Truman was a book that had been recommended by many. It is a well regarded biography from David McCullough on our former president released in 1992 and won a Pulitzer Prize. I remember this book when I worked at the book store in the mid-nineties. Now thirty years later, I am quite pleased to have read it.
Harry S. Truman was the common man. A farmer, a failure, a part of the political machinery of his time. He somehow managed to make it into the Senate and then as Vice President on FDR’s fourth term. He was only VP for 82 days before FDR died, leaving him President during World War II.
Truman is a great study on leadership. He was very much a people first individual. He was decisive when needed. He listened to those around him. He didn’t rush decisions. During his Presidency, he walked into a world war, decided on the use of the atomic bomb, met with Stalin to negotiate the post-war world, dealt with the Soviet land grab, orchestrated the Berlin air lift, guided America into post-war economic recovery, established the UN, established NATO, recognized the new state of Israel, won re-election when the odds were stacked against him, pushed back on Soviet aggression with the Korean War, dealt with McCarthy era communism hysterics - and many more trying dilemmas.
This book has encouraged me to take a trip out to Independence, Missouri to visit the Harry S. Truman library, but that may have to wait for next year.