone who needs to be "watched" with more skepticism so that we don't get lulled into the easy, preferred truth. By the way, he is also a wonderful speaker possessed of a fantastic, mesmerizing voice which quickly invites the listener in.

Rating:
Summary: Before this book I thought I knew Truman but...
Review: There was so much more here than I had read elsewhere. Mr. McCullough gets into Truman's failings, his strengths, his humanity. It is a long book but I was never bored. Well done.

Rating:
Summary: Honest Man who Said What He Thought
Review: Truman was president during my first 5 years. I grew up in a Republican household and seldom heard a kind word about him. This biography does a good job describing where he came from and what he did. And yes, he just may have seen more change in his life than any other president.

I came away believing that he was an honest man who tried, and usually did, a good job of running what had became the most powerful nation in the world during his years of national service.

This is a well written biography.

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary biography and history
Review: I just re-read Truman for the fourth time since its publication. McCullough does such an extraordinary job of relating not only a fascinating man but also the history of the times he lived in. This book is one of my three favorite biographies: it ranks up there with Martin Gilbert's "Churchill" and Brands' "TR".