 "Outstanding Biography" | 2009-11-04 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1X54S891LFVWP |
Another great effort by McCullough who ranks among our greatest historians. To be honest, I avoided this book for some time just because of the size of it; and I didn't really think President Truman warranted that type of treatment. But McCullough's books are always a pleasure.
While McCullough often seems to be a little too pro Truman, the book is like Truman, fair and to the point. The book takes Truman from his early days in Missouri to the Senate, the White House and beyond into retirement.
We get a close up view of the decision to drop the atomic bomb in World War II, implement the Marshall Plan and the Berlin Airlift, and fire Gen. Douglas McArthur. So much of what happened during the Cold War, was the result of policies and decisions made during the Truman presidency.
The book is huge, and I am actually a little puzzled that the publishers did not elect to publish in two parts - the first ending with Truman being catapulted (totally unprepared) to the White House and the second dealing with his Presidency and beyond. But in fairness, both halves of the book are terrific.
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| "A most extraordinary man" | 2009-09-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3F1FOVY1CMQDI |
| David McCullough at his absolute best. Truman was the kind of man that the framers of the constitution had in mind when they wrote it. |
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| "Excellent Book" | 2009-09-04 |
| - Reviewed By User: AQJZU9GEBRWZX |
I found this book to be excellent. The author brought to life a president whom I knew little about. It is not by accident that this book won the Pulitzer prize. It is a long book almost 1,000 pages but brings to life a magnificent American. It also brings to life the people who were his friends and enemies: Dean Acheson, Douglas McArthur, Ike Eisenhower, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. The amount of research the author had to do to compose this book is incredible. It also was very enlightening in understanding all the challenging issues Truman had to face during his presidency.
It was well worth the time in reading. |
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| "I'm getting too old to read books this long, but this one was worth it" | 2009-09-01 |
| - Reviewed By najean |
Writing a complementary review is the least I could do for Mr. McCullough, who reportedly researched Truman for 10 years before finishing his book. Thinking more deeply into this, can you believe you can get 10 years of a man's labor for 11.21$ (on the amazon kindle)????.
Truman is an outstanding book, an absolute Tour de Force, similar in scope and power to other recently written biographies, "Team of Rivals," by Doris Kearns Goodwin (which also won the Pulitzer prize) and "Snowball," by Alice Schroeder.
The book's greatest strength is the depth of research done...that shows how a young man, a farmer, without a college degree, but with tremendous integrity, rises to president of the United States...a book which covers a vast amount of terrifically interesting American history during, especially, the period of WWII, from the unique perspective of Harry Truman. An ancient Chinese curse reads, "may you live in interesting times." Well, Truman was the president in some very, very interesting times...
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 "Good read, well written, but a bit too pro-Truman" | 2009-08-13 |
| - Reviewed By the_karl |
I really enjoyed reading the book. The writing style was smooth and the writer made events come alive. Although the book was rather long, it was lively throughout and, I think, captured the personality of Truman very well. I very much enjoyed reading about the many tumultuous events that Truman faced, viewed through the eyes of Truman.
OTOH... From the start, it was clear that the author was hardly dispassionate in his portrayal of Truman. It struck me that this was a book, much like I've seen about other American figures (Lee especially), that places them on pedestals and creates almost a dehumanizing view of, in the case of Truman, a very human individual. Truman, most of all, would have blushed at many of the glowing portrayals of his life and the very sympathetic-to-Truman characterization of events.
This book is extremely well researched and written. But as one who likes his history straight, not diluted by ideological bias or agenda, I was somewhat disappointed. |
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| "Book Review - Truman" | 2009-07-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: AXHPRJ7IHD26P |
When it comes to making history not only readable, but intriguing, nobody writes better than David McCullough. Many of his books chronicle people, places or events that don't really seem to stick out as being fascinating. But once you start reading any one of McCullough's books, you are drawn into the subject matter, compelled to read and learn about subjects that you might not otherwise ever read about. You don't simply read a McCullough book. You experience it. My introduction to McCullough's work was in his biography of John Adams, our country's second president and a key figure in the founding of the nation. After finishing this, I quickly devoured 1776, The Great Bridge, and The Johnstown Flood. I would highly recommend each of these books.
Like Adams, Harry S. Truman had the misfortune of succeeding a legendary figure. While Adams presided under the shadow of George Washington, Truman had to undergo the scrutiny of an American public who had been led through many great trials by the great Franklin D. Roosevelt. Truman proved that, while he was no FDR, he was certainly his own man and very well capable of holding his own during the many conflicts of his own presidency.
In Truman, we are brought into his story well before his birth as McCullough fills us in on the details of his family heritage. We follow Truman through his childhood, his stint as a gallant officer during World War I, his romancing of and subsequent marriage to Bess Wallace, and his rise up and into the political world. McCullough does an excellent job of covering several controversial topics such as the Marshall Plan, the Korean Conflict, the Manhattan Project, McCarthyism, and the firing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur without getting bogged down in presenting his own opinions on these matters, instead letting the historical accounts speak for themselves. We are treated to the often exciting, edge-of-your-seat workings of political campaigning, including Truman's first presidential nomination as well as his momentous and astounding defeat of Thomas Dewey.
At well over 1,000 pages, Truman is a hefty read. But being already familiar with McCullough's style, I knew it would be a great read and I was not disappointed. Not being a historian nor familiar with this period of U.S. history, I can't speak to the factual accuracy of the book's events. But once again, McCullough does a masterful job of bringing the person off the written page to the point where you feel like you know the person himself. By the end of the book and upon the account of Truman's death, I felt like I had lost a friend. Truman is an excellent biography, an inspirational story and one that will have you keeping late hours just to read one more page. |
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