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Truman

by David McCullough

4.30 · rating details · 6,699 ratings · 659 reviews

David McCullough's sweeping biography of Harry S. Truman captured the heart of the nation. The life and times of the thirty-third President of the United States, Truman provides a moving look at an extraordinary, singular American.
From Truman's small-town, turn-of-the-century boyhood and his transforming experience in the face of war in 1918, to his political beginnings ...more

Paperback, 1120 pages

Published August 20th 2003 by Simon & Schuster (first published June 15th 1992)

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Community Reviews

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Jul 03, 2007

AJ Griffin rated it

Recommends it for: people with fantastic attention spans, lots of time, and at least a slight interest in the subject

For some reason or another, I had to read this book in 3 days. It was like a full time job, considering it's about 3284293842034820384238 pages long. I did it though, and for about two months or so I was a motherfucking Harry Truman expert. Then I forgot almost everything.

Anyway, if you want seem like a history encyclopedia for a little while, take a three-day weekend and rip this bad boy open. Maybe you'll get laid.

(one word of caution: reading this gave me t...more

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Jun 19, 2008

Christine rated it

David McCullough is a master, plain and simple. Who else could make a 992 page paperback biography compulsively readable? I knew essentially nothing about Harry Truman before reading this biography, and now I think he might be my favorite president. Truly a man of the people, who never let the highest office in the country go to his head, Truman made difficult decisions that would have crippled other men within the first four months of his presidency. While not all of his policies were popul...more

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Feb 22, 2008

RJ Corby rated it

This is a brilliant book about one of our finest

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 ...moreThis is a brilliant book about one of our finest

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 Truman to life. Mostly absent from this book, thankfully, is the rampant cheerleading and bootlicking that plague other presidential biographies. McCullough 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 the president'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. (Orig. Review Dec. '04)(less)

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Feb 01, 2008

Lisa Greer rated it

Recommends it for: history buffs, everyone

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...more

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Jan 27, 2009

Erin Hepner rated it

Recommends it for: History nuts and Politicos, and anyone interested in very detailed portraits of lives.

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 a...more

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Mar 08, 2011

Fred Bomer rated it

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!!!

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Dec 21, 2008

Tom rated it

Another 5 star for David mcCullough. I really enjoyed this. It was almost 1,000 pages long, but worth it. I was actually sad at the end of the book, when Truman died. It was like it was happening today.

I didn't know much about Truman other than he was president, when I entered grade school and that he was in office during the Korean War. He did real well even if he was a Democrat.

I now put Truman in a class with John Adams, James Madison, and Lincoln.

Here is a...more

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Nov 27, 2008

Dwight Buffum rated it

I learned that Truman admirably participated in, lead, and presided over many of the momentous events and decisions that transpired as the USA matured from a strapping adolescent to a behemoth superpower. I was struck again and again by Truman's reliance on simple faith, not just religious, integrity, and persistence to guide and carry him and those for whom he was responsible through unparalleled weighty matters and crises. From the decision to use the first atomic bomb to end WW II to the limi...more

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Nov 30, 2011

Jeremy Perron rated it

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 ...more

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Oct 31, 2011

John Frazier rated it

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...moreFor 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-politcally-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.(less)

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Oct 17, 2011

Christopher rated it

It's been a little while since I read a book by Mr. McCullough and, somehow, I had forgotten what a great storyteller he is. In his largest biography, Mr. McCullough brings you closer to mirroring his subject than any other writer I have yet read. His subject: Harry S. Truman, America's greatest common-man president. Starting with the tale of his grandparents' trials in mid-19th century Missouri, Truman covers a vast timeline in a masterful way. Mr. McCullough's choice of tales always adds color...more

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Aug 16, 2011

Melise Gerber rated it

Shelves: general-non-fiction

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 politic...more

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Apr 30, 2011

Matt Hines rated it

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I own and have read several biographies of Harry Truman,and this is by far the best of them all. David McCullough's style is conversational, personable, and this great American story draws you in as if you were living near Independence, MO at the turn of the twentieth century.

Harry Truman was an unusual breed of leader, but one that was quintessential of our Midwest: sturdy, hard working, pious and ever optimistic of this country. Though he is the only president who didn't go to col...moreI own and have read several biographies of Harry Truman,and this is by far the best of them all. David McCullough's style is conversational, personable, and this great American story draws you in as if you were living near Independence, MO at the turn of the twentieth century.

Harry Truman was an unusual breed of leader, but one that was quintessential of our Midwest: sturdy, hard working, pious and ever optimistic of this country. Though he is the only president who didn't go to college, he had the intellectual capacity and insight of a man trained in a college setting. He knew what he didn't know and he knew how to learn and when to use the knowledge of others. He also gained an incomparable 'trial by fire' when he served in France during the Great War, giving him an insight into warfare that few others would have who ran the later war.

Life trained him for the high office he'd one day assume. He lived for many years in the home of his difficult mother in law, who never thought he was worthy. He lost a business, lost his family farm to foreclosure, and knew nothing but failure until he entered politics. Though he owed his position in local politics and the Senate to the corrupt Pendergast machine, he remained personally honest.

He rightly was terrified on entering the presidency, but approached the job as one who was used to wielding the levers of power on a global stage. Although it isn't known if he knew the cost of lives in dropping the atomic bomb, we do know he slept well. And although he at first miscalculated Soviet postwar intentions, he didn't hesitate to lay the groundwork of containment and the apparatus he set in motion would eventually help in the collapse of Soviet communism. He also made the right choices in coming to the aid of Berlin and in recognizing the state of Israel when no one else would.

Despite a volcanic temper and petty feelings, he was a man who rose to the occasion of his time. He filled the shoes of his office, and in many ways set the tone of the Cold War which many would follow with differing variations. He also is known for coming from behind in a four way race in 1948, winning reelection when none thought he could. The Marshall Plan, NATO, losing China, McCarthyism, the Korean War, each of them with memories to last a lifetime, but all of them took place in the short span of his second term. And when the time came for him to give up power, citizen Truman gladly returned to his beloved house on Delaware Street in Independence. His is the story of how a leader can do what he can to make the world a better place, and at the end of the day he can go home and walk with his head held high knowing he did all he could to preserve his country and freedom everywhere.

Although my politics are different than his were, I do believe America was blessed to have this man as it's leader in one of our most trying times. America does seem to have been blessed with extraordinary leaders for extraordinary times, and a seemingly ordinary man entered the pantheon of greatness, and showed us how it's done.
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Jan 20, 2011

Corinne rated it

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 Col...moreThe 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. (less)

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Dec 21, 2010

Stephen Escalera rated it

When it comes to making history not only readable, but intriguing, nobody writes better than David McCullough. Many of his books chronicle people, places or events that don't really seem to stick out as being fascinating. But once you start reading any one of McCullough's books, you are drawn into the subject matter, compelled to read and learn about subjects that you might not otherwise ever read about. You don't simply read a McCullough book. You experience it. My introduction to McCullough's ...moreWhen it comes to making history not only readable, but intriguing, nobody writes better than David McCullough. Many of his books chronicle people, places or events that don't really seem to stick out as being fascinating. But once you start reading any one of McCullough's books, you are drawn into the subject matter, compelled to read and learn about subjects that you might not otherwise ever read about. You don't simply read a McCullough book. You experience it. My introduction to McCullough's work was in his biography of John Adams, our country's second president and a key figure in the founding of the nation. After finishing this, I quickly devoured 1776, The Great Bridge, and The Johnstown Flood. I would highly recommend each of these books.

Like Adams, Harry S. Truman had the misfortune of succeeding a legendary figure. While Adams presided under the shadow of George Washington, Truman had to undergo the scrutiny of an American public who had been led through many great trials by the great Franklin D. Roosevelt. Truman proved that, while he was no FDR, he was certainly his own man and very well capable of holding his own during the many conflicts of his own presidency.

In Truman, we are brought into his story well before his birth as McCullough fills us in on the details of his family heritage. We follow Truman through his childhood, his stint as a gallant officer during World War I, his romancing of and subsequent marriage to Bess Wallace, and his rise up and into the political world. McCullough does an excellent job of covering several controversial topics such as the Marshall Plan, the Korean Conflict, the Manhattan Project, McCarthyism, and the firing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur without getting bogged down in presenting his own opinions on these matters, instead letting the historical accounts speak for themselves. We are treated to the often exciting, edge-of-your-seat workings of political campaigning, including Truman's first presidential nomination as well as his momentous and astounding defeat of Thomas Dewey.

At well over 1,000 pages, Truman is a hefty read. But being already familiar with McCullough's style, I knew it would be a great read and I was not disappointed. Not being a historian nor familiar with this period of U.S. history, I can't speak to the factual accuracy of the book's events. But once again, McCullough does a masterful job of bringing the person off the written page to the point where you feel like you know the person himself. By the end of the book and upon the account of Truman's death, I felt like I had lost a friend. Truman is an excellent biography, an inspirational story and one that will have you keeping late hours just to read one more page.(less)

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Apr 23, 2009

Bruce rated it

Shelves: 2009-reading, biography, history

An extremely solid, well researched, and well written biography about one of the few "common men" who have risen to the Presidency. A son of farmers, Truman was a solid line officer in World War I, but did little that would show the kind of future he was to have. An unsuccessful businessman, a moderately successful local politician, and the product of Boss Pendergrast's Kansas City machine, Harry Truman turned out to be so much more than his background.

What may have been...more

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Jan 04, 2012

Reedblackburn rated it

This was a big review I gave the book about a year ago.

I finished. 1030 pgs. which is the equivalent of about 5000 pages in Harry Potter or Twighlight. It's the biggest reading project I've ever completed.

I thought the book was outstanding, of course at times it is hard to get through. But I'll try and just list some impressions.

1. He grew up in Missouri. It was fun to read about his ancestry in that place because some of it is linked to the Mormon r...more

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Jan 10, 2010

Bonnie rated it

I had read McCullough’s John Adams and knew that I loved his writing style. Last year when I was on my biography kick, my brother-in-law, Mark, recommended this book. I have to admit that I didn’t know much about Harry Truman.

The fact that he was president the year I was born is significant. I was fascinated with the broad brush strokes historical background that McCullough studiously and scrupulously provides. This book won the Pulitzer Prize – and no wonder. At 1000+ pages, i...more
I had read McCullough’s John Adams and knew that I loved his writing style. Last year when I was on my biography kick, my brother-in-law, Mark, recommended this book. I have to admit that I didn’t know much about Harry Truman.

The fact that he was president the year I was born is significant. I was fascinated with the broad brush strokes historical background that McCullough studiously and scrupulously provides. This book won the Pulitzer Prize – and no wonder. At 1000+ pages, it is crammed full of facts, quotes, anecdotes, and history. But above all readers emerge with a deep sense of Harry Truman, the man.

Exhaustive, meticulously researched, this book invites you in to follow Truman’s life. We learn about the early days, his work on his father’s farm, his late start in the political process; we see him as a soldier in WWI in the Verdun, his unique style of campaigning for the senate; he becomes FDR’s Vice-president and President upon FDR’s death. He was eulogized in the senate “as the president who had faced the momentous decision of whether to use the atomic bomb, praised for the creation of the United Nations, for the Truman Doctrine, 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. . .” (p. 990) One feels a witness to all of these moments of history as McCullough draws us in detail by detail.

Another quote:
Born in the Gilded Age, the age of steam and gingerbread Gothic, Truman had lived to see a time of lost certainties and rocket trips to the moon. The arc of his life spanned more change in the world than in any prior period in history. A man of nineteenth-century background, he had had to face many of the most difficult decisions of the unimaginably different twentieth century. A son of rural, inland America, raised only a generation removed from the frontier and imbued with the old Jeffersonian ideal of a rural democracy, he had had to assume command of the most powerful industrial nation on earth at the very moment when that power, in combination with stunning advances in science and technology, had become an unparalleled force in the world. The responsibilities he bore were like those of no other president before him, and he more than met the test. (p. 991)

An amazingly readable journey – definitely LONG, no question about that, but fascinating every step of the way. It’s Truman in the spotlight but with US and world history as a backdrop.

Now I’m looking for more biographies of this ilk. Suggestions?
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Nov 26, 2008

Suzanne rated it

Shelves: biography, american-history

I really wanted to like this but found it very difficult to complete. Truman was a fine man, a President with morals and ethics who saw his role as serving the people who elected him. McCullogh is meticulous in his detail and in his documentation. My issue was the style of writing. I just could not stay engaged and found myself skipping forward. For me, that is always a bad sign.

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Aug 06, 2011

Patrick Higgins added it

Another book that cements David McCullough as one of the preeminent historical authors of our time. His dedication to thorough research is evidenced by the heft of the book, yet he maintains a very easy to read style. Before reading this book, I only knew Truman through the decisions he made and policies he pursued, i.e. dropping the atomic bombs to end World War II, the Truman Doctrine, and the Marshal plan. I now know more about the man behind the decisions, from his humble beginnings to hi...more

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May 16, 2011

James rated it

Captivating story of a difficult time in history. A man like Truman would never get elected today. He was more honest than today's politician, more likely to speak his mind. His ego was in check - a recipe for failure in the media world of today where the outrageous is far more likely to get press than the sensible, erudite statements of the "elite". "Elite" in the right wing press is another word for highly intelligent. The right would rather have a President incapable of i...more

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Dec 14, 2008

Julia rated it

At last, finally, finished, completed and done! This was a long one but McCullough managed to make me interested in someone I had always perceived as dull, and find out what an interesting president he truly was during a critical time in the United States history. Terrifically difficult decisions had to be made during his presidency: The atom bomb, airlift into Berlin, the Korean War, the steel industry strike, the McCarthy hearings, the Marshall Plan, the Truman doctrine, and a host of other ...more

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Aug 14, 2011

Scott rated it

A brilliant account of a remarkable man. The narrative is so real that you feel like you are in the story. McCullough does such a fine job of bringing a person to life; he developed Truman's character so meticulously and with so much detail that I feel I know him better than members of my own family. And few biographies have been more satisfying to read. Truman is a great accident in history. There are so many reasons why he should have never been President. And his Robin Hood philosophy on soci...more

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Mar 16, 2009

Kate marked it as to-read

Shelves: nonfiction, own, bio_memoir_letters, usa_canada

Ok obviously I know up front that it's 1000 pages and weighs as much as a vacuum cleaner, so I'm not sure why I'm surprised that on page 21, the main character has not yet been mentioned and I'm reading about cutting through sod with a plow in Jackson County, MO, and how in 1841 it took six to eight yoke of oxen.

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Dec 01, 2010

Ben rated it

A monster of a book, entertaining throughout. In my childhood I used to be asked who my heros were, who my idols were. To my six year old self I found this question dumb, why would I have an idol, admitting someone to be a personification of a set of ideals which I hadn't even developed yet (not exactly the words my young self choose, but consistent with the feeling -- I was an introspective youth). Well, after having finished this book I can claim my first idol in Truman, a man who stood for wh...more

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Jan 01, 2011

Richard rated it

· review of another edition

Harry S. Truman's reputation has had an interesting transformation over the last few decades. He didn't usually receive high scores on the lists of those who rated the effectiveness of past Presidents. Part of this was due to timing, by being the person whose administration was shoehorned between Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower, two presidential heavy weights to be sure, and both fondly remembered by historians and the public. Their administrations defined their eras: First, the ...moreHarry S. Truman's reputation has had an interesting transformation over the last few decades. He didn't usually receive high scores on the lists of those who rated the effectiveness of past Presidents. Part of this was due to timing, by being the person whose administration was shoehorned between Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower, two presidential heavy weights to be sure, and both fondly remembered by historians and the public. Their administrations defined their eras: First, the depression and the World War II years, then the post-war prosperity and cold war. It didn't help that Harry was an unassuming Mid-Westerner (in many ways, more of a Southerner in outlook), with a sparse education (he was the only person since 1897 without a college education to hold the office) who found great political success at least partly due to a big boost from a notorious party boss.

Considering any of these limiting factors as reasons to disqualify the individual from being president, how then can you explain how Truman rose so far and ultimately received the respect of later generations for navigating the nation through some of its most difficult times? As McCullough effectively lays out in his book, Truman displayed an unquenchable desire to succeed, matched by a toughness that saw him through the worst of poverty, war, economic ruin and political infighting.

When Harry was a young soldier in World War One, he displayed the mental toughness to face life-threatening situations and the confident satisfaction of finding out he liked being a leader. He had grown up on a farm in a small Missouri community, a small kid with glasses kept from rough play with his friends by his mother who didn't want him to be harmed by larger kids. Having joined the National Guard before the war, he was an artillery officer when he shipped to France. He didn't even need to be in the Army; he reportedly passed his eye test by memorizing the eye chart. He experienced first-hand the horrors of the wholesale battlefield maimings and killings of that war, and displayed his give-em-hell gumption for the first time when he stood up to some of his soldiers who were turning tail in the face of the enemy, and forced them to perform their duty. He married his sweetheart Bess Wallace after returning home. He went into a haberdasher business with a partner, Edward Jacobson. A bad recession wiped them out.

Harry had been a close friend of another young officer from Missouri, Tom Pendergast, in France. Tom's uncle by the same name was the powerful Democratic party boss of Kansas City. Harry took night classes at Kansas City Law School in the early 1920's, and boss Pendergast got him a job as an administrative judge of Jackson County Court. He later moved Harry up to a judicial position. Truman's relationship with Pendergast would propel him into national political prominence while tainting him as a machine flunky. He always acknowledged his association with his political patron, insisting that he never let his friendship with the boss alter his decisions when he was in office, especially the presidency. You can believe this from reading McCullough's biography of Truman. It was true that his administration eventually became tainted by corruption carried on by numerous of his officials, but these were not necessarily connected to Pendergast. Harry's loyalty was always solid, both to his patron and his staff and he had a disturbing way of turning a blind eye to his loyal subordinates who used their official positions to enrich themselves. A prime example was a key aide, a high-ranking low-life, General Harry Vaughan. Vaughan had provided military transport to Europe after the war in 1945 to a crony who was a perfume company executive; upon return to the U.S., this perfumer actually bumped a wounded veteran off the plane. When this incident turned into a scandal, Truman stood by the General. Truman never was shown to benefit personally from the crookedness of some who worked for him, except in the case of Vaughan, when Mrs. Truman received an extremely hard-to-get post-war deep freezer.

The interesting aspect of Harry's rise to power wasn't so much an aspect of belonging to the right political machine as it was of being at the right place at the right time, and being smart enough to act on opportunity. His judicial competence paid off when Pendergast was given the power over federal political patronage in Missouri in return for helping FDR get elected in 1932. Truman was placed in control of the Federal Re-Employment Program (part of the Civil Works Administration) in the state, where he supervised the construction of important infrastructure projects in Kansas City. Pendergast was turned down by several good candidates that he wanted to put up for the 1934 race for U.S. Senator from Missouri, and he let Truman run on the ticket. He not only won the Democratic primary, he won the election and became quickly recognized as a campaigner against moneyed special interests and Wall Street speculators. Reelected in 1940, he chaired the Truman Committee in the Senate during World War II, which made a huge difference in the government's prosecution of the war as well as his reputation, by rooting out waste and mismanagement in war spending. When Roosevelt was looking for someone competent but nondescript to replace his vice president who had become a liability by 1944, Truman was the least threatening on the short list and was chosen. He succeeded to the big office upon Roosevelt's death, after serving as vice president for just 82 days.

Truman found himself at this point facing the reality of needing
to take the reigns of a huge organization in the middle of a great crisis, without messing everything up and, also, showing himself to be a fool. I actually read one review that said this was an easy time to take office, since the war was all but won by this time. Germany was defeated and the atomic bomb was being prepared to drop on Japan, if needed. All Harry had to do was to sit in the Oval Office and watch the war end. Bullcrap! Truman didn't even know the bomb existed until FDR died. Indeed, FDR and his closest advisors didn't include Truman in the loop of any war planning, and he had to be brought up to speed fast, while wrestling with the decision of whether to use this new, terrible weapon. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders and he knew it.

The end of World War II was just the beginning of problems which taxed Truman's mind. There was the need to transition into a peacetime economy; serious labor-management conflicts, including the crippling 1946 Railway Workers strike; inflation; shortages; and the beginnings of Soviet meddling in Europe, caused by the refusal of the Russians to move from the Eastern European countries they had liberated from the Germans, and their threatening behavior toward Iran, Greece and Turkey. Truman's first term would see the establishment of a policy of containment toward Soviet military provocation, with the establishment of the United Nations; the American Marshall Plan to rebuild postwar Europe; and the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49. Winning reelection in 1948 against the predictions of about every political expert in America, he was forced to face the realities of the end of America's nuclear monopoly; the fall of China to the Communists; revelations of Soviet penetration of America's nuclear programs and accusations of employment of Soviet spies in a multitude of federal agencies, leading to the rise of McCarthyism; and the start of the Korean War, compounded by the need to deal with Commanding General Douglas MacArthur, whose disdain of Truman's leadership had gone public.

These were indeed interesting times. New power alignments were appearing out of the vacuum of the defeated World War II Axis powers and new military alliances were being developed. Executive decisions made then would affect events decades later. David McCullough presents a case for the view that this plain spoken guy from Missouri who never showed hesitation toward facing adversity directly and making tough decisions was exactly the person to lead America at this time.

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May 28, 2008

Shu Lindsey rated it

"I wonder how far Moses would have gone if he'd taken a poll in Egypt? ... What would Jesus Christ have preached if he'd taken a poll in Israel? ... It isn't polls or public opinion of the moment that counts. It's right and wrong."
--- Harry Truman

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Apr 30, 2010

Boomerang64 rated it

Shelves: presidents

I thought that David McCullough's John Adams biography would always be my favorite presidential biography, but then I read Truman. Wow. I just couldn't put it down. It's such a balanced portrait of the man that I went from liking him, to truly disliking him, back to liking him again, and along the way, I felt as though I really came to understand him. McCullough has such a gift for taking all his research and inserting it into the narrative so you feel as if you're right there. It doesn't f...more

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Mar 08, 2010

Cynthia rated it

Shelves: great-reads

This is a big book and took me over a month to read, but it was worth it. Before reading this book I didn't know much at all about Harry S. Truman. After reading this book you'll feel like there's not much you don't know about him. It is very thorough. Like any human being, Truman had his share of personal weaknesses, but I came away with a great feeling of respect for him and the office of President of The United States. This book covers everything from Truman's childhood in Missouri, to h...more

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Aug 20, 2011

Mdabear rated it

I have read most of David McCullough's books, and while the John Adams biography gets a lot of attention, thanks to the HBO series, I found the Harry Truma book the more enjoyable of the two. I knew little about Truman before opening this book, and after starting it, I was unable to put it down. The book is extremely detailed, and describes his upbringing to a "T." I was utterly fascinated to have learned of how much Harry Truman has done, and how little he seems to get credit. He ...more

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About David McCullough

David Gaub McCullough is an American historian and bestselling author. A two-time winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, he is widely referred to as a "master of the art of narrative history." Among his most well-known books are The Path Between the Seas, Truman, John Adams, and his most recent volume, 1776 (a New York Times and Amazon bestseller). He is part of a...more

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