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American Gunfight
November 1, 1950 -- an unseasonably hot afternoon in sleepy Washington, D.C. At 2:00 P.M. at his temporary residence in Blair House, President Harry Truman takes a nap. At 2:20 P.M., two Puerto Rican natives approach from different directions. Oscar Collazo, a respected metal polisher and family man, and Griselio Torresola, an unemployed salesman, don't look dangerous, not...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
October 25th 2005
by Simon & Schuster
(first published 2005)
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In "American Gunfight," the authors' duty to assemble a historical record around a forgotten news event sometimes gets in the way of what is otherwise a gripping story.
This true tale of two committed Puerto Rican nationalists, who failed to assassinate then-President Harry Truman, renders the high hour of American imperialism. In its depiction of duty-bound, patriotic law enforcement officers, its revisits a type of American male mostly departed from the scene.
...more
This true tale of two committed Puerto Rican nationalists, who failed to assassinate then-President Harry Truman, renders the high hour of American imperialism. In its depiction of duty-bound, patriotic law enforcement officers, its revisits a type of American male mostly departed from the scene.
...more
How do you take a 30 some seconds shoot-out and make a 300 pg+ book. Two Puerto Rican Nationals attempt to take out Truman, and come close. This book is very heavy on details of the individuals at the shoot out, in a very Paul Harvey kinda way, but more like Paul Harvey with ADD. The actions that occured on this day helped shape the Secret Service into the more modern protection force we know today. Interesting to learn about the day to day activities of President Truman, he had a habit of walki...more
Well, thank God that's over. There are some books that are fun to read and others that I finish reading just because I started them. This book fell in the latter category. The subject seemed so promising. I kept waiting for the purpose of the book, the big surprise to arrive. It never did. The authors kept implying that there was big news on the horizon. But, really, the attempt on Truman was not just the action of a couple of loonies, but was part of the action of a larger movement? Thi...more
When I was a kid, my only claim to precociousness was of a historical variety. I knew obscure historical figures, and I enjoyed dressing up like them on Halloween. One of my heroes was White House Policeman Leslie Coffelt. On November 1, 1950, Coffelt was on duty when two Puerto Rican nationalists - Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola - attempted to assassinate President Harry S Truman. Coffelt was shot three times, yet as he died, he somehow stumbled from his guardhouse and fired one shot at T...more
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I'm surprised Sarah Vowell chose not to include this little known assassination attempt in her outstanding book Assassination Vacation. Interesting how close Truman came to dying when the Korean conflict was just starting. Also, interesting how unrefined Secret Service protection was in comparison to today.
I appreciated the minutiae of this book - I can't remember the last thing I read that was this thoroughly researched. The would-be assassins and Secret Service men alike were vividly drawn, and the background on everything from Puerto Rican Nationalism to the delicate inner workings of a semiautomatic pistol was bizarrely fascinating. What did NOT work was the inconsistent style. The tense shifted often, sometimes mid-sentence, as the author tried to figure out how best to capture the immediac...more
Halfway through the book I was prepared to say this was a total waste of time. Details are repeated and entire chapters are devoted to subjects that really have little to do with the theme of the book as a whole - the 1950 assassination attempt against President Harry Truman. In the end, I wouldn't say it's a "total waste of time." The story still could be told in a decent 40-page article in a history journal, but for someone interested in a bit of Puerto Rican history and in one of Am...more
Well written. Good information on the other thing that happened that day.
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Stephen Hunter is the author of fourteen novels, and a chief film critic at The Washington Post, where he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
More about Stephen Hunter...
Stephen Hunter is the author of fourteen novels, and a chief film critic at The Washington Post, where he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
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