Truman | 
| Author: David Mccullough
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  274 reviews
Sales Rank: 4052
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1120
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.5
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.5 x 2.4
ISBN: 0671456547
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.918092
EAN: 9780671456542
ASIN: 0671456547
Publication Date: June 15, 1992
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Amazon.com
This warm biography of Harry Truman is both an historical evaluation of his presidency and a paean to the man's rock-solid American values. Truman was a compromise candidate for vice president, almost an accidental president after Roosevelt's death 12 weeks into his fourth term. Truman's stunning come-from-behind victory in the 1948 election showed how his personal qualities of integrity and straightforwardness were appreciated by ordinary Americans, perhaps, as McCullough notes, because he was one himself. His presidency was dominated by enormously controversial issues: he dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, established anti-Communism as the bedrock of American foreign policy, and sent U.S. troops into the Korean War. In this winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize, McCullough argues that history has validated most of Truman's war-time and Cold War decisions.
Product Description
Hailed by critics as an American masterpiece, 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 deeply 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 in the powerful Pendergast machine and his rapid rise to prominence in the U.S. Senate, McCullough shows a man of uncommon vitality and strength of character. Here too is a telling account of Truman's momentous decision to use the atomic bomb and the weighty responsibilities that he was forced to confront on the dawning of a new age. Distinguished historian and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author David McCullough tells one of the greatest American stories in this stirring audio adaptation of Truman -- a compelling, classic portrait of a life that shaped history.
Download Description
The life of Harry S. Truman is one of the greatest of American stories, filled with vivid characters -- Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Wallace Truman, George Marshall, Joe McCarthy, and Dean Acheson -- and dramatic events. In this riveting biography, acclaimed historian David McCullough not only captures the man -- a more complex, informed, and determined man than ever before imagined -- but also the turbulent times in which he rose, boldly, to meet unprecedented challenges. The last president to serve as a living link between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, Truman's story spans the raw world of the Missouri frontier, World War I, the powerful Pendergast machine of Kansas City, the legendary Whistle-Stop Campaign of 1948, and the decisions to drop the atomic bomb, confront Stalin at Potsdam, send troops to Korea, and fire General MacArthur. Drawing on newly discovered archival material and extensive interviews with Truman's own family, friends, and Washington colleagues, McCullough tells the deeply moving story of the seemingly ordinary "man from Missouri" who was perhaps the most courageous president in our history.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 269 more reviews...
wonderful sense of American history July 4, 2008
I have read most of McCullough's books, and so I knew that after reading this I would understand Harry S. Truman more deeply than I ever had. What I didn't know what was that I would learn so much about 20th century American history. McCullough is a great story-teller. His use of historical details to recreate the man and the times is magnificent. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
The Real Harry S. Truman June 29, 2008
Author David McCullough gives us an in-depth look into the life of President Truman. He shows how he evolved from a simple farmer to become the President of the United States. McCullough pulls no punches in his biography, and yet, Mr. Truman comes through as a simple man who rose to the challenge of becoming a true statesman and world leader. A Very compelling read.
Amazing biography May 25, 2008
This is one of those rare biographies which pulls you in from the beginning and never lets go. It is an excellent look at one of the truly under-appreciated presidents. Truman was an amazing man and an incredible public servant. The sense of history that this biography brings makes it a must-read for anyone interested in American history and/or American politics.
An intriguing and virtuous man April 22, 2008
An absolutely fantastic biography. McCullough not only gives us an incredibly in-depth account of Truman's role in such momentous events as the decision to drop the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Potsdam Conference (Truman's only face-to-face meeting with Stalin or Uncle Joe as he called him), the Truman Doctrine, The Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, the firing of General MacArthur and so on, but he also succeeds wonderfully in injecting joviality into this rather thick tome through his unsurpassed ability to recount the human side of Truman, the quirkiness, the common trials and errors of a human being and the like.
I am not an American, but I always tell my friends that if I were Truman would be my favorite president. This book only serves to reinforce my view. Overall, one of the best biographies I've read. If I ever became famous one day, I'd really love someone of McCullough's caliber to write my biography. Highly recommended.
 Harry Truman April 19, 2008
Truman dropped two atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II. He did what he had to do and what had to be done to end the worst war in the history of the planet. He was essentially carrying out the policies of Roosevelt, who died in office. Truman passed the buck when he sent troops to Korea to contain Communism. He fired General Douglas MacArthur, who wanted to nuke the Chinese. Limited war as policy set a precedent for Vietnam. Korea is still a problem. Peaceful reunification is the only solution.
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