Rating: 
Summary: A True American Hero
Review: I admit, I read this book not because I was fascinated with President Truman, but because I have enjoyed other books by McCullough. But, this is easily one of the best biographies I have ever read. McCullough takes the reader through a critical time period in United States history and beautifully portrays the events of much of the twentieth century. And he is able to do it largely through the words of Harry Truman himself. McCullough's impressive narrative style, analytical ability, and superb research also helps to make this book an excellent read. This book, however, is long (1000 pages). But it hardly felt that way. I was entertained the whole way through and always looked forward to free time to read some more. The characters, events, and places were all real, and I had to sometimes remind myself that this is a work of non-fiction. When I picked up the book I felt as if I was transported to another time and place before my generation, a time and place that I learned to respect more thanks to this book. I was pulled into this book, that's how powerful this book is, and I now feel like a close friend of Harry Truman. I experienced the dialogue, significance, and weight of the decisions made by the Truman administration in his almost eight years in office. My admiration for President Truman, his humbleness, and his desire to do what is right grew tremendously throughout this book. This is research and historical storytelling at its best.
Rating:
Summary: ". . . and now, for something totally unexpected . . . "
Review: We find ourselves, as Americans, sometimes encapsulating and focusing upon only events that are dramatic, overlooking the time before or after. The treatment of the 19th century Indian becomes The Battle of the Little Big Horn. Omaha Beach defines World War II and the '60's are explained by Vietnam.Against an "event" backdrop, David McCullough launches his magnificent biography of Harry S. Truman, a man who did little
. . . except end the war in the Pacific, start the Marshall Plan, The Berlin Airlift, The United Nations, NATO, Korea and a host of other events. He balanced the budget, then went into debt being the first nation ever to give aid to the conquered. Probably, Europe stands today because of Truman's vision. This biography starts in the days of the turn of the century and monitors little Harry growing up in what only one or two generations preceding was the frontier. His service in WW I, his artillery post constantly being bombarded by the Germans, and seeing the unbelievable loss of life no doubt made his subsequent decision twenty seven years later to drop the Atomic Bomb less ambivelant than other non-knowing pundits have stated. Upon his return to Independance, he quipped (as an Artillery Officer) "We are no heroes. All the heroes are in the infantry. His dedication to honesty and integrity and his refusal to use his political office for financial gain, are all well chronicled. This is a brilliant biography that reads like a novel and is filled with wisdom, sadness and the victory of the common man. Highly recommended. Five stars. More if you had them.
Rating: 
Summary: truman audio tape
Review: Excellent story of the man, well told.
Was not received for nearly two weeks, otherwise fine.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: If you are going to read a biography on any US President this is the book to read! Harry Truman was an exceptional, ordinary man who has shaped the 21st century as no other. You get to know the man who finished WW II, created the United Nations, defeated Communism and scored the greatest presidential election upset in the history of the United States. Get to know Harry, his family, his cabinet and learn how our country has evolved as a result of his bold decisions. Very well written, the best book I have ever read. Should be mandatory reading for every American.
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: I'm not sure if I can say anything about this book that has not already been said. But it is just a monumental, classic work. You feel like you know Truman personally while reading it. It is unbelievably attentive to detail. This is a consummate biography by a consummate author.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful!
Review: I first picked up this book after a strong recommendation from someone else who read it. I thought that because of the size of the book, it would prove a daunting task. However, David McCullough's masterful narrative transported me into the time of Harry Truman. I felt like I was right there with him during the many events in his life that ultimately shaped United States politics and policy. McCullough takes Harry Truman the President and illustrates in easy to read form Harry Truman the man - a man that had unwavering character, personal courage and the guts to stand up for what he believed. This is an outstanding account of one of our finest Presidents. I definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in American history.
Rating:
Summary: Perfection in biography form
Review: I knew this was going to be a great book when a history professor dismissed it as a book "written for the popular audience by an amateur historian." And this book went on to win the Pulitzer, while my professor's book has come and gone off the bookshelves, and remains unread because academic historians don't know how to write for anyone but themselves. David McCullough is concerned with only one thing; his reader. He spent the better part of a decade researching Harry Truman, he liked what he found, and he wants to share it with as many readers as possible. And so he wrote this beautifully. His style makes you want to keep reading further, to find out what happens with Harry's life. And no matter how much you think you know about HST, McCullough always finds something new that you didn't know. This may be a thick book, but if anything, when you get to the end, you wish it was longer. You also wish you knew Harry Truman personally, too. This is a biography by which others should be measured against.
Rating:
Summary: A masterful biography
Review: I rank this masterful biography right alongside my other favories: George Marshall (Ed Cray); Eisenhower (Stephen Ambrose); Patton (Carlo D'Este) and Theodore Roosevelt (2 volumes by Edmund Morris). While Truman certainly had his flaws, on balance we were fortunate to have such a decisive leader at the close of WWII and the beginning of the Cold War. He left an enormous legacy - dramatically ending the war with Japan; enunciating the Truman Doctrine; approving a heroic Berlin Airlift; winning a remarkable victory against great odds in 1948. He is an interesting study in contrasts. The President who fired MacArthur was, perhaps, an unwitting enabler of MacArthur's ill-conceived plan to broaden the Korean conflict beyond the recaptured 38th parallel. Perhaps a wiser President would have recognized MacArthur's "blind spot" regarding China and stopped the war much sooner. The President caricatured for a fiery temper and salty language was actually a bookish scholar and praised by all colleagues for his great composure under severe strain. The President well-known for honesty and integrity but whose political apprenticeship began under one of the worst of the big-city political machines (Pendergast in Kansas City). My only objection, a slight one, is that Mr. McCullough (like Ambrose with Ike) seems to like his subject very much and perhaps isn't critical enough where historical second-guessing might be warranted. All things considered, it's a 5-star effort.
Rating:
Summary: Great man, difficult times
Review: McCullough presents his subjects in a way no other biography has done. He makes the subject jump out at you as if he were sitting right next to you. Granted, McCulough has had some great material with Adams and Truman, but the readability of a McCullough is just amazaing. On this trek through time, I used, for the first time, a book on CD. MCullough was the narrator and, like his writing, he is a great narrator. I bought the CD on my way home from New York City, a two and one half hour trip to my home, and found myself driving around my neighborhood to finish the CD's. McCullough presents this simple, but powerful man in a way I have not seen before. Truman, based on McCullough's book, keeps his independent, straightforward attitude during the ending of the most difficult time this country has faced so far, WWII. Truman, faced with the decision to drop the atomic bomb, is a man who can, according to McCullough, make a decision and move on. According to McCullough, Truman does this on both personal and public occassions. With Bess, Truman is beside himself with wanting to marry her. According to McCullogh, he wrties to her and seeks an answer-- I am sure this happens to all those who date today. Bess rejects him, he moves on. Ultimately, Bess sees in Harry a truly great and independent man, but, based on the book, was being pulled in another direction by her mother who didn't believe Harry was good enough for her Bess, even when he was President in an account highlighted by McCullough. In his public affairs, Truman was straightforward as well. WIth Mcarther, according to McCullough, Trumnan decided that the man who was defying the orders of the Commander-n-Chief, deserved a face to face meeting about what the United States was going to do in Korea. Just prior to his trip, according to McCullough, Truman says to his (cousin, I believe), he is going to "meet with God." How's that for straightforward! But, my point is that Harry was ordinary and told it like it was and McCullough brings this out so well. For those of you interested, but short on time, like me with three kids, a law practice and an occassional chore around the compound, the books on CD are a great way to "read." This was my first, but probably not my last. I would suggest to you, though, that you have to pay attention to the road even if your "hands are free."
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Wonderful
Review: This book is without a doubt the best book I have ever read. McCullough covers everything from his life on the farm to his position in the Pendergast organiztion, to WW1, the Senate, Vice Presidency, and finally Presidency. There were five aspects about the book that I found most interesting:
1. The segments of the book concerning the Pendergast political machine. It was interesting to read about the power they held in Missouri and the relationship with Truman after he became President.
2. The whistle stop campaign of 1948, the election that nobody thought HT could win.
3. The relationship between Truman and his top advisors and cabinet members such as George Marshall and especially Dean Acheson.
4. The process of nominating a President and more specifically a Vice-President. This book tells you what takes place behind the scenes at the democratic national conventions of 44 and 48.
5. The Potsdam meeting between Churchill, Stalin, and HT.
If you want to read a book about American Politics, this is a good one. If you want to read a book about WWII after FDR this is a good one. And if you want to read a book about Harry Truman this is the one.
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