Product Description

Shortly after he left office, President Harry S. Truman began to write down his typically blunt, honest commentaries about FDR and his other colleagues, the job of the presidency, the workings of the government and the Constitution -- and his picks for the nation's best and worst presidents. Since he minced no words, Truman asked that these writings -- sometimes funny, sometimes very serious, always to the point -- be released to the public only after he and Mrs. Truman were gone.

Now, this totally frank book by the thirty-third president, lovingly edited by his daughter, Margaret, has been published at last. In it, Truman speaks clearly in his own inimitable voice, and with the down-home, across-the-back-fence feeling of a born storyteller from Missouri, he tells you exactly what's on his mind about these and other subjects:

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #318574 in Books
• Published on: 1990-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 404 pages

Customer Reviews

Take it with a heavy dash of salt.
This book is worth reading only if you've already learned quite a lot of history. In many instances Truman embellishes or distorts historical facts, and on certain points he is embarrassingly wrong. It's a wonder that the editor of the book, his daughter Margaret (who majored in history in college) didn't catch some of his errors. Particularly egregious is Truman's discussion of the American Revolution, in which he asserts that George III was "an absolute monarch." Nothing could be further from the truth. By the late 18th century, the King of England had considerably less political power than the President of the United States would have in later years.

Moreover, Truman's attacks on Eisenhower smack of vindictiveness, and while they may contain some truth they are not to be trusted on the whole. Truman was a suspicious man, and once he took a dislike to someone, he tended to put the most negative possible spin on anything that man said or did.

The book is written in a lively style, but beware: Truman was a politician, a man full of grudges and prejudices. These come out in this book--sometimes strongly enough to make you wince.

Great fun
I feel lucky when I find a book I really enjoy and this one I really enjoyed. He called Daniel Webster a "gasbag". He said Teddy Roosevelt did a lot of talking but very little in the way of acting to solve problems. Truman loved Andrew Jackson and after reading his description of Jackson I also feel that he was one of the best presidents and one of the most interesting characters. This was a really enjoyable way of learning the history of this country and seeing these guys the way they really were and not the mythic characters I used to think from taking American History in high school. I think high school students should be made to read this book, so that American History would come to life for them. I never thought anything of James Polk before reading what Harry wrote about him. And Calvin Coolidge sleeping (I mean zzzzzzz) his way through the Presidency! I liked the way Harry didn't blame Hoover for the depression. Harry was the little kid describing the Emperor's new clothes!

Harry Gives 'em Hell Again
As a child and young adult, I was taught to have great respect for Mr. Truman. Among the things he was praised for was his plain-speaking manner and the fact that he told it as it was, with no sugar coating. I never really understood what that meant until I read this book. The Harry Truman that comes across here is a person you could easily image as your next-door neighbor. He always gives it to you in a no-nonsense, down-to-earth way that anybody can understand the first time.

That having been said I just want to voice two criticisms. First, I think Mr. Truman's understanding of history might be a little too "black and white". For example, he states that after WWI, the allied powers didn't really go to hard on Germany in terms of making the Germans pay reparations. I think just the opposite is true. The allied powers at Versailles imposed very hard terms on the Germans. Mr. Truman was correct in stating that the allies never entered German soil, however, the severity of the peace terms combined with the fact that the Germans never saw an enemy soldier sowed the seeds for Hitler's preaching that the Germans were stabbed in the back. I'm just saying that perhaps Mr. Truman's historical understanding was not as sophisticated as me might think.

Second, it seems that Mr. Truman's dislike of Mr. Eisenhower finds it's way onto virtually every page of the book. No matter who or what he's talking about, he seems to find a way to turn the subject into a criticism of Ike. I guess he really didn't like him too much.

All that having been said, I think this is great book.