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Truman (Audio CD)
by David McCullough
| Category:
Biography, American history, American presidency |
| Market price: ¥ 358.00
MSL price:
¥ 348.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Hailed by critics as a true masterpiece, David McCullough's sweeping biography of Truman provides a deeply moving look at an extraordinary, singular American and has captured the heart of the nation. |
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AllReviews |
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Michael Herbert (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
It is easy to see why most reviewers would rate this book highly. McCullough is a master of the narrative, and does a beautiful job of presenting Harry Truman as the main character of a fascinating drama. His discriptions of the day-to-day life of Harry S Truman give a remarkable picture of the man, very personal, very earthy, very touching. I cried when Harry Truman died, like I seldom do when a fictional character dies. I can't remember being touched by a portrait in this way in a long time.
So why not 5 stars? In his effort to protray Truman an a person, McCullough creates on overpowering story line that tends to drown out the important historical background of Truman's presidency. In short, McCullough never stops for analysis. For example, with the famous come-from-behind victory in the election of 1948, McCullough talks briefly about the "soul seaching" the media went through when it discovered how wrong the polls were prior to the election. But Mc Cullough never asks why it happened. Why were so many polls so wrong? Was it just a fluke, or a systemic error in the polls? Considering how much modern politicians rely on polls, a sharp evaluation of the errors of the pundits was in order.
McCullough also glosses over key points in foreign policy history. He throws around terms like the Truman Doctrine, the George Kennan's Long Telegram, and NSC-68 without ever explaining what they were and how they refected US-Russian foreign policy. Amazingly, the GI bill was only mentioned in passing and the Marshall Plan was never clearly explained. The key to the Marshall Plan was the way it was applied to help Europe recover and not one sentence was dedicated to this important topic.
I can only guess McCullough felt coverage of these topics were done better elsewhere. Maybe so, but for completeness sake they should have been spelled out. I found myself running to the encyclopedia to fill in the details so I could understand the fullness of what was going on.
Still, a very, very enjoyable read. But if you want to read a truly superb biography, in my mind two books surpass this one: Huey Long by T. Harry Williams and Washington: The Indispensible Man by James Flexner. Both of these authors do what McCullough does not - they paint complete pictures of their subjects and present very throrough analyses of both the subject and the surrounding events.
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Adam Dukovich (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Harry Truman was never supposed to be President. He grew up in rural Missouri, the son of an unsuccessful businessman and farmer. He was backed by the powerful Pendergast machine for all of his state elections and was a consensus pick for Vice President in 1944, to an increasingly ailing FDR. When he assumed the office, he was unprepared and it showed. How he came to greatness all his own, as well as being generally considered among the best Presidents of all time despite leaving office with a disapproval rating of 66% (still the all-time record) is the subject of this extraordinary book. Truman was just a common man, some would say, but they'd be wrong. Our 33rd president was a man of great vigor and vitality, and most of all, courage. Despite being from the South he was the leading voice in the Democratic Party for legal equality for all Americans and an end to desegregation. The time had not yet come, but that didn't stop him from doing all he could to get the ball rolling, such as desegregating the Armed Forces in 1948, during a close election campaign in which the normally "Solid" South was being courted by recently deceased uber-racist Strom Thurmond on a Dixiecrat ticket. That campaign, against Thomas Dewey, was the biggest upset of the 20th century, and it just proved further never to count Harry out.
As would be expected for a book with a subject so complex and fascinating as Harry S. Truman, this is a mammoth tome. However, it rarely drags. His childhood and adolescence are preceded with a little family history, then followed by his service in World War I, his failed garment business, his time in office as a county administrator in Independence, then the U.S. Senate, where he rose to fame by being a fierce investigator of wartime appropriations. He was one of the most popular and visible Senators because of his service on the Truman Committee, and thus was drafted by party bosses around the country to replace the excessively liberal and unliked Henry Wallace on the Democratic Ticket in '44. Public opinion toward Truman after FDR died was quite hostile, but as with all the other challenges in his life, he rose to meet this one. The major events of his presidency are all here: Civil Rights, the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan (which marked an end to the same old song of American Isolationism for good), the Berlin Airlifts, The Bomb, re-election, and Korea and the showdown with General MacArthur. The campaign stuff is especially great - Dewey/Warren was a 13 point favorite over Truman/Barkley, with Thurmond trying to break off the Southern vote and Wallace trying to snatch the liberal vote. Losing two components of his core constituency, plus facing an attractive, moderate opposition ticket while extremely vulnerable himself, indicated certain doom. However, Truman, through sheer force of personality, refused to give up and never seemed to doubt winning as he zigzagged across the country, throwing partisan fire and convincing average Americans he was one of them and would keep the New Deal alive, as opposed to his to-the-manner-born opponent, who was long on rhetoric but short on ideas and issues. The result, of course, was Truman's re-election and the end of Dewey's political career. Truman won without softening his record - for example, he was the first candidate to stump in Harlem, as the book notes. It's a recurring theme: Truman took stances that didn't quite resonate with his base, i.e. desegregating the Armed Forces, drafting the Coal Miners into the Army, etc., but he did them anyway. Although he was willing to admit a mistake, he was never willing to back down on his principles, and history has judged him well for it. Truman is rightly considered one of the giants of American History, although it did take us all a little time to figure it out.
Ultimately, Harry Truman was no ordinary man. Following FDR, he was initially compared to the consensus pick for worst president, Andrew Johnson, who followed Lincoln and managed to bumble his way into politically-motivated impeachment. Now, he is mentioned in the same breath with his idol, Andrew Jackson. His nearly incredible reserve of energy and earnest desire to help all people make him a President for the ages.
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John Dorman (MSL quote) , USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
In many ways, the overused phrase "The Genuine Article" perfectly describes Harry Truman. It might as well have been coined for him. From his plain and unheralded upbringing to his even-keeled handling of the most powerful office in the land, Harry Truman was real. He was not a product of wealth or political nepotism, and he never forgot where he came from.
This apt phrase can also be applied to this Pulitzer Prize-winning treatment of Truman given by the masterful David McCullough. Always shying away from hyperbole and resisting hagiography, McCullough has crafted an account of the life of a man who was consistenly underrated and oft forgotten.
Truman was comfortable in the underdog position, and he gained much of his confidence from being judged as "too weak" throughout numerous endeavors in his life. He surrounded himself with people he trusted, and he never made a secret of those he did not trust. This type of openness is a rarity these days in politics, and is sorely missed. However, McCullough also makes it clear that the "cracker barrel plain" image of Truman was by no means conclusive. As with all great human beings, Truman had many sides, and few truly understood these different dimensions. It is truly fascinating to see a man who was consistent in his beliefs and actions both publicly and privately, and yet still maintained an ability to have so many differing thoughts and sides. His dedication to his lifelong partner and wife, Bess, is heartwarming and very rare in politics. She was considered his utmost advisor, in policy and privacy. He even resorted to publicly calling her "The Boss" in his famous train campaign (until she told him she would no longer be going by that name).
McCullough also sheds light upon the amazing friendship and partnership between Truman and Dean Acheson. More than an advisor, Acheson was truly a friend to Truman, and this relationship lasted long after they both left Washington. Particularly fascinating are the letters exchanged between the two men very late in their lives, discussing a wide variety of topics, including fatherhood, travel, and of course, politics. The relationship is also interesting because the two men could not have been more different, stylistically and temperamentally.
If Mornings on Horseback is not a definitive biography of Teddy Roosevelt's entire life or career, "Truman" is about as definitive and conclusive as could possibly be. Running around 1000 pages, this book is massive, but the story is so intriguing that the incredible length becomes an asset instead of a hindrance. You simply want the story to keep going, and much of this is due to the remarkable story itself, and much is due to the effective job done by McCullough. He brings each character alive, and reveals each situation and incident with adroit aplomb.
The amazing thing about Harry Truman is that he morphed from a reluctant Vice President into an even more reluctant President, and finally into an elected victor. His passion, integrity and ability are all given ample space in this book. His vigor and physical health are examined and shown to have been great attributes to Truman in his exhausting position. Of course, this biography doesn't shy away from the controversies surrounding the man either, mainly focusing on his everlasting ties to the Pendergast labor machine in Missouri. But, to his credit, and despite all the bad press Truman received for it, he never forgot a friend, including Pendergast. Whether this was loyalty or corruption is for the reader to decide.
There are far too many incidents and turning points to mention, and taken as a whole, this book is an amazing accomplishment that chronicles a life full of amazing accomplishments. This is well worth the invested time, and in style and detail still remains the standard by which all Presidential biographies should be judged. |
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A. Corwin (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Harry Truman, long considered an "accident of history" and one of most overlooked and forgotten Presidents of the 20th Century, is a man who was thrust into a position of prominence in a world of uncertainity and danger. This great man from Missouri helped pave the way for the modern world and 60 years after he ascended to the Presidency, his legacy is stronger than ever. For such a great President however, the historical treatment has been cruelly lax. David McCullough's biography of President Harry S Truman can truly be considered the definitive historical study of both the man and the President.
A book rich in detail, McCullough explains how Truman's character was forged on the farms of Missouri, on the battlefield of World War I, and in the haberdashery of the post war that preceded the Great Depression. Truman's upbringing as a man of honor, a man taught the value of hard work and the necessity to pay one's debts and fulfill one's obligations, sheds considerable light on his decisions and actions in the US Senate and in the office of President.
McCullough does not overlook or minimilize the flaws of Truman; his considerable temper, his links to Tom Pendergast's political machine, and his typical-of-the-time attitudes towards race are all examined. McCullough makes no excuses for Truman, which is rare in biographies. Instead McCullough shows how these aspects of his character molded him and shaped his future actions and how Truman came to value honor and decency and the virtue of doing the right thing, rather than the popular one.
Long in pages, and sometimes overwhelming in detail, McCullough gives Harry S. Truman the historical treatment that he so richly deserves. Excellent reading for any student of history or politics. Well worth the money and time.
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