The only thing I knew about Harry Truman before reading this book was a recollection of the famous picture of him holding up a newspaper that read "Dewey Defeats Truman."

I am amazed at Truman's hard work, integrity, and love of people. He wasn't perfect, of course, but there is much in this book to inspire. I never fully understood his contributions to the post-WWII world, such as the Marshall Plan, the Truman doctrine, containment of atomic bomb, containment of the Cold War, or his courageous decision to champion civil rights more than any president since Abraham Lincoln (up to Truman's time). He was consistently honest, courageous, loyal, and down-to-earth. He loved the "common guy" and championed labor, medicine, and education for all, even when these things were not popular. He wasn't afraid to be unpopular if it meant doing what was right. He was true to his friends and true to his wife. Most all who really knew him couldn't help but fall in love with his optimism, love of life, and kindness (visited one of his secret service agent's wives in the hospital after she had a baby-- he was kind, interested in all his staff).

His early life was interesting-- he had been through many disappointments but never stopped working hard, trying, or being optimistic. Interesting to see how he was raised as well-- with lots of books and love. A real endorsement of the American Dream to watch this farm boy go on to change the world.

In his adult life, his work ethic, devotion to family and friends, morality, optimism, courage, and ability to love and work for the common man were exemplary. It was said ego never got in his way, and pride or vanity didn't influence his decisions, but he did what he felt was right.

He had his flaws, and these are treated as candidly in the book as Truman treated them in real life. He never seemed to have anything to hide. (One famous flaw was his notoriously colorful language, supposedly picked up serving in WWI)

Interesting to see the difference between his personality and Roosevelt's-- whom he replaced. I left with an added respect for Truman and a lessening in my respect for Roosevelt (he had been one of my favorite presidents before reading this book).

It made me sad that the press and the country were so hard on him at times, and also that history has largely left him behind in favor of those who did play the political games. Amazing how not playing the games, not being a flashy or wealthy or vain president actually hurt his publicity in the long and short run, yet not, in my estimation, when one knows all the facts, as I now do!

I found this book just as inspirational and informative as McCullough's other books, yet this one did bog down in the middle. He still displays the gift for storytelling, yet its not quite as riveting as some of his other books. I found myself wishing he had abridged this a bit (992 pages--whew!), but when one considers the amount of work he put into this book, its length is forgivable. He spent 10 years writing this and delving into the massive amount of information available (1300 letters from Truman to his wife alone in a 30 year stretch). He also interviewed Truman's daughter and others who worked with Truman. Considering the subject and McCullough's work and talents I'd say the Pulitzer he received for his writing is well justified.

Inspiring and informative book.

Truman was a man who truly had greatness thrust upon him. A reluctant Vice President who became president during WWII after the death of FDR, he rose to the occasion when the nation needed a leader. He was the definition of an American President. Born and raised on a farm in Missouri, a war veteran, and a statesman who genuinely desired to do what’s best for the people he governed, regardless of his reputation. He was internationally revered and nationally loved as an honest man who never forgot who he was. This is a highly inspirational read.

I picked this one up because I hope to eventually read biographies about most of the major presidents and didn’t know much about Truman aside from his decision to drop the atomic bomb. This David McCullough (a yinzer!) tome took me about three and a half months to finish, but was worth the investment. As with most presidential biographies, the book covers not just the person, but the era — spanning three wars (WWI, WWII, and the Korean War), epic labor battles, McCarthyism, and the Cold War. Through it all, Truman is the calm amid the storm who offers readers a master class in leadership and management. His ability to bring his team along with him without getting ahead of them, despite any political consequences, was on full display with his decisions to fire MacArthur, stay the course in Korea without expanding the war, and not to get in the mud with McCarthy. His unique background as a soldier, modest farmer, and failed haberdasher molded him into a quintessential American of the time, and a damn hard worker (something that I think he drew on for his notorious 1948 Whistle-Stop campaign — one of the greatest upsets in political history). He had flaws — while his administration was progressive on race for the time, he was a rural man who came of age in Missouri in the 1890s and 1900s and it showed at times. He protected problematic staff as only a man of machine politics would and had a temper that he mostly contained to unsent letters, but that was damaging the handful of times the letters became public. He lived a full life that McCullough did justice with rigorous research weaved into a thoughtful narrative. I’d recommend this book to any history lover, but buckle up for the long haul if you pick it up!

The Decision Maker.

I had been staring at this book for a long time, wondering when I was going to take on this momentous task. So when I had to off work following some surgery, I took the perfect opportunity. All I can say that this book is worth the time and dedication. It is truly a masterful biography of the 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. Probably the ultimate biography of the man. First written in 1992, David McCullough’s book won the Pulitzer Prize as it offers a comprehensive look at Truman’s life, from his humble beginnings in Missouri to his consequential presidency, which included the decision to drop the atomic bomb, the early years of the Cold War, and the implementation of the Marshall Plan.

One of McCullough’s greatest strengths is his storytelling ability. He brings Truman to life with vivid detail, making the book read more like a novel than a standard political biography. McCullough captures Truman’s unassuming personality, his Midwestern values, and his unwavering sense of duty, especially to his wife Bess, who he married on his return from
Being an artillery captain in World War I. The book also provides a fascinating look at the political landscape of the twentieth century, from the corrupt Pendergast machine in Missouri to the high-stakes decisions of World War II and the Cold War. Truman was a nineteenth century man as McCullough explains, educated and brought up before the hell of WWI, but influenced events of the twentieth.

McCullough’s research is meticulous, drawing from personal letters, diaries, and extensive archival materials. He paints a balanced portrait of Truman, highlighting both his strengths—his decisiveness, integrity, and resilience—and his flaws, such as his stubbornness and occasional political missteps. This is a man who had to follow in the footsteps of FDR, whom the American people and international community at the time largely admired and then was written off in the 1948 election campaign only to come out on top. Harry sure went through hell, but I’m not sure if he let them have it!

While the book is richly detailed and as I mentioned at the start of this review, this book is long. It spans over a thousand pages and some readers may find it too lengthy, particularly in sections that delve into Truman’s early life and minor political roles. Additionally, McCullough’s admiration for Truman is clear, and while he doesn’t shy away from criticism, some critics argue that the biography leans toward a sympathetic portrayal rather than a fully critical analysis. Personally I’ve always admired Truman, especially for the decisions he made and he had some tough ones to make. Such as the dropping of the atomic bomb, the sacking of MacArthur in the Korean War and the order to seize the coal mines in the strikes in 1946. This is what you want from a leader, decisive and strong. He could be known for a temper, but was generally a warm man, who liked people. He also cared about his dress and always wore suit immaculately. This is something to appreciate and for me he lies on the side of ‘good presidents.’

‘Truman’ is a definitive and engaging biography that offers a deep understanding of one of America’s most underestimated presidents. McCullough’s ability to humanise historical figures makes this book essential reading for anyone interested in American history, political leadership, or the mid-20th century world order. Despite its length, it remains one of the best biographies ever written about an American president. I would also say that in my opinion this is McCulloughs best work, the writing is superior and more coherent to his others books, for example 1776.

Today Harry Truman, unpopular while he served, carries a reputation as one of our strongest presidents. I believe this biography must have contributed to the positive perception we have of him today. As biography I think it very good. Truman is always seen in the context of the times he lived in, so that McCullough writes him as a turn-of-the-century farmer, or a First World War soldier, or a Missouri politician. Biographies, such as this one, written to present the subject as a product and player in the history around him, will always be strong biographies. It seems merely good before Truman became president. Afterwards, because it becomes necessary to explain the dynamic of events, the book becomes impressive in the comprehensive narrations of the great events of the day and Truman's role in them. Here is the decision to use the atomic bomb, the initial confrontations with Stalin, the decision to send American ground units into Korea, and the relief of Douglas MacArthur as commander there. Throughout the book Truman is seen as a courageous and just leader of the free world, friend to almost everyone, the beacon of democracy in the world beginning to be threatened by an expansionist communism, loving husband and father, and a champion of every right for all Americans. This is a very approving biography of Harry Truman. But I wondered if the book wasn't too loaded with the positive. I know that his administration was frustrated in its truce negotiations with the communists in Korea and therefore its efforts to end the war. That phase of his presidency is criticized by many and considered a failure. Yet it doesn't even receive a mention by McCullough, and I wondered if other negatives, those I'm not familiar with, were also passed over. But if you're interested in Truman, this is probably the book you need.

Lifted from my review at Amazon.com
While it's Ok for a historian to like the subject of the biography, he should not love him. David McCullough likes Harry Truman a bit too much. As a result he seldom takes a critical view of Truman's Presidency, politics or personal life. This is disappointing given that Harry Truman was the President at probably the key juncture of twentieth century - the end of War World II and the beginning of the Cold War. More time is spent describing the whistle-stop campaign of 1948 then in explaining the development of the containment strategy of Soviet expansion. He also dismisses Secretary of State Dean Acheson's January 1950 omission of South Korea as being in the United States defense perimeter as being the inspiration of the subsequent attack that June by North Korean forces. While it may not have been the inspiration, that statement along with troop withdraws in 1948 and 1949 were hardly discouragements.

Yes, Harry was the common man who became President but McCullough glosses over the reasons for Henry Wallace being replaced by Truman as V.P. on the 1944 ticket. McCullough tells us that many Southern Democrats and city bosses were uncomfortable with Wallace, especially given Roosevelt's health. But the reader is left wondering why they were uncomfortable. Indeed many Democratic leaders were worried that Wallace and his advisors were too sympathetic to the Soviets and that "moderate" Harry Truman would take a tougher post-war stand against them than would Wallace.

Still, McCullough has a good literary style and his account often reads more like a novel than a biography. This is especially true early in the book when he describes Truman ancestors, background and upbringing in western Missouri. And when he weaves in little ancedotes about Truman's personal life both before and during his time in the White House, McCullough is at his best.

Harry S Truman was a genuine American, a patriot and a good President at a pivotal time in U.S. history. He deserves a more critical examination of his life and Presidency. After all "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." Harry could stand the heat and give them hell back. David McCullough ought to know that.

Fast pacing, easy to read biography of a remarkable man of upmost integrity. Nobody seemed to believe in him, but in the end he proved to be a great president. He was able to contain communism and defend the world peace.

Sometimes I even laughed......
Cheers for the late bloomers in life!!! A man after my own heart!!!

Harry's cousin said Harry was 'always' a late bloomer. He did everything a little later than his contemporaries.
He didn't marry until he was 35...so, why would it be crazy to him to first arrive in Washington in his early 50's?

"Harry is a fine man, intelligent, able, and has integrity. He doesn't know much about foreign affairs, but he's learning fast..." --Franklin D Roosevelt

This book gets the reader involved! I listened to hours and hours of the audiobook--
I'm still not done with the audiobook. Eventually I checked out the e-book from the library to speed things along. The e-book and audiobook that I have are not synced together which is not a bad thing. I have reread and re-listened to different parts a few times, and I haven't cared one bit.....being in one part in the book - behind in the audiobook.

Some parts are so personal -- showing us how much Truman loved his mother -respected his father--his love for his wife Bess and daughter Margaret. He was a very hard worker--loved books, music, theater, and quiet time at home. He read the Bible and was a Baptist. Truman loved 'cake' -- and hated 'guns'. There was so much 'warmth' for this man.!!!!!
His military experience, knowing how much he hated guns, was gut wrenching to read.

Truman spent 10 years working on a farm - never got a formal College education... but nobody self taught himself more -- other parts give us a greater appreciation and understanding for a critical time in history when Truman was President.

There is so much to pull out of this book --from his early life through the rise of the future President he would become - to the history of the Cold War --scandals challenges--mistakes --an understanding of the dispute between Truman and Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War . Lots of major decisions that he had to make: he had to make decisions with Churchill and Stalin shortly after Roosevelt died. He had to decide to use the atomic bomb on Japan. ....giving us the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki --
We learn more about how Truman helped with general Marshall to develop the Marshall plan to revive Europe......and we got a look at the overall Republican and Democratic party machines and how they work.

There were many times when they were situations when it was easy to see that many of the problems were a source of egos. Politicians all wanting to be leaders and be right.

I enjoy the subtleties of the inside thoughts of Truman. For example before he was president- ( Vice President with FDR as President)....Truman wrote letters home to Bess ( his wife), saying "He so damn afraid that he won't have all the power and glory that he won't let his friends help as it should be done".
Truman, was a man spoke his mind... had integrity...."a straight shooter".

Truman had been raised I'm straight answers by people who nearly always meant what they said. Roosevelt wasn't that way. --Truman never publicly expressed how he felt, but his biggest objection to President Franklin D Roosevelt was that he lied.
Do we need to wonder what he would think of Trump?

It's impossible to read about past Presidents and not think about our own.

I've watched TV episodes of "Designated Survivor", with Kiefer Sutherland. I remember the first episode, was a shock when Sutherland suddenly became President of the United States. ( zero notice).

What was it like for Truman- to wake up one morning - no advance notice and because of the sudden death of Franklin D Roosevelt: just-like-that > Truman was President?/!
Oh my .... the gossip and the news.....I think would've driven me crazy:
"Good God, Truman will be President", it was being said everywhere. "If Harry Truman can be president, so could my next-door neighbor".

Others knew Truman. They knew what kind of man he was. They knew how entirely honest he was.
"He, of course, has the limitations upon his judgment and wisdom that the limitations of his experience produce, but I think he will learn fast and will inspire confidence. It seems to me that it is a blessing that he is President and not Henry Wallace.

David McCullough is a master at storytelling about our Past Presidents!!! And Truman was a distinctive good man!!!

In a democracy such as we have in America, the chief executive is elected largely on the basis of the image seen on TV. Few people know the candidate well enough to vote on character. As a result, the quality of presidents varies greatly and what you get may well be far different from what you see.

We know human beings are a complex mix of strengths and weaknesses, psychological as well as physical. Insecurity is common, vanity is common, false bravado and overestimation of oneself is very common in those whose ambition gets them to the top.

Knowing all of the above makes it a marvel that Harry Truman became president. He was down to earth amid giant egos. He was self confident in the best way, sure of himself without thinking he was the best or brightest. He rose through politics by being picked rather than by promoting himself. In whatever situation he found himself, he knew he could face the task and accomplish things through dedication and work but never believed he was uniquely gifted to do something others could not. He was always concerned that he could make enough money to live comfortably but never sought wealth for status.

He was perfectly comfortable in his own skin and because of that very open and eager to engage others since he had nothing to prove. He was considerate, never walking over others though he had the power to do so. He solicited and took advice. He had his political opponents, of course, who did all they could to defeat his plans as president, but everyone found it hard to dislike him personally. He was a man of character who loved his country, felt a deep obligation to the common people and made decisions based on a cool analysis of problems without considering how it would look or play out on election day.

Of course this biography covers the major events of the Truman presidency such as the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, the Korean war and the firing of McArthur, the handling of the epidemic of labor strikes, the Berlin airlift, but there is one part of the man's history that I did not know about which reveals him more than any other and that is his month long railroad trip around the United States in an effort to win the 1948 presidential election over Republican Thomas Dewey.

Riding in a private 7 car train, Truman went from the east to the west coast and then back making 150 stops that included small towns as well as large cities. Enjoying himself thoroughly, he was eager to see everyone and they showed their appreciation by turning out in large numbers. Though his wife and daughter were not enthused with the trip, they dutifully came out on the rear platform of the train to be introduced to the crowds. In his whistle stop speeches, Truman would go all out against the Republicans and Dewey, shake hands and revel to the sound of "give 'em hell, Harry!" Then in the evening as the train sped along at 80mph a good game of poker could be enjoyed.

Always cheerful, always in trim physical shape from daily walks and careful eating, almost always able to get a good night's sleep, the office of the president was challenging, stimulating and the perfect fit for this man intensely curious not only about the world at large but about the next person he might meet.

I can't think of any other president except Jimmy Carter who has taken the concerns of the ordinary citizen to heart as did Truman. He wanted to have national health care, he wanted a minimum wage, he had to take on the unions at the peak of their power but appreciated their value to working people, vetoing Taft/Hartley. He was suspicious of corporate wealth. His did not want the government (read FBI) spying on the citizenry. He integrated the armed forces and recognized the plight of black Americans.

Fearless and dedicated, his attitude was that while he might not be the best man for the job, the job was his and he was going to do it. The following paragraph from the book tells of the effect Truman had on others with his open, friendly and respectful treatment of everyone around him.

"The loyalty of those around Truman was total and would never falter. In years to come not one member of the Truman White House would ever speak or write scathingly of him or belittle him in any fashion. There would be no vindictive "inside" books or articles written about this President by those who worked closest to him. They all thought the world of Harry Truman then and for the rest of their lives, and would welcome the chance to say so."

Could we please have another such in the White House?

David McCullough's biography Truman is a well-researched, enjoyably readable book. He presents a well-balanced chronology of Truman from his ancestry to his death and beyond, spending adequate time in each phase of his life to develop an understanding of this interesting man, revealing both strengths and foibles.
Truman came from humble beginnings: the child of pioneers who vested themselves in the land of Missouri, against the back drop of the Antebellum south where William Quantrill and Jesse James were heroes and the romantic Jeffersonian life on the land reigned supreme. His father was an unsuccessful dreamer, seeking wealth that would never materialize, but a fiercely proud and honest man loved by his community, sort of a George Bailey of western Missouri. Truman walked proudly in his foot steps. Harry's desire for West Point was denied due to his life-long poor eye sight, and his hope of university faded when the family farm began to fail, and he was required to return home to help on the farm. After a stint in the Army during World War I, a galvanizing experience for Harry that truly prepared him for many of his future battles, he tried his hand as a haberdasher with a Jewish friend, that failed after a little over a year, because their customer base, the Missouri farmers, fell upon hard times. He got his first taste of politics through the power of the multi-generational Missouri political boss family, the Pendergasts, with whom his association would plague him his entire political life. From local administrative judge to a seat in the House of Representatives was only a few short steps . Harry made a name for himself when he headed a congressional commission to assess for waste and poor management of military equipment and munitions procurement during World War II. During his rise into politics, Harry was always plagued by his lack of education and boss association, but his honesty, his strength of character, his sense of fair play, his sincerity in relationships, and just his willingness to determine to like everybody (truly unique qualities in the hallowed congressional halls) eventually earn him a place a the table. He was a New Dealer, a staunch Democrat, and determined by the Democrats to be a great Yin to FDR's Yang in the search for a vice-presidential candidate, about whom nobody could find anything against him (except for his lack of education, his bossism beginnings, his small stature, his plain way of speaking, and his Midwest twang, which nobody seemed to think about at the time.) Did FDR choose him? I really doubt it. The two men could not have been more different. FDR probably knew very little about him, and FDR by this time is ill, and probably not working on all cylinders. Of course, the FDR-HST team wins, World War II is grinding on and FDR has his hands on all reins, while Harry plays Vice-President. I think that Frank and Harry only really met twice other than in cabinet meetings, and when FDR dies just weeks after his 4th inauguration, Harry is left holding the bag. Interesting to realized that during the 4 decades of the 20th century, the world has virtually shrunk and no longer have Americans been electing just a president to lead the country, but that their choice impacts the world at large with the American President being the world's leading head of state. Harry is thrown into the Potsdam Conference (blind to what has lead up to this point and a bit out of his depth) and the decision to utilize the newly-developed atom bomb and by doing so ushers in the atomic age. That's his first 100 days!
Harry proceeds to make good decisions and profoundly bad decisions and rides a roller coaster of praise and vilification (this is where his supporters suddenly remember his lack of education, his bossism beginnings, his small stature, his plain way of speaking, and his Midwest twang.) His approval rating was as high as 85% and as low as 23%. But Harry never complains or whines, never shies from his responsibility, and maintains a cheerful pleasantness across the board. The buck did stop with Harry. And just before the 1948 campaign is set to begin, Harry makes a strong civil rights appeal, taking a stand against lynching and poll tax, which was quite a feat for a man of Harry's background....and the whole South walks out!
But why would Harry, the object of all of this scathing criticism and knowing that his beloved Bess really did not like being the First Lady, seek a second term? It is at this point that I begin to admire a good biographer like McCullough, who must choose what to include and what not to include. McCullough answers my question - and Harry recognizes it as a desire for power, which must have a mighty pull. Against all odds and against all polls, Harry takes himself to the people in a whistle stop train campaign of the century. He talks from the hip, in plain (and often raw) speaking to hamlets and metropolises all over the country (except for the south so as not to build strength for Strom Thurman, who began the unreconstructed South's candidate). And as he travels, he builds confidence, in the people, in himself, and in his ability to represent the people. Dewey, his opponent, slick, educated, well-spoken who is absolutely unable to truly connect with the average man, continues to ride high on the strength of polls overwhelmingly in his favor. The end result is a triumphant Truman holding a Chicago paper, with the headlines, "Dewey Defeats Truman". How could have all of the polls been wrong, a question that reverberates in our most recent election!
Characteristically for Harry, he leads the parade with the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan and stares down Stalin with the Berlin Airlift and then bungles the Korean War, and is forced (rightly so) for fire McArthur which brings a hail storm on his head (for which he is eventually proven to have acted correctly, but by that time all of the whirls of criticism are still out there floating around). As a result, the Republicans take charge with Eisenhower's and Truman's relationship shattered.
Harry was an interesting man: plain, honest, decisive, ill-prepared, and thrust onto the world stage at a time when it was truly falling apart. Harry held his ground.
Due to his very readable style, McCullough's book of 992 pages of actual biography was a more enjoyable read than many other scholarly biographies of far less pages, and I would recommend it, not only as view of Harry S Truman, but a balanced presentation of the economic, political, and social statement of the time. But if you truly want a Cliff Notes version, Chicago's "Harry Truman" is not a bad synthesis!

David McCullough in the Pulitzer Prize winning work recreates the fiery Harry S. Truman for his readers. Once dismissed as just an accidental president, Harry Truman was considered to be just a seat warmer for the next commander-in-chief. Truman would prove to be one of the nation's best, leading the United States out of World War II and into the early days of the Cold War. McCullough's writes with the same brilliant narrative in this work that I had found in when I read his 1776.

I have to admit, I read this book the same summer that I read Jean Edward Smith's FDR. In short, I found myself comparing Truman's career to Roosevelt's. In some ways this was unfair considering Roosevelt was about eight years older. However, I could not help but think, `Hey the same time Truman's rolling around on his father's farm, Roosevelt's in the State Senate.' Another example is that when Truman was a company officer, Roosevelt was assistant secretary of the navy.

McCullough begins by explaining the origins of Truman's home state, Missouri, and his family history. Citizens of the `show me' state generally have a very down to earth feeling about themselves and the world in which they lived. Truman is a man who comes out of this world.

Truman grew up trying to avoid being labeled a `sissy' for having to wear glasses, he was `bookish' in some ways a stereotypical nerd who read a lot of history and was widely considered by his classmates to the smartest kid in class. When grew up World War I started up and he went to battle, as a captain he had success on the battlefield leading his company. He would ultimately rise to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. When he got home from war, he married the love of his life, Bess Wallace, and they would have one child in Mary Margaret.

However, despite success in school and the battlefield he was always a little behind in life, he failed at business and feel into debt. For a good deal of time, he would work on his father's farm. His father had a great deal of political ambition but little time and resources and John Truman would die feeling that he was a failure in life, something that would haunt his son until his days as the President of the United States.

His friendship with the Pendergast family gave him a connection to Boss Tom Pendergast, and that would lead to his election in 1922 as Jackson County Court Judge, although this was not a judicial court it was more like a county commission. Truman became the presiding judge in 1926 and he held that position right until the Roosevelt Administration. Therefore, when Roosevelt took office as President of the United States his eventually successor was nothing more then a chief county commissioner.

In 1934, Harry Truman would earn the Democratic Party's senate nomination and go on to defeat the incumbent Roscoe Patterson by a full twenty points in the election. As a senator, Harry Truman would earn fame on the `Truman Committee' that would deal with corruption of military contractors fleecing the Armed Forces during a time of war.

"Truman understood the potential peril in what he was proposing. From his reading of Civil War history he knew what damage could be done to a President by congressional harassment in a time of emergency, and the lives it could cost by prolonging the war. Abraham Lincoln had been subjected to unrelenting scrutiny by the powerful Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, which caused continuing trouble and delays. Its Radical Republican leadership had insisted even on a say in the choice of field commanders and battle strategy, and as often on a say in the choice of field commanders and battle strategy, and as often as not it was the Confederates who benefited. Robert E. Lee once remarked that the committee was worth two divisions to him, an observation Truman would often cite. He had gone to the Library of Congress for the Civil War records to verify for himself what mistakes the committee had made." p.258

Truman's record made the Democratic Party nominate him for Vice President in 1944, dumping Vice President Henry Wallace who many thought was closet communist. The Roosevelt/Truman ticket would go on to win and Truman would do on to be the Vice President of the United States. He would hold that office for less than three months, for in that time Roosevelt was dead.

Truman came to office in the middle of the incredible events of World War II and had to make the most famous or infamous decision of his career: the decision to drop the atomic bomb. In August 1945, Japan was sent the Postman Declaration demanding their surrender or the bomb would drop. Japan refused, the bombs were dropped, and the war ended.

As president, Truman would later become admired for making tough decisions that had to be made. Moreover, a lot decisions would have to be made, in his first term he had to deal with strikes, propose and fight for the Marshall Plan, help form the United Nations, create the Truman Doctrine of containment, initiate the Berlin Airlift, and recognize the state of Israel. A great deal of these things would not popular, at first, and would cost Truman politically and most considered him dead in 1948, but as McCullough explains, Truman would shock them again.

"The Marshall Plan was voted on by Congress in April 1948, almost a year after Marshall's speech at Harvard, and passed by overwhelming majorities in both houses. It was a singular triumph for the administration, the ventral gem in the cluster of great and fruitful decisions made by President Truman,' as Arthur Krock would write. Indeed, it was to be one of the great American achievements of the century, as nearly everyone eventually saw." p.583

With Thomas Dewey once again the nominee of the Republican* Party running as an if he were an incumbent, Truman ran as if were the challenger, he ran a more vigorous and ultimately successful campaign for president, popularized for `Given `em Hell.'

"His opponent, Truman said, acted like a doctor whose magic cure for everything was a soothing syrup called unity. And here were the American people going for the usual once every four years check-up.
`Say you don't look so good!' Truman said, acting the part of the doctor.
`Well, that seems strange to me too, Doc,' he answered, as the voice of the people. `I never felt stronger, never had more money, and never had a brighter future. What is wrong with me?'
`I never discuss issues with a patient. But what you need is a major operation.'
`Will it be serious, Doc?'
`Not so very serious. It will just mean taking out the complete works and putting in a Republican administration.'
The audience roared with laughter. He had made the cool, letter-perfect Dewey a joke at last." p.700

Truman continued being Truman though out his second and elected term as president. During this term, the Chinese Communists won their civil war with the Nationalists and this helped feed the fire of a man named Eugene McCarthy, a drunken fool and senator, who would sensationalize national fear, and ruin the lives of many innocent people and get very few communists. N.A.T.O. would go on to be successfully established and due to the invasion of South Korea by the Communist North, Truman would get the U.N. to organize a `police action' against the aggressor. The events of the Korean War would get save the South from the North but it would also led to another famous Truman event the firing of General MacArthur.

"In New York two thousand longshoremen walked off their jobs in protest over the firing of MacArthur. A Baltimore women's group announced plans fro a march on Washington in support of the general. Elsewhere enraged patriots flew flags at half-staff, or upside down. People signed petitions, fired off furious letters and telegrams to Washington. In Worcester, Massachusetts, and San Gabriel, California, Truman was burned in effigy. In Houston, a Protestant minister became so angry dictating a telegram to the White House that he died of a heart attack." p.844-5

Despite being from a family with Confederate heritage Truman moved more on Civil Rights then any president before or until Lyndon Johnson. Truman would form the President's Committee on Civil Rights and he would desegregate the military.

"On racial maters, Truman had not entirely outgrown his background. Old biases, old habits of speech continued, surfacing occasionally offstage, as some of his aides and Secret Service agents would later attest. Privately, he could still speak of `n-----s,' as if that were the way one naturally referred to blacks. His own sister told Jonathan Daniels that Harry was no different then ever on the subject. Daniels, who had gone to Missouri to gather material for a biography of the President, recorded in his notes that as Mary Jane drove him south from Independence to Grandview one morning, she turned and said, `Harry is no more for n-----r equality than any of us'--a statement Daniels, as a southerner, found reassuring.

But Mary Jane, like others, failed to understand that Truman knew now, if they did not, that as President he could no longer sit idly by and do nothing in the face of glaring injustice. The findings of his Civil Rights Commission, in a landmark report entitled To Secure These Rights, had been a shocking revelation.

The murder of four blacks by mob gunfire referred to in the letter had occurred in Monroe, Georgia, in July 1946. Two men and their wives were dragged from a car and gunned down so savagely their bodies were scarcely identifiable. One of the victims, Truman knew from a report of his Commission, had been a newly returned war veteran, and this, like the account of the men dumped from the truck in Mississippi, and of the young black sergeant, Issac Woodward, who had been pulled from a bus in Batesburg, South Carolina, and brutally beaten and blinded by police, made an everlasting impression on Truman, moving him in a way no statistics ever would have." p.588-9

Despite all his success, Truman would leave office unpopular and would remain so until the late sixties-early seventies, when a popular resurgence for the thirty-third president would begin. This Pulitzer Prize winning work McCullough does justice to the great President Harry S. Truman.

*He ran against Franklin Roosevelt in 1944.

With the elections coming up, I think it is important for everyone to take a good look at what a presidency is all about. This book was particularily interesting to me, because the author is so detail-oriented, you really get a perfect sense of where this man came from, and how he came to be the leader of the free world at that time.

We have to remember that the people in the history books were once just 'real men', with flaws, dreams, and families. Sometimes it's not all policy and hogwash; Sometimes, it's just integrity, experience and good common sense. Look for the candidate who will act with character in an 'unforseeable' circumstance, do not lay votes upon present-day platforms. We never know what the future holds...