Truman

Rating:
Summary: A model biography of an almost model man
Review: David McCullough delivers! Truman is a model biography - in both McCullough's craft and his subject of the epic life of Harry S Truman. McCullough truly creates another universe - a reality that would have existed only in the past, but now fits in your hands in these 1000 some pages. The reader will find him/herself immersed in the history and lives of amazing figures of another age whose actions for which we - citizens of the world are greatly indebted. The reader will both know Harry S Truman and his historical significance - his heroic and at the time highly controversial Presidency.

Truman is both an epic of a man's life and homage to the triumph of American democracy. Truman is a man of humble origins who achieves incredible feats. I urge anyone who stumbled onto this page to "get to know" Truman by reading this book. This book is a joy to read - it flows like a novel. You will not be disappointed.

"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell."
-Harry S Truman

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant book about one of our finest
Review: David McCullough's "Truman" has won many accolades and awards, chief among them the Pulitzer Prize. After reading this wonderful book from cover to cover in less than a week, I'm convinced that this book deserves all of the praise it has received, and more.

"Truman" is the ultimate, complete package in a presidential biography. Even a novice of 20th century history (this writer included) would have a list of important events that he or she would want to read about in a Truman bio. McCullough covers them all, and in detail: the decision to drop the atomic bomb, FDR's death and the transition to the Truman administration, the Potsdam conference, the creation of the United Nations, the Korean War, the firing of MacArthur, the 1948 election, his decision to not run in 1952, etc. McCullough touches all of the bases beautifully.

The highest compliment I can think to give McCullough for this book is the sense of balance in his writing and how he brings the president to life. Mostly absent from this book, thankfully, that hamper other presidential biographies is the cheerleading and bootlicking. The author isn't a Truman admirer who puts a positive spin on every significant event during Truman's presidency. It's obvious that McCullough thinks highly of Truman, but he grapples with the controversies of Truman without softpeddling, unlike Stephen Ambrose's one-volume "Eisenhower: Soldier & President," where Ambrose neglects important events and spends entirely too much time raining down praise on Ike.

This thoroughly researched book presents Truman in a fair and balanced manner, and much of that research is based on Truman's diaries. "Truman" covers the president's bad decisions as well as his good ones, with Harry's rationale behind those decisions.

I highly recommend this book and I believe it sits high atop the heap of the many available presidential biographies. McCullough is one of America's finest historians. Buy this book, read it, and in the end, be disappointed that it's over.

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: Buy It and Read It ASAP!!
Review: I first read this book in 1992 when it was released. I've read it over several times since and each time I enjoy it just as much as the first. What a great person and what a remarkable life! This is one book that I can't possibly say enough about. IT'S OUTSTANDING!! Mr. McCullough obviously admires his subject, but he is objective and shows Mr. Truman warts and all. He had very few warts however. BUY IT and READ IT as soon as you can. You won't regret the time spent.

Rating:
Summary: Get to know Harry S. Truman
Review: I've read a number of other reviews and found that the rating tends to be determined by the reviewers' opinion of the man, rather than the book. Critics of Truman argue that McCullough has written a paean to his subject, which is why they give the book fewer stars. Nonsense. What makes Truman so appealing to me (and probably to many other reviewers who, like me, did not know much about him before reading the book) is that he was so very normal, so very human. McCullough makes it clear that Truman was no genius, that he held prejudiced views of blacks and other minorities, that he suffered from strong self-doubt, that he could be petty and selfish and weak, and that the stresses of the job often caused him physical suffering. Despite all of that, he performed admirably as President and established principles that were to guide U.S. foreign policy (and Presidents of all political persuasions) for the next half century.

It is clear that McCullough has some affection for Truman, but it seldom colors his judgment. This is a great biography, which enables the reader to feel as if he truly knows the man. It is also great history, providing a well-researched and well-written account of the vanishing U.S. frontier, of small-town America, of metropolitan political machines, and of the genesis of U.S. Cold War policy. I submit that the distorting biases are not those of McCullough, but those of the readers who do not like Truman, either for personal or political reasons.

Rating:
Summary: Harry Truman -- A Reluctant American Hero
Review: Imagine your boss drops by your cubicle and hands you a project in which the entire company's future hinges on the decisions you make. And oh by the way, you only have less than four months to do the calculations, read the reports, do the research and take firm and swift action.

Your colleagues and their family's well being hang in the balance. Your coworkers are skeptical of your new position and you know it. You are sleepless night after night. Your stomach churns. You are, obviously, under enormous stress.

Then the day finally comes and the entire firm watches your every move. There is clamoring you may not know what you are doing. Yet, you have to act. Do you have the guts to follow through with your convictions? Or do you shrink from the white-hot spotlight you've been placed in?

Welcome to Harry Truman's world between April and August of 1945.

Except it wasn't a mere company whose his decisions affected, it was the entire world.

"Truman" is a masterpiece of a president brought to power by happenstance. Author David McCullough brilliantly recounts the events leading up to how a former haberdasher rose to become most powerful man in the world. And tells a story of an individual who was thrusted into history as the one who made the executive decision to drop an Atomic Bomb to end a war.

Harry Truman knew very little about a secret underground experiment called the Manhattan Project during his first months of his vice presidency. By April 14, 1945, he only met his boss a handful of times. The next day, Franklin Roosevelt died and Harry Truman's name was etched in the collective consciousness of American history.

In just under four short months, Truman had to decide if his legacy would include the use of an Atomic weapon as a means to end a war. His decision has been debated for decades, but no one can argue it took leadership and guts to maintain clear thinking under pressure only he would ever know.

McCoullough documents the life and presidency of a simple, honest man. It's a story of a family man who was handed the most precarious presidency since George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. And how he led America during his eight years in office.

David McCullough won the Pulitzer Prize for "Truman". I can't imagine anyone who turned the over 1,000 pages could argue the award.







Rating:
Summary: A Great American
Review: It is crystal clear why author David McCullough was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for this 1992 publication of "Truman." His meticulous narrative vividly captures the decency, dignity and determination of Harry S. Truman. Moreover, McCullough carefully explains how the farmer from Grandview, Missouri...who never graduated from college, managed to become the thirty-third President of the United States of America.

Truman was eulogized as the president who faced the momentous decision of whether to use the atomic bomb, he was praised for the creation of the United Nations, for the Truman Doctrine (to support free peoples), the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, the recognition of Israel, NATO; for committing American forces in Korea and for upholding the principle of civilian control over the military. To this end, it must also be noted that Truman was the first president to recommend Medicare and that he had the courage to take a very strong stand on civil rights.

Truman was a man who lived by simple small-town Missouri articles of faith that urged individuals to, "say what you mean, mean what you say...keep your word...never get too big for your britches and never forget a friend." McCullough observes that, "they were more than words-to-the-wise, they were bedrock, as clearly established, as integral to the way of life, it seemed, as were the very landmarks of the community...not everyone lived up to them, of course, but to Harry it seemed everyone ought to try."

McCullough packs this book with an enormous amount of historical and personal information. For instance, Truman was the seventh man to succeed to the office after the death of the President...he was the first U.S.President to visit Mexico...he had a portrait of George Washington and Simon Bolivar in his White House office...he detested corporate greed...he was dedicated to his wife and daughter...he was a terrible speller...he was not an exciting speaker...he once worked in a haberdashery...he was in debt for years...he loved bourbon, he was uncomplicated, open and genuine...and without a doubt he was a great American. Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz


Rating:
Summary: Good not Great:
Review: Perhaps if I had read McCulloughs "Truman" before reading "John Adams" it would have struck me differently. Maybe by reading the books in close proximity I was still stuck in the 18th century and was not ready to be moved forward. Whatever it was, I did not enjoy this book with the same fervor as I did "John Adams". Most memorable and admirable to me was Trumans successful run for the Presidency against all odds. For a man who had risen to the top on Missouri's political party (Democrat) machinery and the sudden death of Roosevelt, he proved himself to be formidable in his own right by defeating the heavily favored (perhaps an understatement in itself) Dewey. Beyond that, I found instructive the fact that Truman never pondered whether he would use "the bomb" to bring a swift and definitive end to the 2nd world war. He was just waiting for the "thumbs up."


Rating:
Summary: Audio Version Very Long & Very Good
Review: This book is over one thousand pages long while the audio is fifty-three hours long. The reason quite simply is that McCullough goes into great detail, often week-by-week and day-by-day. What is amazing is that it never gets boring! McCullough has emphasized Truman's own perspective, totally cutting out the middleman. There was a lot here I never really understood well, especially the importance of Truman as the paradigm for the second half of the 20th century was forming.
Nelson Runger does a GREAT reading job.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Biography
Review: This book sat on my shelf for several years because I wasn't sure Harry Truman was worth the time required to digest a thousand pages. I am very glad that I finally got around to it.

This is a very well written work about a most interesting president. The author does an excellent job of getting the reader to know Harry Truman both as a man and as a world leader. The early years are interesting and vital to understanding Truman, but once he ascends to the White House, the story really takes off. Potsdam, the atomic bomb, Korea, the 1948 election and the McArthur saga all make for superb reading. Better than fiction !! It is also fascinating to learn that when he left office, Truman took himself to the train station and left Washington without a security entourage and without a pension.

This is a fine biography of a unique president. Well worth the time!!!