About this book
David McCullough's biography tells the story of Harry S. Truman, who grew up in Missouri, served as an artillery officer in the First World War, failed in business and entered politics through local government. He went on to the Senate, became Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice president, and suddenly became president when Roosevelt died in April 1945.
The book covers the enormous decisions that followed: the end of the war in Europe and the Pacific, the use of the atomic bomb, the beginning of the Cold War, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War, as well as his famous come-from-behind election victory in 1948.
What makes the book stand out is McCullough's affection for his subject combined with a clear view of his flaws. Truman appears as a plain-spoken, ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and the story is told with real narrative warmth. Readers interested in his wartime contemporaries might continue with Churchill: Walking with Destiny.
Who it’s for
A long but highly readable biography for anyone interested in modern American history and the presidency.
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