Truman

by David McCullough

Nelson Runger (Narrator)

The Pulitzer Prize–winning biography of Harry S. Truman, whose presidency included momentous events from the atomic bombing of Japan to the outbreak of the Cold War and the Korean War, told by America’s beloved and distinguished historian.

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.

• ISBN10: 1442342153
• ISBN13: 9781442342156
• Publish Date: 8 March 2011 (first published 15 June 1992)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Edition: Unabridged
• Format: Audiobook
• Duration: 8 hours and 47 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[readingwithwrin]

“He wasn’t a hero, or an original thinker. His beliefs were their beliefs, their way of talking was his way of talking. He was on their side. He was one of them. If he stumbled over a phrase or a name, he would grin and try again, and they would smile with”

Truman was truly the average guy, who wanted to do more, and was always willing to do more. He was a guy that everyone liked because of how simple he was about certain things, he never made anything over complicated and that's what made politicians on both sides like him so much. It's also why I believe he was able to win his own presidency.

I'm so glad I finally took the time to listen to this book. It's one that has always been highly talked about and because of that I was a little worried about reading/listening to it. Not only did it live up to my expectations it also surpassed them. The facts and the detail in this book are one of kind. Not only do we get to learn about Truman's life during presidency, but what came before that and helped shape him into the person he was, and of course what he did after he was no longer president.
“You must be frank with the world; frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do on every occasion, and take it for granted you mean to do right. . . . Never do anything wrong to make a friend or keep one; the man who requires you to do so, is dearly purchased at a sacrifice. Deal kindly, but firmly with all your classmates; you will find it the policy which wears best. Above all do not appear to others what you are not.”

Now I haven't read any biography's of a president before, because I was always worried that they would lean to much one way or the other. I felt like this one had the perfect balance of both the good and the bad of Truman and his presidency. It showed what he struggled with and what he did exceedingly well at. In my opinion Truman really was a one of a kind president that I'm not sure can ever be replicated again especially in this day an age.

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