Oh, yes, I am ambitious. This book must be 1000 pages. It's huge... and interesting so far. And it won a Pulitzer. I'm reading it because McCullough's bio of John Adams made me bawl like a baby when I got near the end. I mean-- how can one not cry upon reading about Adams and Jefferson BOTH living until and dying on July 4th, the same July 4th, out of sheer will? I wish more Americans and people in general knew these stories and of these people rather than just knowing a lot of fiction. And I do love fiction, too... but the stories of real lives matter most, I think. They are the ones that can truly inspire and make me feel that I am human-- or not alone in my foibles and weaknesses.

Anyway, I set a goal at the beginning of the year to read six bios per year. This will be my second. ;) I feel like I'm learning so much about whole time periods, not just about individual figures. And it's the little details about a person's life and times that are so interesting, I find. Right now, I'm in the beginning where McCullough discusses Truman's roots in Missouri.

As I've read on, I have learned so much about why the south and Missouri and other "border states" as they were called in the Civil War hold the viewpoints they do even to this day. It literally goes back 200+ years.

I was floored by this book. Although I studied American History in college and graduate school, I never seemed to make it past the Depression, and so I really had very little concept of what Harry Truman had accomplished.

What was most incredible to me is how much Truman (at least in McCullough's retelling) was truly willing to do what he thought was best for his constituents--whether that was his local district, or the entire country--no matter how much it might impact his political future.

In an environment like we are experiencing in the Summer of 2011, where the US Senate is so bound up in partisanship and ideology that they seem to prefer driving the economy into another recession rather than considering compromise, reading this book was truly an insight into the ways that modern media and technology has changed the nature of the political process.

Really a great book--and, as with all of the McCullough works that I have read, it remained consistently readable and interesting throughout.

I will say, however, that this is a great book to read on an e-book reader--this book is HEAVY! :-)

4.5 stars....I’m better for having read. Intriguing and very well done. It only lagged in a few spots. Nothing wrong with continuing my education. More than likely sacrificed hitting my reading challenge goal but sometimes that’s ok. In this case, it’s ok. Who or what will I learn about next?

200. An intimate portrait of the 33rd President of the United States. I thought the biography was very well written and thoroughly researched. This biography is lengthy but well worth the read. The author went to great lengths to explain why Truman made the decisions he felt compelled to make, also the historic value of the work. Excellent.

ETA: I adored this book when I read it, but now my perspectives are a bit changed....... I am currently reading American Prometheus by Kai Bird. It is essential to get another view on Truman's actions and choices concerning atomic weapons, the arms race and the Cold War. To get a fuller understanding of the time and era I strongly recommend reading American Prometheus too!

**************************************

I listened to the audiobook format of this book, that means more than 54 hours, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Little content could have been removed. The narration by Nelson Runger was wonderful. I have complained about his slurping before, but the producers have removed the slurps. His steady clear pace perfectly matches the informative text. His intonation for Truman, was perfect, both the strength of his speeches in the presidency and his reflections, to-the-point remarks and sarcastic jokes of the elderly man. Our voice does change with age, and Runger has mastered this. (Some voices were, however, in my opinion, too low and ponderous.) At the end, and this is a book that covers all aspects of Truman’s life, from birth to death, i.e. 1884-1972, there were tears in my eyes. This is a book about a man dedicated to fighting for his beliefs, but he was a politician at heart. Keep in mind that I tend to instinctively distrust politicians. It is rather remarkable that I so loved this book. I will try to never again shy away from a book about politicians……well, at least such books written by John McCullough.

Why did I love this book? You learn about American life and values as they were when America was still a land of pioneers to what it had become by the middle of the 20th Century. What the political parties stood for has changed dramatically with time. On completion of this book you have a thorough understanding of the American party system. You travel from an agrarian Midwest value mindset through WW1, the Depression, the New Deal, WW2, the emergence of atomic weapons, the birth of the UN and NATO, the Berlin blockade and successful airlift, the Cold War and McCarthyism, the focus on civil rights, the Korean War all the way up to Kennedy’s presidency. You follow this time-period through the life of a man living through its events, and a man who as president shaped many of these events. McCullough gives you a thorough understanding of all these events and a thorough understanding of the man Truman.

It is an honest book that never shies away from the mistakes made. I wasn’t thrilled with Truman’s friendship and dependence upon Pendergast. I felt that Truman’s relationship with his wife was at first not adequately clarified. By the end I understood Truman, all of him. I believe I comprehend both his familial relationships and the value he put on friendships, which explain his relationship with Pendergast . You see both the good and the bad. I very much admire the strength and forthrightness of Truman who was at heart a marvelous politician. Yes, definitely a politician who fought for his party and made mistakes, but dam he tried his best. Always. He never shirked his responsibilities. He never ran away from a problem, but faced them head on. He was not infallible. I still don’t understand why they never had more children……

I was born in 1951. I understand now what my parents lived through and why they were who they were. I understand now what lead up to the world I was born into. I totally loved this book.

"It sure is hell to be President."

You might balk at reading a 1000 page biography of Harry Truman, of all people, but I assure you not only will he and his folksy, down-to-earth era seem refreshing and have you wishing things were still the same way, but you will begin to count him among the ex-Presidents you'd most want to have a beer with (Dubya & Obama for me).
Really the last "normal guy" president, Truman was born in Missouri, one generation removed from the frontier, worked on a farm, was kind of a "sissy" (his own words), loved the piano and only one girl ever, and really didn't like being President very much.
But he was President during some critical periods and, for all his being probably the most "everyman" of American Everyfolk, he handled disparate issues with aplomb. Don't forget, Truman made the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan, helped bring the Marshall Plan into being, helped define the UN, maneuvered America through the Korean War, and bore the brunt of the McCarthy era.
But the best bits about Truman are what McCullough shows us about how much of a normal guy he really was and how much times have changed. Fond of a nip of bourbon in the morning, even as President he'd go on morning walks around downtown Washington, greeting passersby like he was just Joe Schmoe. He loathed the crush of attention of the Presidency but bore it with grit and spirit. He knew every member of the White House staff by name, even their kids, and was apparently the nicest guy who ever lived in the place.
After he refused to run for the presidency again, he lived out his life in Independence, MO, just walking around town talking to random people and working in his library, as if he were no better or no different than anyone else.
Crucially, though, and this is the real value of the work, Truman represents for us now a testament to how democracy should work, a normal dude punted by chance into the White House but who met every challenge with practical right-headedness the best he could.

For years I've looked at this book on the shelves, wanting to know more about Harry Truman but wondering what on earth about his story could warrant a thousand pages of prose. Now I know.

As much a chronicle of the times of his life as it his lifetime, this is a fascinating look at the man who found himself as the leader of the free world when that term was most in jeopardy. From his days on the family farm to WWI to his own business as a haberdasher to the senate to the White House and beyond, this is a nuanced yet inviting look at a president I long viewed as the one between Roosevelt and Eisenhower, neither of whom, it could be argued, faced the quantity or caliber of decisions Truman was forced to make (most of the time with clarity, conviction and, as history has shown, correctness).

He was neither the most dynamic nor the most eloquent but, as it turns out, his straightforward "give 'em hell, Harry" approach was what the United States and many of its allies needed most at the time. And they got it in large doses. He was handed WWII, which he ended about as decisively as it could've been, then dealt with the continuing encroachment of our former ally Russia in the years immediately following, when he issued the Truman Doctrine and supported the Marshall Plan. He wasn't through them yet, however, as they loomed in the background during the Korean War.

Even then he was in favor of a national healthcare plan, and his fight for civil rights, often juxtaposed with less-than-politically-correct language, shows a man who nonetheless tried to put the law before some of his own views.

For all the facts McCullough imparts, he does so in a manner neither scholarly nor pedantic. Personal correspondence plays an invaluable role in showing more sides to Harry S. than we'd probably see elsewhere, and it makes me thankful that his family and friends saw fit to keep so much of it, eventually to be shared with all of us.

Don't be discouraged by the volume of this volume. It's very much worth reading.

I listened to this on tape while I was driving to and from a Democratic convention in Orlando in 2004. What a nice counterpoint to such a bullshit-filled event. While McCullough seems to worship anyone with the (mis)fortune to be elected President, if Truman was half the man McC. says he was, then he was twice the man I'll ever be. Interesting stories about how Truman's marriage to Bess only happened after he managed to muck up a proposal to someone he appears to have loved considerably more. Also, there are some tales of Truman's WWI military heroics that boggle the mind.

Spectacular! Well researched and beautifully written!

I listened to the audiobook and it had amazing audio clips within.

I highly recommend

Fascinated by the detail and Mr. McCullough's ability to transport me back to the time period. Additionally, I am developing a tremendous respect for Mr. Truman's civility and dedication to "correctness" and his tremendous respect for others. -

Time well spent - Excellent book in detail, narrative and storyline! I have really enjoyed this book and recommend it toanyone wanting both historical infomation and an understanding o the unchanging nature of Politics!!!

Superb the whole way through. Aside from Truman's being so darn likable, one of the real joys of this book is what a curmudgeon Bess comes off as. Once Truman's political career begins, Bess factors in surprisingly little, which I guess is a testament to how much she valued privacy. It's just great when the only mention of Bess in a hundred pages will be something like, "Bess told the candidate that if he called her The Boss one more time, she'd get off the train," during Truman's famous whistle-stop campaign of '48. Or "Bess looked like she'd just drawn four aces," when Truman announces he would not be seeking a third term. Or "Bess remarked privately that if she never saw another peanut butter sandwich, she would be very happy," after Truman's retirement when he comes home for lunch every day. Pretty sure I'm going as Bess Truman next Presidents' Day.

Truman is the kind of book you might find in your grandfather’s house, nestled among the various other books on American History, imposing in stature even among the likes of expansive accounts of battles and the various memoirs of great historical figures. It is a daunting book to pick up, but once the task of reading it has been started, you would find that it is not as Herculean as first might have been imagined.

This is the second Pulitzer Prize winning biography I have read by David McCullough and what a statement that is. He wrote this one first, before his biography on John Adams, and I read them out of order, reading first John Adams a couple years ago and now just finishing this book. Working backwards has given me a few insights into the author’s style and his skill at retelling history. McCullough is by far, the most consistently great writer on American history that I have ever read. Never is he too convoluted, confusing, or obtuse. His style is not erratic nor is too friendly. He treats his subjects not merely as abstractions, but as real things, and his ever-conscious purpose, as it should be for all historians, is to make history feel real to the reader.

McCullough’s style truly is grandfatherly. Reading him is like listening respectfully to one’s elder tell you about great times that have passed, slowly and methodically. And if anyone deserves a distinction for being methodical, I would nominate David McCullough. He spent ten years writing this book and was 49 when it was published. He would read each page aloud to his wife after writing it, making constant amendments and fixing sluggish phrases. It is the work of a decade and that care and persistence shines through.

Truman was a perfect subject for McCullough. Truman arrived in Washington already in his fifties, a late-bloomer some would say. But calling Truman a “late-bloomer” misses the point in my opinion. Truman did not waste his time before her became President of the United States, but instead spent that time well, working tirelessly in public service in order to refine not only his skill as a politician, but also to solidify his moral guidelines which he refused to cross. The parallel between Truman and McCullough is obvious.

Truman was a true man of the people, a distinctly American figure who perfectly encapsulated the idea that anyone can become President in the United Status. Born in Independence, Missouri, he was a very bookish boy and with his iconic prince-nez glasses, strikes a very unique figure in the era of modernization in America. In many ways, in fact, Harry Truman encapsulated the essence of his whole era of American history. He became a farmer and served on the family homestead for ten years before serving as a captain in WWI, after which he returned home, attempted about a dozen business ventures, and married his sweetheart at the age of thirty-five.

After this, Truman became a County Judge, then a senator, head of a committee, and an unlikely nomination for Vice President of America, as he well knew. Shortly into his fourth term, President FDR died and Harry S. Truman became the President of the United States during the biggest war ever conducted in the history of the world.

The tenacity of Harry Truman was remarkable, he was indefatigable like very few people really were. He was not a simple man, but he liked simplicity. He understood that things that weren’t black and white still needed to be decided. He didn’t like highfalutin or pompous language and he preferred clear cut goals over nebulous facts. He was a spectacular man. He was truly committed to the little man, the farmers, the people, in a way almost no one in history was. He was self-sacrificing to a fault and often times worked himself into sickness. He enjoyed poker and bourbon and he liked people who could laugh. He cared about those around him and strove to treat everyone as a person and not as a utility.

Under Truman, the state of Israel was recognized and never had a President before recognized civil rights as such a poignant issue. Truman is not the kind of man which everyone will agree with. He had a temper, which, though he kept it better than most, got him into trouble from time to time. Also, paradoxically, although he had progressive views on race for a man born in the Deep South, he was far from perfect in this regard. He was the President who dropped the atomic bombs on Japan, a situation which should never be simplified as anything other than a very hard decision (It was less of a decision and more of an approval if the distinction can be made.) thrust upon a man who had been just himself recently been thrust into power. It was Truman who got involved in the Korean War, and it was Truman who gave support to Greece and Turkey and supported the United Nations. Over and over again, whether you agree with his decisions or not, it is an undeniable fact that Harry Truman faced more momentous decisions in such a short period of time with such vehement opposition on almost every side than any man in history up to that point and probably since.

Modern consensus is that Harry S. Truman was one of the better Presidents of the United States of America and considering Truman himself, that statement is almost miraculous. He was a farmer. He was a politician. He never went to college, he never had the connections other people had, and he was excoriated by his political opponents as a pretender to the Presidency, a lackey of the Democratic machine. But Truman was two things: honest and hard-working. It is near impossible not to respect the man (as most of his detractors later stated themselves). He seemed to thrive under pressure and when things got tough, he got tougher. And very few Presidents have lived up to this legacy.

On top of this, Harry Truman was a genuinely likeable personality. He was kind to those around him and he really cared about his family. It is hard not to smile at his approach to politics and his, sometimes, foul-mouthed deprecations of American politicians. He knew how to keep great men around him, Marshall and Acheson both being stand out performers in a cast of great men. He was friends with all of his people and he didn’t forget a friend. He took care of them and kept up with them, even until the day he died. Over and over again in this book, you’ll find people insolubly attached to the man. “He was the nicest President I’ve met. That’s for sure.” Seems to be the general consensus.

If I’ve rambled here, it is because there is so much to say about Harry Truman that it feels ridiculous to try and condense it to a few paragraphs. If anything, Truman (the book) has the opposite problem, with so many details that it can be hard to keep up. But I do not fault McCullough for this. I think it was an accurate representation of Truman who was, of course, a man who was hard to keep up with. It is only fitting that his biography should be the same.

If I were to level a complaint against this book, I would say that McCullough is fond of Harry Truman a bit too much and shies away from openly critiquing him very often. But this, like the issue above, is really not a very big problem for me. After all, I’d much rather read a biography written by someone who is passionate about his subject than someone who is not, and I never thought that McCullough was overly biased in his evaluations, he’s much too good a historian to do that. He presents complaints against Truman, and he never brushes them away as stupid. Like Truman would, he hears both sides equally. McCullough simply almost always took the President’s side and it is seems wrong to critique the author for sometimes praising a man who he obviously deeply respected and admired in his own book.

I deeply respect and admire Harry Truman and everything he stood for in such a pivotal time in American history. It doesn’t matter if I agree with every little decision he made, I am simply glad that he made the decisions that needed to be made according to his conscious and not a self-serving motive which has become so stereotypical in modern days. Furthermore, I felt like Harry Truman was a friend, a trait not overly common with Presidents, and as such, I wanted him to succeed. McCullough’s Truman does the man justice and will stand the test of time, as did Harry S. Truman as one of the better things to come out of the last century.