Harry Truman

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truman biography
Old school history
The presidency that shaped the modern nation
This really is one fantastic read
Give 'em hell, Harry, was more than accurate.

Truman
David McCullough
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0671869205

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.

Book 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:

truman biography.......2007-06-14

I am reading this lengthy biography...well done!

Old school history.......2007-05-26

This was my first David McCullough book, and after reading it, I can safely say it will be my last. It's not that the book is bad - it's not, hence the three stars - but Mr. McCullough's style of history writing is just not my cup of tea, and anyone under forty will probably feel the same way. I can best describe McCullough's style as "old school," wherein dates, names, figures, and facts are more important that grand ideas, central themes, and cause-and-effect relationships. There is also a hero-worship component to the old-school historian style, in which every infinitesimal fact about Truman's life is more important to the writer (and thus, the reader) than the external events taking place in the outside world. I somewhat enjoyed this book, but it was incredibly tedious at times. It barely mentioned key historical events, like the Henry Wallace campaign, or Truman's primary loss in 1952. But I know more than I ever cared to know about Truman's mom, dad, father-in-law, mother-in-law, cousins, daughter, wife, brother (Vivian), etc., etc. All in all, the book was okay, but it is the type of history-telling that makes kids' eyes glaze over at nine in the morning, Monday through Friday in schools across America. Anyone who fell in love with history with a new-school teacher, be forewarned - this book is not for us.

The presidency that shaped the modern nation.......2007-05-08

David McCullough delivers another knockout in this biography of Harry S. Truman. It is truly a complete study that shows how the president evolved as a person and became one of the best presidents in our history. He is clearly one of the most overlooked and few people realized the trying times he endured. In the first year of his presidency he weathered more crises then Lincoln, FDR or JFK. He did it with no knowledge of the resources at his disposal and achieved success through straight talk and honest decisions. Truman's background as a farmer in Missouri had positioned him as the common man in the white house. From bankruptcy in the suit business to a farm that was on the decline Truman rose through adversity. He married his sweetheart and served as an officer in World War 1. These struggles would prepare him for a life in politics. One of the more interesting parts that I feel has been overlook in other reviews is the time with the political machines in Missouri. The political machine era which was its peak in the Gilded Age was still strong in the 1920's and Great depression. Truman navigated the machine to become a senator and work his way by being the dark horse vice presidential candidate.
When Truman became President upon the death of FDR, both the world and Truman were shocked and afraid for what might happen. He used the information at his hands and prepared for the Potsdam conference where he did as good a job if not better than FDR would have done. His decision to use the bomb is laid out in very clear detail in the book and despite the critics there were few if any people telling him not to use the bomb. The post war period is where Truman really shines and handles several domestic crises very well. The railway strike and coal minors strike threaten to cripple the country and Truman's use of political bluster is impressive. The recognition for the state of Israel also occurred under his tenure and was one of the most critical decisions a United States president would make. Although the republican congress that comes in causes problems it sets the stage for one of the most interesting reelection campaigns in history. Truman vs. Dewey was a reversal of almost any incumbent election. Truman was the one on the defensive and had to take his case to the people. He did an amazing whistle stop tour which visited towns across the country. He was forced to defend his civil rights record and the fair employment act and desegregation of the military. Although Dewey appeared the favorite Truman eeked a victory by wining several key states some by a margin of only 5000 votes. The famous newspaper is shown in the book and the results of polls and the press are described well.
Truman's second term in office started off smoothly and was characterized by the successful resolution of the Berlin Airlift and the establishment of NATO. The Korean War was the defining moment of the second administration. It was Truman's chance to stand up to the Soviet Union and show that he was not soft on Communism. The height of the red scare demanded tough tactics. The war is covered with the right amount of detail as is the struggles with General McArthur. The final part of his presidency is taken up with another series of strikes. Truman also did more to establish the office of the Presidency than any other president. He cultivated the symbols such as the limo, plane, yacht and railcar. He spent millions redoing the White House and making it a true symbol of power. These factors contribute to one of the most interesting times in American history. For those who want to learn more about what shaped the modern nation this is the place to start. The book flows very well and is through in the information provided.

This really is one fantastic read.......2007-04-11

Though certainly a commitment to read (over 900 pages), it moves along at a nice pace, while maintaining a flowing, educated language. While McCullough seems to be generally sympathetic to Truman, it does a reasonable job not covering up his warts. It really is too bad that the first years of the cold war are not studied more intensely, as so much happened that shaped later decades worldwide. While you may not agree with all of Truman's decisions, you certainly should admire his effort.
The definite biography on Truman for our time, on the merits of scholarship and readability.

Give 'em hell, Harry, was more than accurate........2007-04-03

David McCullough renders a fine portrait of Harry Truman. IMO this country has possibly had only two great Presidents--George Washington and Harry Truman.

I think Lincoln meant well, but it might have been better to let the Southern states go.

Theodore Roosevelt's contribution of National Parks is nice, of course.

FDR's New Deal had its merits, but Eleanor was likely the better humanitarian.

JFK did not last long enough to really make a difference, and RFK was killed before he had any chance to get in office.

So, I will hold my opinion that George Washington and Harry S. Truman were the two that made the mold...

Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman: Mission and Power in American Foreign Policy

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A must-read on 20th Century American Foreign Policy

Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman: Mission and Power in American Foreign Policy
Anne Pierce
Manufacturer: Transaction Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1412806631

Book Description

Recurring throughout our history are the ideas that repressive governments are doomed to failure; that liberty is a motivating force; that freedom comes with responsibilities and must be guided by principles; that the example of our democracy is a challenge to all forms of political repression and an inspiration to those desiring to be free. Wilson and Truman took these ideas as the starting point for their policy formulation and pronouncements. Truman both acknowledged his indebtedness to Wilson and learned from his mistakes. This study places the two presidents within the broader American tradition and explores the way they combined reverence for the past with innovative policies. Pierce provides a cohesive argument against those who simplify and categorize American ideals in order to demean them. Her findings show that the assumption that Wilson was an idealist while Truman was a realist distorts our understanding of these men and denies the seriousness of their positions. She reveals Truman's brilliance as a foreign policy strategist and his fervency as a spokesperson for American ideals. He was never willing to dispense with geopolitics for the sake of internationalism, nor with internationalism for the sake of geopolitics, but insisted that our mission and our power were combined threads in our work for freedom. Truman's wisely construed version of Wilsonianism, which itself was an interpretation of America's mission and power, holds great promise for the United States today.

Customer Reviews:

A must-read on 20th Century American Foreign Policy.......2003-06-25

This gets you thinking about the importance of the American foreign policy tradition in a way other books don't-provides a refreshing alternative to the cynical and negative view of American history. The focus on Wilson and Truman leads to a much broader discussion of American ideals and foreign policy. The writing is powerful and the research is persuasive.

A Widow, a Chihuahua, and Harry Truman: A Story of Love, Loss, and Love Again

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Caregiving and Grieving with Humor
A Wonderful Story of Healing
Says It All So Well!
A great story that has meaning
For Anyone Recovering From a Lost Love

A Widow, a Chihuahua, and Harry Truman: A Story of Love, Loss, and Love Again
Mary Beth Crain
Manufacturer: Harper San Francisco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Carry-Ons: Traveling Chihuahuas (Carry Ons)

ASIN: 0062516728
Release Date: 2000-05-30

Book Description

A Different Kind of Love Story

When Mary Beth Crain lost her husband of only three years to cancer, she though she would never again know the meaning of the word happiness. Inconsolable, she couldn't imagine anything with the power to draw her out of the seemingly bottomless pit of grief.

But there was a savior - or two - on the horizon, in the form of President Harry S. Truman, Mary Beth's idol, from whose practical wisdom she had always drawn strength, and his namesake, Truman, a three-pound Chihuahua. Drawing upon Harry Truman's wise words, and the small but powerful furry presence that brightened her world, Crain shares her experience of overcoming loss by finding inspiration and joy in both her dog and a former president who was the embodiment of common sense, integrity, and optimism.

Customer Reviews:

Caregiving and Grieving with Humor.......2007-05-15

I found myself laughing out loud on almost every page. Mary Beth Crain seems to embody the essence (and the quirks) of living through the process of being a caregiver,grieving her loss and moving across bereavement with her companion Truman. Her humor shines through, giving a light hearted overview of a serious subject. We need more books on Care Giving and the Bereavement Process that uplift our spirits and giving us a good "Belly Laugh" along the way. KUDOS !!For the Laughter!
Katherine Rosengren R.N. M.A.

A Wonderful Story of Healing.......2006-07-03

Aside from being more-than-a-little horrified that she went away for the weekend knowing her cat was ouside with its lower jaw ripped off....this was a wonderful book.

It's a lovely story of how animals help heal our hearts.

But, I still have trouble resolving the woman who wrote this book as the same woman who left her maimed cat alone for the weekend. Temporary insanity is the only explanation. She really should have left that part out.

Says It All So Well!.......2002-07-29

An entertaining narrative of Chihuahua personality and charateristics per se, as well as an astute insight into the complexities of emotions and perceptions while restructring life after the loss of a spouse. An excellent account of canine capers and especially personal renewal, spiced with humor and tears, says it all so well!

A great story that has meaning.......2001-06-17

I really related to this story as I too, lost my husband two years ago with cancer. Also my chihuahuas and cats and birds have been my salvation. I really understand where this lady is coming from. She did an excellant job of relating the real feelings one experiences with a death of a loved one. My hat is off to Mary Beth as a really great writer and may she find the happiness she deserves. I too, believe there is a connection with dog and God.Carole

For Anyone Recovering From a Lost Love.......2001-01-04

I found this book while searching for manuals on how to raise my new chihuahua "baby." He came into my life not because I had lost someone to cancer like the author, but as a last-chance effort to get over a broken heart. In the end the cause of the loss didn't matter; I could totally relate to the author, her grief and the healing power of 6 pounds of atomic puppy.

My thanks to the author for a book that was an integral part of my recovery and for validating all the feelings I thought were mine alone.

Book Description

Harry S. Truman sensed something profound and meaningful in the Jewish restoration to Palestine, something which transcended other considerations. As the president recorded in his Memoirs, the Palestine question was "a basic human problem." In the end, Truman was willing to go against the current of his most trusted foreign policy advisers, who were absolutely opposed to the establishment of a Jewish state in the Middle East. These advisers argued that however humanitarian a Jewish homeland might seem, such a proposition posed a real risk to American interests in the Near East and to United States national security in the late 1940s. Despite their continued opposition, Truman stood his ground and maintained that he would decide the entire issue based on what he thought was right. Of interest to historians, and students of Israel and of the U.S. presidency.

Customer Reviews:

Dirty Harry a man of deep moral conviction?.......2002-04-20

While the author heaps truckloads of eulogies about "honor, integrity and deep moral convictions" on a man whom Gen. Douglas MacArthur should have hanged as a traitor, the fact is, it was Truman's flagrant disregard for the U.S. Constitution that gave him the "fortitude" to support the invasion of a foreign nation. The 1st Amendment, as we all know, clearly states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." While everyone is at liberty to endorse and support whatever religious cause or organization they choose, our government is supposed to remain neutral on such matters. As was the case with Harry "atomic bomb" Truman, left wingers always refer to the first amendment when it serves their purpose to subvert our institutions but always flagrantly violate it when it is convenient for them to do so. To refer to Harry Truman, who was directly responsible for the systematic slaughter of American soldiers during the Korean War, the Massacre at Hiroshima, the betrayal of China to his Communist friends, the communising of Europe, as a man motivated by deep moral conviction, humanitarianism, etc, is enough to make anyone puke.

Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel.......2001-07-29

Everyone knows that Harry Truman provided help to the Zionists because he could count votes, and there were few Arab votes in 1948. That, anyway, is the thesis developed by John Snetsinger in 1974 and since repeated ad nauseum. Well, it turns out not to be true. In a masterful and exciting presentation, Benson proves that Trumanýs policies resulted not from nose-counting but from deeply-held beliefs. His pro-Israel outlook ýwas based primarily on humanitarian, moral, and sentimental grounds, many of which were an outgrowth of the presidentýs religious upbringing and his familiarity with the Bible.ý Extensive research into Trumanýs biography and earlier career shows his impressive consistency. Benson, of the University of Utah, establishes Truman as a studious child and deeply religious young man who, when he unexpectedly found himself in the Oval Office, lived faithfully by his precepts. In the case at hand, he expressed sympathy for Zionism as early as 1939 and reiterated his views many times subsequently. Trumanýs determination had great importance; of the many momentous issues in his presidency, he personally involved himself most directly with what he called the ýpuzzle of Palestine.ý In Bensonýs words, these personal interventions against the entirety of the American foreign policy establishment ýconstantly rescuedý the Jews from defeat. The author concludes that the standard account of Truman risking U.S. security interests for cheap political advantage is deeply unfair to this most moral and honorable of American presidents.

Middle East Quarterly, September 1998

An Intriguing Look at the Influence of Religion on Politics.......1998-07-20

Most of us in America presume that religious convictions are checked at the doors of our governmental offices. Benson's book articulates exactly how Truman's deep religious convictions guided--even determined--the U.S. policy toward Isral, leading to the official recognition of its independence. Without that recognition, the Nation of Israel might not have lasted a week--let alone 50 years.

This book is a slightly modified version of Benson's Oxford University Ph.D. dissertation. There he studied Modern Middle Eastern History.

As an academic work, the research is absolutely unmatched, with dozens of references and footnotes for each chapter. The author interviewed several prominent people who knew Truman and participated in the development of the policy toward Isreal.

More importantly, however, the book is accessible to any well-read student of American History. Anyone who is a fan of Truman will love the book; those not already enthusiastic supporters of the! late President, will likely become such after reading Benson's account.

In a country where well over 90% of the population awows a faith in God, it should be reassuring to know that a leader's faith influences his politics and policy-making.

Where the Buck Stops: The Personal and Private Writings of Harry S. Truman
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Great fun

Harry Gives 'em Hell Again

One great read!

Harry Truman Tells It Like It Is

First in His Class

Where the Buck Stops: The Personal and Private Writings of Harry S. Truman
Margaret Truman
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Wit & Wisdom of Harry S. Truman

The Autobiography of Harry S. Truman

Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman

Truman

When the Buck Stops With You: Harry S. Truman on Leadership

ASIN: 0446391751

Book Description

Shortly after he left office, President Harry S. Truman began to write down his typically blunt, honest commentaries about FDR and his other colleagues, the job of the presidency, the workings of the government and the Constitution -- and his picks for the nation's best and worst presidents. Since he minced no words, Truman asked that these writings -- sometimes funny, sometimes very serious, always to the point -- be released to the public only after he and Mrs. Truman were gone.

Now, this totally frank book by the thirty-third president, lovingly edited by his daughter, Margaret, has been published at last. In it, Truman speaks clearly in his own inimitable voice, and with the down-home, across-the-back-fence feeling of a born storyteller from Missouri, he tells you exactly what's on his mind about these and other subjects:

Customer Reviews:

Great fun.......2006-03-21

I feel lucky when I find a book I really enjoy and this one I really enjoyed. He called Daniel Webster a "gasbag". He said Teddy Roosevelt did a lot of talking but very little in the way of acting to solve problems. Truman loved Andrew Jackson and after reading his description of Jackson I also feel that he was one of the best presidents and one of the most interesting characters. This was a really enjoyable way of learning the history of this country and seeing these guys the way they really were and not the mythic characters I used to think from taking American History in high school. I think high school students should be made to read this book, so that American History would come to life for them. I never thought anything of James Polk before reading what Harry wrote about him. And Calvin Coolidge sleeping (I mean zzzzzzz) his way through the Presidency! I liked the way Harry didn't blame Hoover for the depression. Harry was the little kid describing the Emperor's new clothes!

Harry Gives 'em Hell Again.......2002-11-21

As a child and young adult, I was taught to have great respect for Mr. Truman. Among the things he was praised for was his plain-speaking manner and the fact that he told it as it was, with no sugar coating. I never really understood what that meant until I read this book. The Harry Truman that comes across here is a person you could easily image as your next-door neighbor. He always gives it to you in a no-nonsense, down-to-earth way that anybody can understand the first time.

That having been said I just want to voice two criticisms. First, I think Mr. Truman's understanding of history might be a little too "black and white". For example, he states that after WWI, the allied powers didn't really go to hard on Germany in terms of making the Germans pay reparations. I think just the opposite is true. The allied powers at Versailles imposed very hard terms on the Germans. Mr. Truman was correct in stating that the allies never entered German soil, however, the severity of the peace terms combined with the fact that the Germans never saw an enemy soldier sowed the seeds for Hitler's preaching that the Germans were stabbed in the back. I'm just saying that perhaps Mr. Truman's historical understanding was not as sophisticated as me might think.

Second, it seems that Mr. Truman's dislike of Mr. Eisenhower finds it's way onto virtually every page of the book. No matter who or what he's talking about, he seems to find a way to turn the subject into a criticism of Ike. I guess he really didn't like him too much.

All that having been said, I think this is great book.

One great read!.......2002-10-30

This book does something very rare--it actually reveals the plain-spoken nature of Harry S. Truman while still demonstrating the depth and breadth of Truman's knowledge of history, politics, economics, and foreign affairs. It was really amazing to me that an essentially "self-taught" man was so brilliant with such a deep understanding of a vast array of issues. Unlike our current president, Harry S. Truman understood the complexities of international relations and implications of taking unilateral approaches in our foreign policy.

Truman also recognized that military action was something to be used as a LAST resort, especially when the rest of the world is against such an action. Although Truman had an appreciation for some military experience in public servants, he also recognized the danger of career military men in those positions. Unlike politicians of today, Truman was bold enough to make the unpopular decision to fire General McArthur because our foreign policy should not be predicated on our ability to anhilate every other country on the face of the earth.

Harry Truman Tells It Like It Is.......2000-07-20

This book is absolutely essential for the student of Harry S. Truman in particular, as well as for the student of History in general. Truman goes through all the important historical phases of our country and makes the information really breathe. In this age of political sophistry, it's very refreshing to hear a politician just being himself. It's interesting that Truman was vilified in his day. Perhaps he told it too much like it was for ears of that time. Nonetheless, this is a book that can be read again and again. This and Merle Miller's wonderful book, Plain Speaking -- An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman, should be in every Truman admirer's library.

First in His Class.......2000-03-18

I recommend three books for those who want to read about Truman: "Plain Speaking" by Merle Miller, "Truman" by David McCullough, and this book by Harry S Truman himself. This book should be read as often as the Bible and Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations." It's a political book (an apology) as well as a memoirs intended to offer advice to present and future politicians. "What It Takes to Be a Good President: 1) Making Up Your Mind, 2) Sticking To It, 3) Listening and Persuading, and 4) Accepting the Past and Having Enough Time." This method could also be very useful in trying to accomplish anything in life.

The First Cold Warrior: Harry Truman, Containment, And the Remaking of Liberal Internationalism

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Good book on a bad president
Excellent book on Truman

The First Cold Warrior: Harry Truman, Containment, And the Remaking of Liberal Internationalism
Elizabeth Edwards Spalding
Manufacturer: University Press of Kentucky
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Dangerous Nation

ASIN: 0813123925

Book Description

From the moment he took the oath of office in April 1945, Harry Truman was required to make difficult decisions in an increasingly dangerous world. The results--notably the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization--were the building blocks of containment, a strategic approach usually associated with George F. Kennan.

In this fresh account, based on primary sources, Elizabeth Edwards Spalding argues that it was Truman himself, shaped by history, experience, and religious faith, who outlined and directed America's practice of containment. In so doing, he established a new liberal internationalism that became the dominant bipartisan consensus on U.S. foreign policy in the post-World War II era.

Customer Reviews:

Good book on a bad president.......2006-08-20

This book is a re-working of the author's doctoral dissertation, and it is well-worth the reading. The thesis that Clark Clifford is in the main responsible for Truman's stance, rather than George Kennan, makes a lot of sense when you consider how policy making is done in Washington, rather than how most IR experts think it is done. Ms. Spalding, who i smuch more than your average IR expert, knows this world, and knows how decisions get made. I very much doubt that Truman ever hoisted a glass of bourbon with Kennan; but we know very well that he did so with Clark Clifford.
Clifford's role in the councils of Democratic presidencies, incidentally (my god, I am writing like Richard Nixon spoke!) is highlighted (via a great performance by Donald Sutherland) in perhaps the best movie ever done about how a nation blunders into a war, John Frankenheimer's PATH TO WAR, about Lyndon Johnson's tragic decision to involve this nation deeper in Vietnam.
Vietnam, or more pointedly the author's failure to even mention this disaster, is the chief failing of the book. For it was Truman's decision, in the light of his cold-war blinded ideology that saw communism behind every rock, that led him to change the wise and far-reaching anti-colonial policy of Franklin Roosevelt to one of supporting the French position in Indochina. In this decision, which saw Ho Chi Minh (falsely) as a puppet of Stalin rather than as a nationalistic leader who saw Communism as the most useful ideology for driving the French out of his country, lay all the worst features of a foreign policy based on liberal internationalism.
Arthur Vandenberg advised Truman to "scare hell out of them" [meaning, us] to justify the Cold War expenditures that Truman requested. Vandenberg, a student and devout admirer of Alexander Hamilton, thus participated in advising Truman in how to move the country ever further from Jeffersonian republicanism into the imperial nation we so proudly hail today.
American misadventures ever since have been plagued by the super-imposition of our insistence on looking at the world as a sort of cosmic romper room wherein the forces of evil are ever arrayed against us, a bipolar combat between the forces of freedom, as the current occupant of the White House likes to say, and the powers of darkness. Little nuance is given the rather obvious fact that in dispelling one kind of darkness, one can end up in a far darker tunnel.
Truman, more than most presidents, at least up to Bush-redux, is the epitomy of this kind of blundering, and understanding his appeal to neo-conservatives is essential for comprehending the arrogance that walks those lengthy corridors of power today. He dropped the atomic bomb (an action that would and should have have landed him in front of a war crimes tribunal had we lost WWII) and ushered in a world of nuclear terror. He saw the world through the prism of Communism vs. Democracy, and thereby ensured that anyone not "with us" would most assuredly be against us, a strategic blunder that landed us into trouble from Cuba to Vietnam. Against the advice of his Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, he rushed to recognized Israel, and laid the foundation for the lasting enmity of disenfranchised Palestinians, for whom he made no provision. Does anyone really need to ask what the consequences of that bit of domestic political pandering have been? Ponder that while you wait in the airport security line.
Given Truman's assumption that the world was as simple as his inflexible mind conceived it to be, it comes as no surprise that, along with Ronald Reagan, he is with the most appositely nicknamed Dick Cheney, the neo-conservative chicken-hawk's favorite president, at least when it comes to foreign policy. But unlike most of our current cheerleaders for misadventure, Truman actually knew and experienced the cost of war, which is so much more than can be said for Bush, Cheney, the ever-so-refined and prissy George Will and the dim-bulb who passes for the junior senator from Virginia, George Felix Allen. To that extent, Truman needs to be reckoned with (and, for firing the conservative blow-hard and insubordinant Douglas MacArthur, praised); and though I may disagree with the author's ultimate conclusions as to the wisdom of his policies, and find fault with her failure to see where they led, this is a good book to move the discussion along. It's about time someone published it.

Excellent book on Truman.......2006-05-17

Democrats struggling to develop a foreign policy vision in the post-9/11 world would do well to study Harry Truman's tough response to Soviet aggression following the Second World War. This book, based on years of primary research, is an excellent introduction to the subject.

Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan

Average customer rating:

Great History Book
Was it such a hard decision?
very good overview
Probably the final say on the subject
The Myth of Decision

Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan
J. Samuel Walker
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Specter of Communism: The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1953 (A Critical Issue)

ASIN: 080785607X
Release Date: 2004-12-22

Book Description

In this concise account of why America used atomic bombs against Japan in 1945, J. Samuel Walker analyzes the reasons behind President Truman's most controversial decision. He delineates what was known and not known by American leaders at the time and evaluates the role of U.S.-Soviet relations and American domestic politics. In this new edition, Walker takes into account recent scholarship on the topic, including new information on the Japanese decision to surrender. He has revised the book to place more emphasis on the effect of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in convincing the emperor and his advisers to quit the war. Rising above an often polemical debate, Walker presents an accessible synthesis of previous work and an important, original contribution to our understanding of the events that ushered in the atomic age.

Customer Reviews:

Great History Book.......2005-10-01

I bought this book for school.. I have not read it yet but it arrived in perfect condition.. Very fast shipping.

Was it such a hard decision?.......2004-12-28

They were suddenly heroes to a grateful nation. Scientists, normally accustomed to a life of quiet research, were suddenly, by virtue of their invention of the atom bomb, the saviors of their country. Likewise, the crew of the Enola Gay, surely one of the best-known airplane names in history, became military larger-than-life figures of honor and fame. It was nearly universally accepted that the atom bomb had saved America from a long, bloody, and otherwise pointless invasion of the Japanese mainland. Truman, the man who gave the go-ahead, was mostly relieved that the war was finally over, and no further American lives need be lost. To morally praise him for his decision to drop the device would have been superfluous, like congratulating someone for deciding to save a drowning child. What other decision could there have been? And yet, there were other options for him. Realistic options? Perhaps, in light of sixty more years of history. Or perhaps not, hindsight notwithstanding. The questioning of his motives began in the sixties, and by the time of the fiftieth anniversary of the twin bombings came about there was a loud chorus of voices condemning Truman's decision. Wouldn't a demonstration on a desert island have been better? Why kill so many innocents? Surely it was just racism, wasn't it? Oh, he was trying to scare the Russians, that's it. No president could possibly have wanted to save the lives of the soldiers entrusted to his care. Unlike some controversies, I've never found this one compelling. The case in Truman's favor seems obvious, with only very minor questions to detract from the main problem Truman faced: how to end the war quickly. I tend to think this is also the same conclusion J. Samuel Walker reached before publishing Prompt & Utter Destruction, a short and compelling overview of the decisions Truman faced and how he resolved them.

The thesis is simple. A knowingly unprepared Truman became President in the waning days of the war and had to make momentous decisions. Knowing his own limitations, he kept on hand most of Roosevelt's advisors and maintained Roosevelt's policies. This included, foremost, a desire to minimize American casualties. This is given right from the start, and remains the deciding factor in the end. Most of the book shows the situation Truman faced, including an analysis of what he knew and when. How many casualties would the U.S. face in an invasion? When would the Soviets join? How long would Japan hold out? How would the nation's economy hold up in a protracted war? At hand were figures showing the casualty rates at the time. The battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa had been horrific, and they were just smallish islands. Even in the absence of major battles, a few thousand a month were dying in skirmishes at sea, including the ill-fated crew of the cruiser USS Indianapolis. Some old myths Walker dispenses with. The oft cited figure of one million casualties in an invasion is probably not one Truman ever saw, and does not square well with other significant, but much lower numbers. In fact, Walker points out that estimates at the time, including the Soviet entry, show that Japan would have capitulated within months of an invasion, if indeed one were ever needed. Whether this is true or not is left to the imagination, as history shows there was no invasion and the war ended when it did. But Truman did not face enormous crippling casualty rates of the sort that plagued the other major countries in the war.

There are factors that have helped advance the claim that Truman had ulterior motives. The day after the successful Trinity test, he did indeed dominate the Potsdam conference where he was meeting with Churchill and Stalin. And Truman's disdain for communists was well known. The thing is, Truman was no idiot. Of course he knew the nuclear weapons gave him a bargaining chip. This can hardly be disputed, as is also true of many other accusations that are at least partially true but not so relevant. The Manhattan project was not, however, started up just to give the president a way to bully Russians. The bombs were earmarked for Germany the whole time, and would have ended up exploding over Berlin or some other city had not Germany cheated and lost the war first. This fact should clear up the question of racist motives. Undoubtedly Truman didn't like the Japanese. This is what happens in a war. Certainly there was racist feeling towards them in the country. But a military decision does not become invalid because its maker really, really dislikes the enemy.

The final answer is that Truman did know of other options, but they weren't important. He did worry a bit about the long-term implications, but there were immediate problems to deal with. In keeping with a policy he held even before learning of the atom bomb, Truman wanted to minimize casualties and end the war sooner rather than later. As commander-in-chief, not to mention as a combat veteran, he was obligated to take this stand. The number of casualties avoided is almost certainly not close to a million, but it could easily have been in the tens of thousands. There are enough conflicting accounts from that era to make at least plausible the case that there were other major factors, but they don't stand up. In fact, Truman's decision was straightforward. Walker does good by clearing up some of the persistent myths, on both sides of the question. But, and not to take away from Walker's effort, this isn't that hard a question (perhaps this is why the book is so short). To see the situation mapped out for history, here is the source to read.

very good overview.......2001-12-10

This book gives a good overview but just that - an overview. The events and circumstances surrounding the use of the A-bomb simply must be addressed in greater depth for one who wishes to become truly knowledgable on the subject. However, its brevity is also a strength in that for one just getting into the subject it serves as a fabulous introduction and for those already familiar with the subject, it sums things up into a nice recap. Contrary to some reviews of the book, the author does NOT ever say or even imply that the bomb should not have been dropped. Quite the opposite, he provides compelling reasons why the decision to use the bomb was sound and wise militarily, politically, diplomatically, and morally. Nor is this book any where near a "one-stop-shop" on the subject. So while not the final say, this book would be a good addition to a collection for the reasons mentioned above. The research is credible and the arguments are as a whole very sound. Highly recommended.

Probably the final say on the subject.......2000-05-03

This book is an important contribution to the ongoing (and seemingly never-ending) debate on the reasons why the U.S. chose to drop two atomic bombs on Japan. The author took it upon himself to clearly determine whether the bomb was militarily necessary - as has been suggested by many U.S. historians writing before J. Samuel Walker - or whether it might have been used for purely political reasons such as intimidating the Soviet Union.

The results he comes up with are in many ways quite remarkable. For instance it becomes evident that then president Harry S. Truman was never confronted with the categorical choice between using the bomb and invading the Japanese main islands (which might have involved heavy U.S. losses). Indeed, by the beginning of summer 1945 Japan was believed to be so weak that the war was expected to come to an end before an invasion began, and even if it had been necessary to proceed with an invasion, the resulting casualties were supposed to be much fewer than Truman and his top-level advisers claimed after the war. However, Walker demonstrates rather convincingly that whichever alternatives might have existed, the bomb nevertheless proved to be the best means to win a decisive victory at the lowest cost in American casualties. Taking into account the element of time, one begins to understand how great the temptation must have been for Truman and his cabinet to drop the bombs and thereby finish the war with a clean stroke. Although other reasons, too, played an important part in the ultimate decision, the finding that using the bomb simply provided the president and his advisers with the most convenient measure to end the war is a compelling one and without doubt the book's most valuable message.

J. Samuel Walker has to be applauded for presenting the reader with this highly readable account of the line of reasoning behind the U.S. decision to use atomic bombs against Japan. The book is both concise and completely free of any emotion otherwise detrimental to a scholarly approach to this debate: a truly outstanding work - and probably the final say on the subject!

The Myth of Decision.......2000-01-03

This is a jewel of a book on the end of World War II. There have been many myths about Truman's decision to drop the bomb-he even made a brief film explaining how he made the decision, but this clears the air. Truman never actually decided. Everyone involved simply assumed, and correctly so, that once it was completed, it would be used. The author points to many reasons why the atomic bomb should not have been dropped on Japan, most of them valid and discussed previously in historical circles. However, there is a very interesting tidbit about Stalin and some other surprises. It is well worth reading.

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The Book Starts Here...

Harry S. Truman: His Life and Times
Brian Burnes
Manufacturer: Kansas City Star Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0974000930

Book Description

Here we see Truman in his most public roles; as "senator from Pendergast," successor to FDR, maker of such controversial decisions as the dropping of the atomic bomb and the firing of General Douglas MacArthur. But throughout these events Harry Truman revealed his innermost thoughts to his family in thousands of hand-written memoirs. The ways he approached the decisions he made were widely attributed by Truman and those who knew him to lessons learned in the earlier, less public part of his life.

This is the story of a common man from Missouri with uncommon, indeed unprecedented challenges thrust upon him, and how he met them.

Customer Reviews:

The Book Starts Here..........2004-03-23

Brian Burnes new book on Harry Truman is a pleasure, impeccably researched and extremely well written. Rather than piling detail upon detail, Burnes opts for well-chosen anecdotes that add up to Truman's full story: his Kansas City boyhood, World War I service, political rise, presidency , and later years back in Kansas City. Truman is remembered for his momentous decision to drop the atomic bomb, but this book also delves into less-known aspects of his presidency. For example, Burnes recounts a wonderful episode involving an old poker buddy named Eddie Jacobson who, in 1948, helped convice Truman that the U.S. should recognize the brand new state of Israel.

Throughout, Burnes does a masterful job of interweaving the story of Truman, the politician, with humanizing details about Truman, the man. While attending the Potsdam conference in 1945, for example, Truman purchased a luncheon set of Belgian lace for Bess. The first lady, in turn, thought the gift a bit extravagant. This book also has wonderful photographs and illustrations, including a Thomas Hart Benton portrait of Truman so closely observed and revelatory that it's worth a thousand words, easily.

American Gunfight: The Plot to Kill Harry Truman--and the Shoot-out that Stopped It

Average customer rating:

This is a winner!
The Attempt on President Truman's Life
great...love it
Fascinating Story, Could Have Been Told Better
Could have been a great magazine article ...

American Gunfight: The Plot to Kill Harry Truman--and the Shoot-out that Stopped It
Stephen Hunter , and John Jr. Bainbridge
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743260686

Amazon.com

On November 1, 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists, Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola, nearly assassinated President Harry Truman. If this historical fact surprises you, you're not alone. American Gunfight, a new account by suspense novelist and Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Stephen Hunter and journalist John Bainbridge Jr., examines this largely forgotten episode in meticulous detail, including the conspiracy surrounding it and the misconceptions associated with the would-be assassins. As the book makes clear, it's remarkable that these two men even came close to succeeding, given the disorganized nature of the plot. Intending to attack the president at the White House, they only learned in passing from a cab driver that it was being renovated and that Truman was in fact living at the nearby Blair House. When they made their assault on Blair House, they quickly lost their element of surprise when Collazo's gun misfired, leading to a 38-second shootout in front of the residence that left Torresola and one policeman dead. Meanwhile, Truman witnessed the action from an upstairs window.

At his ensuing trial, Collazo was depicted as a crazed fanatic, but the authors argue that this simplified assessment unnecessarily dismisses a potential political conspiracy involving Puerto Rican nationalist leader Pedro Albizu Campos, who was believed by some to have masterminded the plot in an effort to bring attention to his cause. Hunter and Bainbridge provide in-depth portraits of Collazo and Torresola, as well as the Secret Service agent and three White House policemen who saved Truman's life. The descriptions of the remarkably light presidential security of the era reveal much about 1950s Washington, D.C., a time in which the president would take a daily walk around the neighborhood with just a bodyguard or two in tow. As a result of the attack, the Secret Service would forever change the way it guarded the president. This fast-paced book reads like a detective thriller, shifting quickly between various story lines and characters, including a second-by-second breakdown of the gunfight itself. The potboiler narrative may seem over the top at times, with its conjecture and imagined internal dialogue, but this comprehensive account succeeds in bringing this unlikely plot vividly to life. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

American Gunfight is the fast-paced, definitive, and breathtakingly suspenseful account of an extraordinary historical event -- the attempted assassination of President Harry Truman in 1950 by two Puerto Rican Nationalists and the bloody shoot-out in the streets of Washington, D.C., that saved the president's life.

Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Stephen Hunter, the widely admired and bestselling novelist and author of such books as Havana, Hot Springs, and Dirty White Boys, and John Bainbridge, Jr., an experienced journalist and lawyer, American Gunfight is at once a groundbreaking work of meticulous historical research and the vivid and dramatically told story of an act of terrorism that almost succeeded. They have pieced together, at last, the story of the conspiracy that nearly doomed the president and how a few good men -- ordinary guys who were willing to risk their lives in the line of duty -- stopped it.

It is a book about courage -- on both sides -- and about what politics and devotion to a cause can lead men to do, and about what actually happens, second by second, when a gunfight explodes.

It begins on November 1, 1950, an unseasonably hot afternoon in the sleepy capital. At 2:00 P.M. in his temporary residence at Blair House, the president of the United States takes a nap. At 2:20 P.M., two men approach Blair House from different directions. Oscar Collazo, a respected metal polisher and family man, and Griselio Torresola, an unemployed salesman, don't look dangerous, not in their new suits and hats, not in their calm, purposeful demeanor, not in their slow, unexcited approach. What the three White House policemen and one Secret Service agent cannot guess is that under each man's coat is a 9mm German automatic pistol and in each head, a dream of assassin's glory.

At point-blank range, Collazo and then Torresola draw and fire and move toward the president of the United States.

Hunter and Bainbridge tell the story of that November day with narrative power and careful attention to detail. They are the first to report on the inner workings of this conspiracy; they examine the forces that led the perpetrators to conceive the plot. The authors also tell the story of the men themselves, from their youth and the worlds in which they grew up to the women they loved and who loved them to the moment the gunfire erupted. Their telling commemorates heroism -- the quiet commitment to duty that in some moments of crisis sees some people through an ordeal, even at the expense of their lives.

Download Description

"American Gunfight is the fast-paced, definitive, and breathtakingly suspenseful account of an extraordinary historical event -- the attempted assassination of President Harry Truman in 1950 by two Puerto Rican Nationalists and the bloody shoot-out in the streets of Washington, D.C., that saved the president's life. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Stephen Hunter, the widely admired and bestselling novelist and author of such books as Havana, Hot Springs, and Dirty White Boys, and John Bainbridge, Jr., an experienced journalist and lawyer, American Gunfight is at once a groundbreaking work of meticulous historical research and the vivid and dramatically told story of an act of terrorism that almost succeeded. They have pieced together, at last, the story of the conspiracy that nearly doomed the president and how a few good men -- ordinary guys who were willing to risk their lives in the line of duty -- stopped it. It is a book about courage -- on both sides -- and about what politics and devotion to a cause can lead men to do, and about what actually happens, second by second, when a gunfight explodes. It begins on November 1, 1950, an unseasonably hot afternoon in the sleepy capital. At 2:00 P.M. in his temporary residence at Blair House, the president of the United States takes a nap. At 2:20 P.M., two men approach Blair House from different directions. Oscar Collazo, a respected metal polisher and family man, and Griselio Torresola, an unemployed salesman, don't look dangerous, not in their new suits and hats, not in their calm, purposeful demeanor, not in their slow, unexcited approach. What the three White House policemen and one Secret Service agent cannot guess is that under each man's coat is a 9mm German automatic pistol and in each head, a dream of assassin's glory. At point-blank range, Collazo and then Torresola draw and fire and move toward the president of the United States. Hunter and Bainbridge tell the story of that November day with narrative power and careful attention to detail. They are the first to report on the inner workings of this conspiracy; they examine the forces that led the perpetrators to conceive the plot. The authors also tell the story of the men themselves, from their youth and the worlds in which they grew up to the women they loved and who loved them to the moment the gunfire erupted. Their telling commemorates heroism -- the quiet commitment to duty that in some moments of crisis sees some people through an ordeal, even at the expense of their lives. "

Customer Reviews:

This is a winner!.......2006-11-22

This has everything you want in a good book. A great story, history, drama, and pathos. I am a history teacher and was impressed by both the depth of research and the quality of the writing.
This is about 2 Puerto Rican Nationalists who, compelled by their fervent beliefs, tried to assassinate President Harry Truman in 1950. Most people do not realize how close they came to succeeding.
The story alternates between historical background and a moment to moment account of the gun fight that occurred on that day.
This book kept me enthralled the entire time I was reading it. I can't think of anyone who would not thoroughly enjoy this book.

The Attempt on President Truman's Life.......2006-10-21

Authors Stephen Hunter and John Bainbridge provide the reader with minute details on the assassination attempt by Puerto Rican Nationalists on President Harry Truman outside Blair House on November 1, 1950. Many of the details provided are those they perceive to be in the mind of each of the assassins and those they are attacking during the gunfight. These details are interesting and perhaps correct. I feel it makes for a more interesting book. To me, the main drawback of the book is its disjointedness. Whenever a character is introduced into the story we are provided with a chapter delving into their background from years before. Due to this method of writing the book loses its continuity. The authors make a convincing case that the attempt may have been a part of a wider conspiracy. Security for presidents tightened significantly following the attempt on Truman's life. Truman did not run for reelection in 1952, and the attempt on his life may very well have been a factor in his decision. I have to admit to being one of those the authors refer to as those who weren't aware of this attempt on the life of President Truman, but confuse it with an incident in 1954 when four Puerto Rican Nationalists had a shootout in Congress. The book educated me, but I did not like getting sidetracked with chapters introducing the characters when they entered the story.

great...love it.......2006-07-07

This book is awesome. First book I read about the subject. You will find yourself reading a chapter and saying what the hell...and then he draws it all together. It is written very well.

Fascinating Story, Could Have Been Told Better.......2006-05-01

One of the thinks I particularly enjoy about history is its depth. While most people have at least a general familiarity with history, even students of history can always be surprised by in-depth looks at various periods of history. American Gunfight is a great example of this; while I was aware that two Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to assassinate President Truman in 1950, the details of the incident and the context surrounding it were not covered in any of the other histories of Truman I've read. While that was a logical decision on the part of the authors, as aside from this incident, Puerto Rico was a very small part of Truman's presidency, it left out a fascinating story that illustrates a slice of American history that is often forgotten.

American Gunfight provides a detailed look at the gunfight outside Blair House that left two men dead and three wounded, reviving the memory of American hero Les Coffelt, who almost certainly saved the President's life by killing one of the assassins even as he was bleeding out from three gunshot wounds. But the book goes well beyond the gunfight, branching out to explore the history of the men involved in the battle and the history of Puerto Rican nationalism. The book also takes on some of the common myths regarding the gunfight, in particular the theory that President Truman's life was never in danger.

The book's layout is somewhat distracting. The book jumps from the gunfight to background with each chapter, so the gunfight develops over the course of the entire work rather than being described as a discrete event. While it does serve as a useful means of introducing the characters and events surrounding the gunfight, I found it somewhat annoying. I also disliked the writers' tendency to mix tenses; in the middle of one paragraph they mix past and present with abandon.

Nonetheless, the book is well-researched and easy to read despite the issues I had with it, and I recommend it to anyone interested in President Truman, American history, or history in general.

Could have been a great magazine article ..........2006-04-29

In a nutshell, this is a compelling story that's essentially ruined by horrible prose. The authors have adopted an almost "Memento"-esque flashback method of telling the backstories of all the personalities featured--no matter how mundane or irrelevant the detail. There's a great deal of repetition of key events and plot points as a result. I could live with this, but what absolutely ruined the book for me was the constant use of past and present tenses interchangeably--often within the same sentence! Additionally, the prose slips from formal to conversational too easily to suit me, though this is far less annoying than the incessant changing of tenses. It made me feel as if I was reading a book that had been hastily cobbled together over a weekend.

The authors introduce one of their interminable flashbacks at one point by saying "this book is about 38.5 seconds of gunfight, however ..." and therein lies the problem. This is undoubtedly a fascinating story, one with which most Americans are probably unfamiliar, and one that definitely deserves to be told. However, it would have read much easier as a 10- or 12-page magazine article; stretching it out into 325 pages really seems unnecessary.

The Last Campaign: How Harry Truman Won the 1948 Election

Average customer rating:

I love this stuff.
A great book about a great campaign.
provocative and fun
1948: An electoral mystery
A Very Good, but still flawed campaign history...

The Last Campaign: How Harry Truman Won the 1948 Election
Zachary Karabell
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Elections | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0375700773
Release Date: 2001-04-10

Book Description

In The Last Campaign, Zachary Karabell rescues the 1948 presidential campaign from the annals of political folklore ("Dewey Defeats Truman," the Chicago Tribune memorably and erroneously heralded), to give us a fresh look at perhaps the last time the American people could truly distinguish what the candidates stood for.

In 1948, Harry Truman, the feisty working-class Democratic incumbent was one of the most unpopular presidents the country had ever known. His Republican rival, the aloof Thomas Dewey, was widely thought to be a shoe-in. These two major party candidates were flanked on the far left by the Progressive Henry Wallace, and on the far right by white supremacist Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond. The Last Campaign exposes the fascinating story behind Truman’s legendary victory and turns a probing eye toward a by-gone era of political earnestness, when, for “the last time in this century, an entire spectrum of ideologies was represented,” a time before television fundamentally altered the political landscape.

Customer Reviews:

I love this stuff........2003-01-16

But I'm a historical, political junkie. As it happens this book is very relevant today. Senator Trent Lott has been having problems with his segregationist toasts at Senator Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party & there hasn't been so much interest in the 1948 election since.... 1948.
1948 was a watershed election on several levels. It was the last elections of an old era of politics & at the same time, the first of a new. There were four major canidates. President Truman got down & dirty. His vitriolic, uncompromising partisanship would be unacceptable today. At the other end of the spectrum, milk-sop Governor Dewey, the big favorite, was too cool, emotionless & refused to fight. That stand pat attitude wouldn't fly today. Then Governor Thurmond was a southern Democrat, at best a segregationist & proud of it. He ran a credible campaign in the south & captured the electoral college in three states. Henry Wallace did not get any electoral votes. He was a former vice president & could have caused a constitutional crisis in several states where he was popular. Seen as the peace at any price canidate he was controlled by the communist & considered by some as Stalin's stooge. He forced president Truman to campaign a little further to the left than he wanted. That's four different major canidates. It will not happen again. It was the last campaign in which major canidates traveled by train in extensive whistle-stop fashion. Radio & newspapers were the media. Television was first used at the conventions but was primitive & did not impact on the election. As in todays campaigns a major concern was money, campaign financing & contributors. Governor Thurmond was always strapped for cash & got a little help from oil companies anxious to drill for oil in the gulf. Wallace actually charged admission to his campaign appearances. Then there were polls, polls & polls. However, polling was not the exact science it is today. Thus polling organizations missed some key demographics. They predicted for Dewey & we know what happened. One of my favorite photos of all time is DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN. Mr. Karabell pulls the whole election together in an informative & entertaining manner. Definitely five stars.

A great book about a great campaign........2002-08-04

Looking at the 1948 election one always wonders how Harry Truman did it. Not only did the polls show him way behind, not only did the Republicans as usual have more money, but Truman's party was split three ways. Zachary Karabell not only makes Truman's victory make sense, but he does so in a very readable way.

First of all, the Wallace and Thrumond movements probably helped Truman much more than they hurt him. Wallace was so far left that Truman was able to move himself far enough to the left to take back most of Wallace's voters while still looking like a moderate to most voters in comparison to Wallace. Thurmond and his Dixiecrats actually suprised Truman and his staff. They had assumed Truman could push for civil rights and that the south would grumble and complain but in the end would have no choice but to support Truman. Still, the black votes Truman picked up ended up being far more important to Truman than the few votes Thurmond actually took from him. Black voters were still not a block that could be counted on for Democrats in 1948. In the long run however, those people in the south who voted for Thurmond in 1948 found that voting against the Democratic candidate was fairly easy and the "solid south" would in a few decades be solidly Republican.

Truman and his staff decided the polished Harry wasn't working so it was decided to let Truman be Truman. Being a Missouri farmer there was a lot of populism in Truman and it came out in 1948. People then and Karabell now accuse Truman of promoting class conflict. In 1948 and today that is always the charge against anyone who dares to attack the greedy few who run Wall Street and for the most part, the country. I am always proud when one of our leaders tries to point out to the average American what is really being done to them and find myself at odds with Karabell on this point but it does not hurt the overall book and the reader should make up his on mind about Truman's populism.

Dewey carried scars from the 1944 campaign into 1948. In '44 he had attacked Roosevelt, probably too much and was convinced that was what cost him the election. So, in 1948 he refused to attack Truman at all. No matter what Truman said about him Dewey said nothing. Dewey in fact was probably the first candidate of the television era. He said nothing that might offend anyone. By the end of the campaign there were warning signs of a Truman come back but Dewey and his people refused to notice. One of Dewey's top backers, E. F. Hutton tried to warn Dewey that if he didn't start to respond to Truman's attacks he was going to get beat. This book is well worth five stars for this one line. "E.F. Hutton spoke, but no one listened."

Buy this book. When someone complains that today's milk toast campaigns are too dirty hand them this work and tell them to read it. We need more campaigns like 1948 where there is a clear choice for the voter. Our system is drowning in Dewey like candidates who refuse to offend anyone. No wonder people don't vote. Before you hand Karabell's book to someone else be sure to read it yourself. Love Truman or hate him, this book will help you understand him.

provocative and fun.......2001-10-28

Zachary Karabell has written an exciting account of the 1948 election, surely one of the most dramatic presidential elections ever. Not only does he capture the two main candidates - Harry Truman and Tom Dewey - he also brings the two other candidates to life and shows how Strom Thurmond and the Dixiecrats on the one hand and Henry Wallace and the Progressives on the other played a vital role in the ultimate outcome of the unexpected Truman victory. Though it was written before the strangeness of the 2000 election, the book remains relevant to today's political questions, especially the question of why presidential politics have become so vacuous. One of Karabell's central themes, about the role of television in American politics, is also thought-provoking. Though he doesn't seem to be overly nostaglic for the pre-television camapign, he does place some of the blame for contemporary politics squarely on the shoulders of television. Not everyone will agree, but the fact that the book is more than just an entertaining story gives it a richness that many cut-and-dry history books lack.

1948: An electoral mystery.......2001-10-23

Forget FDR. Forget JFK. Forget Reagan. When it comes to naming the President that Presidents themselves most often seek to emulate, Harry Truman takes the prize. At one point or another, all first-term Presidents will go through an intense period of scrutiny where their ability to win a second term is called into question. Without fail, they'll play the Truman card, promise to bring `em hell, and rally from behind to win when no one thinks they can make it.

Zachary Karabell has written a book assessing the validity of the Truman '48 mythology. Though he is the first to admit that no one will ever know for sure exactly why Truman was able to overcome a double-digit deficit and win decisively, the things he hints at probably come pretty close to the truth: undecided voters breaking massively for an unloved incumbent in a time of peace and prosperity; Thomas Dewey's refusal to attack or engage Truman's attacks; the fact that Dewey really had no message, leaving an open field for Truman's grating anti-Wall Street boilerplate to sweep the farm belt; and pollsters' refusing to recognize that the race had in fact tightened - all of these things took their toll on Dewey's inevitability and contributed to the greatest electoral shocker of the last century. Similar factors were probably at play in creating the squeaker of an election we had last year, where George Bush's last-minute lead evaporated by Election Day.

There is no doubt that Karabell really is an engaging writer. But it is also true that he is better at asking questions than answering them. Karabell has a strong sense of the basic questions he needs to answer in the beginning of the book: Why was Truman was so unpopular, even among Democrats? Who was Tom Dewey, and what was his appeal? Unfortunately, the answers he gives seem superficial at best. Karabell explains Dewey simply by saying he was a bland politician whose views were not well known. The Dewey-as-cipher theory sounds a little bit like a cop-out, especially when I have read more detailed portraits of Dewey in chapter-length accounts of the 1948 election. Karabell praises Dewey for taking a principled stand against outlawing the Communist party, but doesn't explore why Dewey believed that and doesn't really probe the philosophical differences between Dewey and his main Republican competitors. And Karabell's extensive re-telling of the Thurmond and Wallace third party campaigns does sometimes come at the expense of covering the two major candidates, especially Dewey, the man most people really did think would be the next President.

A Very Good, but still flawed campaign history..........2001-08-13

Dr. Zachary Karabell's "The Last Campaign" focuses on the legendary 1948 presidential campaign - one of those rare campaigns which are remembered and discussed decades after they took place (as, I suspect, the 2000 campaign will be discussed by historians fifty years from now). The primary reason this campaign has achieved "legendary" status is because of the fact that President Truman won the election when practically every poll and every "political expert" showed that he was a certain loser. The shock and surprise of his victory - and the Republican defeat - would have major consequences on the 1950's and beyond. The 1948 campaign is indeed a great story, and the dramatic events of that year seem like something out of a suspenseful novel. Unfortunately for Dr. Karabell, there have already been two excellent books written solely about the 1948 campaign, and while they are both more than thirty years old, they are both better than "The Last Campaign". Jules Abel's "Out of the Jaws of Victory", and Irwin Ross' "The Loneliest Campaign" provide an even better and more in-depth story of the 1948 election than does Karabell. Karabell's book is well-written and at times even witty. Unlike most historians, Karabell does accurately point out that Truman's famous upset was not simply the victory of a "plain-talking", folksy Truman over a "packaged" and artificial Republican opponent. Truman's famous "Give'em Hell" campaign was just as calculated and "packaged" as was his Republican opponent. Karabell is also right on the mark when he points out that Truman's upset was brought about when Truman ran a very negative and divisive campaign filled with nasty references to Dewey and all Republicans as "gluttons of privilege" and the like. Many historians, such as David McCullough in "Truman" refuse to point out that Truman's harsh rhetoric and language are what led to his victory, and also so infuriated the Republicans that they declared war on Truman in 1949, and unleashed their own demagogues, such as Joe McCarthy, to smear Truman and the Democrats as Communists or Communist sympathizers. Dewey, meanwhile, ran a campaign that was a model of what most Americans say they want in a candidate - he was upbeat, refused to attack the Democrats or even mention Truman's name, and emphasized the need to bring Americans "together" after the election. But if Karabell is right about the reality of Truman's harsh campaign, his other analysis is much less successful. Karabell's thesis is basically that television - which came to the fore after 1948 - has "ruined" our presidential campaigns by turning them into bland, boring contests in which images and style are more important than issues and substance. This complaint has been voiced in virtually every political era (it might amuse some people to know that in 1948 there were growing complaints among critics about the "issueless" politics of the time), and Karabell never really proves that the "issues" in 1948 were adequately discussed. A big part of Karabell's argument is that the two third parties in 1948 - Strom Thurmond's right-wing, racist States Rights' (or "Dixiecrat") Party, and Henry Wallace's left-wing "Progressive" Party made 1948 the "last" year in which the voters of America were offered a "genuine" choice of candidates. However, this book was published during the 2000 campaign, which as in 1948 featured two centrist candidates (Gore and Bush), a genuine left-winger (Ralph Nader's Green Party), and a genuine racist right-winger (Pat Buchanan's Reform Party). It's hard to be nostalgic for the past when you've got a strikingly similiar campaign happening in the present! The difference between 1948 and 2000 is that whereas the two third parties in 1948 couldn't keep Truman from winning the election - they simply cut into his victory margin - in 2000 the two third parties DID prevent Gore from beating Bush (by taking votes away from Gore in Florida and elsewhere). In short, Karabell's "The Last Campaign" is a well-written, but somewhat superficial and analytically flawed, look at the most famous upset in presidential politics. But I'd still say that the two older books on the 1948 campaign I mentioned above are better.

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