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Harry S. Truman (1884–1972)

Author of Memoirs, Volume 1: Year of Decisions

65+ Works 1,690 Members 13 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

Harry S.Truman, 1884- 1972 Harry S.Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, in 1884. He grew up in Independence, and worked for 12 years as a farmer in Missouri. He went to France during World War I as a captain in the Field Artillery. Upon his return from the war, he opened a haberdashery in Kansas show more City. Truman was elected a judge of the Jackson County Court as a member of the Democratic Party in 1922. He became a Senator in 1934. During World War II he headed the Senate war investigating committee, checking into waste and corruption and saving perhaps as much as 15 billion dollars. Soon after V-E Day, the war against Japan had reached its final stage. An urgent plea to Japan to surrender was rejected. Truman, after consultations with his advisers, ordered atomic bombs dropped on cities devoted to war work. Two were Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A surrender quickly followed. In June 1945 Truman witnessed the signing of the charter of the United Nations, hopefully established to preserve peace. At this point in his presidential career, Truman presented to Congress a 21-point program, proposing the expansion of Social Security, a full-employment program, a permanent Fair Employment Practices Act, and public housing and slum clearance. The program became known as the Fair Deal. Dangers and crises marked the foreign field as Truman campaigned successfully in 1948. Truman's most effective leadership was apparent in foreign affairs. In 1947 as the Soviet Union pressured Turkey and, through guerrillas, threatened to take over Greece, he asked Congress to aid the two countries, enacting the program that bears his name; the Truman Doctrine. The Marshall Plan, named for his Secretary of State, stimulated economic recovery in war-torn western Europe. When the Russians blockaded the western sectors of Berlin in 1948, Truman created a massive airlift to supply Berliners until the Russians backed down. Meanwhile, he was negotiating a military alliance to protect Western nations, called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and established in 1949. In June 1950, the Communist government of North Korea attacked South Korea. A long, discouraging struggle ensued as U.N. forces held a line above the old boundary of South Korea. Truman kept the war a limited one, rather than risk a major conflict with China and perhaps Russia. Deciding not to run again, he retired to Independence. He died December 26, 1972 at the age of 88. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: U.S. Army Signal Corps photo by Frank Gatteri (trumanlibrary.org)

Series

Works by Harry S. Truman

Memoirs [2-volume set] (1955) 171 copies
Mr. Citizen (1960) 72 copies
Affection and Trust (2010) 71 copies
Letters Home (1984) 15 copies
Truman Speaks (1960) 10 copies
The Truman Program (1949) 2 copies
The Truman wit 2 copies

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Reviews

The second volume of Truman's diaries. Also very detailed, but interesting in parts.
 
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robeik | Dec 4, 2023 |
A very detailed account of one year as the US president, perhaps one of the years when most happened if not the most important year. Ending the war in Europe, wrestling with the Soviets, ending the war in Japan, and more wrestling with the Soviets. Overly detailed in places, yet giving me the impression that Truman was a wise and patient man.
 
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robeik | 2 other reviews | Dec 4, 2023 |
Rather unsatisfying book that functions, more or less, as propaganda for Harry Truman, produced while he was still president. The book is composed of a mish-mosh of unedited notes and jottings by President Truman (some of which pre-date the stories he told in his later memoirs), interspersed with some historical photos and photo ops with the likes of his cabinet, and for some reason, vast numbers of photos of cousins, nieces, nephews, &c. Give it a miss.
 
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EricCostello | 1 other review | Sep 2, 2018 |
As with the first volume of the memoirs, some of what's interesting is what's left out of the book. There's practically no introspection regarding the assorted scandals that plagued Truman's 1949-1953 term, and which were a major factor in the decline of his popularity. The memoirs in this volume tend to focus on Korea and the 1948 election, not surprisingly. Truman is particularly blistering regarding the 80th Congress, the brief (1947-1949) interval in which the GOP controlled Congress. It does give you a flavour of the hard-ball machine pol that Truman really was, at heart. … ( more )
½
 
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EricCostello | 1 other review | Feb 11, 2018 |

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