Product Description

Here we see Truman in his most public roles; as "senator from Pendergast," successor to FDR, maker of such controversial decisions as the dropping of the atomic bomb and the firing of General Douglas MacArthur. But throughout these events Harry Truman revealed his innermost thoughts to his family in thousands of hand-written memoirs. The ways he approached the decisions he made were widely attributed by Truman and those who knew him to lessons learned in the earlier, less public part of his life.

This is the story of a common man from Missouri with uncommon, indeed unprecedented challenges thrust upon him, and how he met them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1308239 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11
• Binding: Hardcover
• 244 pages

About the Author
Brian Burnes, who joined The Kansas City Star in 1978, has served as the newspaper's history writer since 1993. In 2000 he served as a senior writer on The Star's special section celebrating the city's 150th anniversary. He is the author of High & Rising : The 1951 Kansas City Flood and co-author of Walt Disney's Missouri : The Roots of a Creative Genius, both published by Kansas City Star Books. He and his wife, Debra, live in Westwood, Kansas, with their children, Charlie, Jessica, and Sam.

Customer Reviews

The Book Starts Here...
Brian Burnes new book on Harry Truman is a pleasure, impeccably researched and extremely well written. Rather than piling detail upon detail, Burnes opts for well-chosen anecdotes that add up to Truman's full story: his Kansas City boyhood, World War I service, political rise, presidency , and later years back in Kansas City. Truman is remembered for his momentous decision to drop the atomic bomb, but this book also delves into less-known aspects of his presidency. For example, Burnes recounts a wonderful episode involving an old poker buddy named Eddie Jacobson who, in 1948, helped convice Truman that the U.S. should recognize the brand new state of Israel.

Throughout, Burnes does a masterful job of interweaving the story of Truman, the politician, with humanizing details about Truman, the man. While attending the Potsdam conference in 1945, for example, Truman purchased a luncheon set of Belgian lace for Bess. The first lady, in turn, thought the gift a bit extravagant. This book also has wonderful photographs and illustrations, including a Thomas Hart Benton portrait of Truman so closely observed and revelatory that it's worth a thousand words, easily.