Historian David McCullough offers readers a detailed history of the
life of Harry S Truman in this book. He wrote it
over a period of ten
years. During that time he interviewed countless numbers of people who
had known Truman, including members of his family. Further, he
thoroughly researched available documents on Truman in various
respositories around the country. Most people are aware of the
fact that Truma became
president of the United States when Franklin D.
Roosevelt died in 1945. However, few know of his life, especialy in the
political arena. before Roosevelt’s death brought him to the highest
political office in the land. McCollough traces Truman’s life, from its
beginnnings in Missouri, throw his initial forays into politics, during
the concluding years of WWII, through the transition in power from him
to Eisenhower, to his retirement. McCulllough provides extensive
coverage of each period of Truman’s life, illustrating how and why he
became known as the most American of all the presidents.Perhaps
his most dramatic action as president was his decision to drop atomic
bombs on Japan, to bring an end fo WWII. His dismissal of General
MacArthur stands as another important moment in his presidency. And, of
course, most Europeans acknowledge that Truman’s support of the
Marshall Plan (which provided economic assistance to a war-torn
continent following the devastation of WWII) proved to be their
salvation.Today many people rank Truman as one of the best
presidents ever. The information McCollough sets forth in this book
helps readers to understand why that is the case.