Affection and Trust: The Personal Correspondence of Harry S. Truman & Dean Acheson 1953-71

by Dean Acheson, Harry Truman, David McCullough (Introduction)

In this riveting collection, published for the first time, we follow Harry S. Truman and Dean Acheson, two giants of the post–World War II period, as they move from an official relationship to one of candor, humor, and personal expression. Together they were primarily responsible for the Marshall Plan and NATO, among other world-shaping initiatives. And in these letters, spanning the years from when both were newly out of office until Acheson’s death at the age of seventy-eight, we find them sharing the often surprising and always illuminating opinions, ideas, and feelings that the strictures of their offices had previously kept them from revealing. Adapting easily to their private lives, they nonetheless felt a powerful need to keep in touch as they viewed with dismay what they considered to be the Eisenhower administration’s fumbling of foreign affairs, the impact of Joseph McCarthy, John Foster Dulles’s foreign policy, and the threat of massive nuclear retaliation. Adlai Stevenson’s poor campaign of 1956, Eisenhower’s second-term mishaps, family events, speaking engagements, and Truman’s difficulties writing his memoirs are all fodder for their conversations. In 1960 their skeptical stance toward John F. Kennedy (and his father's influence) turned them toward Lyndon Johnson. After Kennedy won they discussed Acheson’s reluctant involvement in the Cuban missile crisis, his missions to de Gaulle and Prime Minister Macmillan, and the Allied position in Berlin.Unbuttoned, careless of language, unburdened by political ambition or vanity, Truman and Acheson show their own characters and loyalty to each other on every page. Truman, a Missouri farmer with the unpolished but sharp intellect of the largely self-educated man, clearly understands that in Acheson he has a friend with a rare gift for providing unhesitant and truthful counsel. Acheson, well-educated, urbane, and well-off, understands which traits in Truman’s complex character to love and admire and when to admonish, instruct, and tease him. Both men share a deep and abiding patriotism, a quality that truly stands out in today’s world.A remarkable book that brings to light the very human side of two of the most important statesmen of the twentieth century.From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: History, Ebooks, Nonfiction, American History, Biography

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 2, 2010

About the author

American statesman Dean Gooderham Acheson promoted the plan of George Catlett Marshall and helped to establish north Atlantic treaty organization.

This lawyer as secretary of state of United States in the Administration of Harry S. Truman, president, from 1949 to 1953 played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War. Acheson helped to design the Marshall plan and played a central role in the development of the Truman doctrine and creation of the north Atlantic treaty organization.

In 1964, he received the presidential Medal of Freedom, a decoration that the United States awards to civilians for outstanding achievement in various fields of endeavor. In 1970, he won the Pulitzer Prize for history for Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department , his memoirs of his tenure. The modern library placed the book at number 47 on its top hundred nonfiction books of the 20th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Ac...

Reviews

[Micah Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read. As a self proclaimed Harry Truman nerd I loved getting such an intimate look at Dean and Harry's friendship, one that spanned more than three decades. Five stars.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't finish this. It is remarkable that two historical figures could maintain such a correspondence. The attacks on and criticisms of the administration following Truman (I.e. That of Eisenhower) may be real and valid but I suspect old HST was just angry because he did everything he could to convince Ike to declare as a Democrat, but Ike would have no part of it.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. Interesting criticisms of the Eisenhower administration, and Kennedy's, from Truman and Acheson as contemporary and very knowledgeable Democrats.

[Austin Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

98/100

5 stars - 90/100
4 stars - 80/100
3 stars - 70/100
2 stars - 60/100
1 star - 50/100