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Truman

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Truman

By: David McCullough
Narrated by: Nelson Runger
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Summary

 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. Americas Politicians Politics & Activism Presidents & Heads of State State & Local United States Biography War Franklin D Roosevelt Military Korean War Suspenseful Imperialism Vietnam War Russia Leadership Socialism Roosevelt Family Winston Churchill Soviet Union Imperial Japan American History Self-Determination
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Extraordinarily detailed with great character sketches and a sympathetic understanding of Truman. The length allows the author to flesh out the historical personalities and convey the background which is so crucial to understanding this most grounded of presidents.

Detailed and Magisterial

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Truman was underrated during his life and he is underrated now. If we can find more leaders like him the world would be a significantly better place.

Everyone should read this book!

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Truman's Presidency was a period of American history I was unfamiliar with - the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Korean war - and McCullough's biography does full justice to the man, and the moments of a great president. Born a decade away from the Frontier, and dying in the atomic age in which he had had to make a momentous decision, Truman's life spanned an era. This biography is well paced, lively, informative, unsparing when it comes to Truman's perceived failings, generous in its appreciation of his skills and strengths as a human being.

What did you like best about this story?

Nelson Runger's narration is superb. His pace and vitality informs the book, and I appreciated the way that different players - Dean Acheson, Marshall, Roosevelt were given due weight. He didn't succumb (too much) to hamming up Churchill.

Any additional comments?

In short, highly recommended.

He Gave 'em Hell

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I downloaded this audiobook some time ago but was a little daunted by its length. To any reader of this review, don't worry, its a long biography that rarely flags. The author has paced the book really well and the reader has done a fine job in keeping that pace going.

Truman was the President in the year I was born, but is relatively unknown today. He came to power at a crucial and dangerous time in world history with very little preparation for the job. He passed the test with a mixture of intelligence, awareness, diplomatic skill and good old common sense. Some of the issues he was faced with: the Rise of Soviet Russia, the Nuclear Bomb, Korea, the devastation of Western Europe, China, the Berlin Airlift, Industrial unrest, the appalling McCarthy witch-hunts, McArthur, any one of the decisions he had to wrestle with would have left most politicians reeling. Looking at the current incumbent of the office Truman held with such dignity, one can only give thanks that the Wheel of Fortune placed the little man from Independence, Missouri in charge. It could have been so much worse!

McCullough was clearly a great fan, but the book rarely slips into hagiograpghy. Most importantly it performs the primary function of a biography, it tells the story of a man's life in linear style, and leaves you with a greater knowledge of the man and his times.
A brilliant listen, strongly recommended

What Biography Should Do

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This has been one of the best books I have listened to on audible. This is a great biography. Thank you Mr McCullough The reading, the tone and the pace of delivery are also excellent. Thank you Mr Runger.
At the end of it I feel I know and appreciate "Harry" as never before. I also have a better grasp of the 20th century and the American political system. Some of the contrasts with the present day incumbent of the White House are jarring to the extreme.
The successes and failures, the strength and the weakness of the man come to the fore in such a way that one can admire Truman as that true representative of all that is wholesome about the USA.

A Masterpiece

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