Truman (book)

1992 book by David McCullough

Truman

First edition

Author| David McCullough
Language| English
Subject| History/U.S. History
Published| June 15, 1992
Simon & Schuster
Publication place| United States
Pages| 1120 pages
ISBN| 0-671-86920-5 (paperback)
0-671-45654-7 (hardcover)
Preceded by| Brave Companions
Followed by| John Adams

Truman is a 1992 biography of the 33rd President of the United States Harry S. Truman written by popular historian David McCullough. The book won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. The book was later made into a movie with the same name by HBO.

## Plot summary

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The book provides a biography of Harry Truman in chronological fashion from his birth to his rise to U.S. Senator, Vice President, and President. It follows his activities until death, exploring many of the major decisions he made as president, including his decision to drop the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, his meetings and confrontation with Joseph Stalin during the end of World War II, his decision to create the Marshall Plan, his decision to send troops to the Korean War, his decision to recognize the State of Israel, and his decision to desegregate the U.S. Armed Forces.

## Production

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> "Writing history or biography, you must remember that nothing was ever on a track. Things could have gone any way at any point. As soon as you say 'was,' it seems to fix an event in the past. But nobody ever lived in the past, only in the present. The difference is that it was their present. They were just as alive and full of ambition, fear, hope, all the emotions of life. And just like us, they didn't know how it would all turn out. The challenge is to get the reader beyond thinking that things had to be the way they turned out and to see the range of possibilities of how it could have been otherwise."
>  \- David McCullough[1]

After writing Mornings on Horseback, which was McCullough's first biography and consisted of an in-depth look at a small period in the life of former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, McCullough wanted to do a more full biography, "a mural instead of a Vermeer."[1] At first, McCullough attempted to write a biography about Pablo Picasso, but abandoned the project in favor of doing a book on Truman.[1]

McCullough decided that he would structure the story of Truman's biography in chronological fashion. McCullough explained his reasoning for this decision by stating: "It's been very fashionable lately to begin biographies anywhere but at the beginning, heaven forbid. But I didn't want to do anything tricky or fashionable because [Truman] was neither of those things. Harry Truman was a 19th-century man and I decided I would proceed as a great 19th-century biographer would, or as Dickens would."[1]

In effort to better understand his subject, McCullough took several actions to emulate the life and activities of Truman.[1] For instance, he would begin each day with a brisk early-morning walk, just as Harry S. Truman did.[1] He also lived in Truman's hometown Independence, Missouri for a little while.[1] He also raced through the United States Capitol retracing the path Truman ran when he was summoned to the White House after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.[1]

To help research the book, McCullough interviewed hundreds of people who knew Truman, including relatives and Secret Service agents, read numerous letters and documents, and read almost all the books written about Truman.[1]

While working on the book McCullough would read every draft page aloud to his wife and have her read the pages back to him.[1] McCullough explained this practice by stating: "You can hear things that you cannot see. Redundancies, awkward expressions. Painters often look at their work in the mirror because you can see flaws that you don't see looking straight at a canvas."[1]

McCullough wrote the book Truman over a period of 10 years. McCullough stated that during that 10 years many things changed in his life, "In those 10 years, my youngest daughter changed from a girl into a woman, both my parents died, grandchildren were born, we moved our residence twice, we put a child through college and law school, and paid off a mortgage."[1]

McCullough felt a compulsion to get the book finished before the 1992 presidential campaign in response to the shallow political debates that were occurring in Washington, D.C.[1] McCullough said, "I felt that something needed to be said before people made a choice. This book is about the country, not just about Harry Truman. It's about who we are and what we can be."[1]

While McCullough was able to gain insights into Truman based on his research, there were questions that remained unanswered to McCullough such as why Truman's wife left him alone in Washington so often.[1] The usual explanation among historians was that Bess hated the heat and her mother was ill, but McCullough has expressed doubts about this explanation stating that "[Bess] was away so often and [Truman's] letters to her were so plaintive, his need for her to be there so real. I don't know."[1]

McCullough has stated that he intended Truman to be not only for "the Arthur Schlesingers and the academics" but instead intended the book for "your grandmother," and other common folk including present and future politicians so "they may see, even when flawed, how great a man in [the office of the President] can be."[1]

## Reception

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External videos

Organization of American Historians panel on Truman biographies, including Robert Ferrell's Harry S. Truman: A Life, Alonzo Hamby's Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman and David McCullough's Truman.", C-SPAN

After the book was published, McCullough went on a book-tour.[1] One of the largest crowds he encountered was when he went to the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.[1]

Most reviewers praised the book when it came out. One notable dissent was an article in The New Republic titled "Harry of Sunnybrook Farm" by Ronald Steel where he called the book a "1000 page valentine."[1]

Gene Lyons at Entertainment Weekly gave the book an A, stating that "No brief review can begin to do justice either to Truman or to the monumentally persuasive job McCullough has done re-creating his life and times.... Immeasurably aided by Truman's vividly written diaries and letters to his beloved wife, Bess, McCullough brings the man and his times to life with painstaking clarity."[2]

The book won McCullough his first Pulitzer Prize, in the category of "Best Biography or Autobiography".[3]

## Adaptation

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In 1995, the book was adapted into Truman, a television movie by HBO, starring Gary Sinise as Truman.

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Fein, Esther (1992-08-12). "TALKING HISTORY WITH: David McCullough; Immersed in Facts, The Better to Imagine Harry Truman's Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on Mar 24, 2013. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
2. ^ Lyons, Gene (1992-06-19). "Truman". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
3. ^ "1993 Pulitzer Prizes". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2010-04-22.

## External links

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* Truman on GoogleBooks
* Eugene Register article on Truman
* Associated Press article on Truman
* New York Times review of Truman
* Time review of Truman
* Reading Eagle article on Truman
* Booknotes interview with McCullough on Truman, July 19, 1992, C-SPAN
* Presentation by McCullough on Truman at the National Press Club, July 7, 1992, C-SPAN

* v
* t
* e

Harry S. Truman

* 33rd President of the United States (1945–1953)
* 34th Vice President of the United States (1945)
* U.S. Senator from Missouri (1935–1945)

Presidency|

* Timeline
* Inaugurations
* first
* second
* Assassination attempt
* 1952 Puerto Rican constitutional referendum
* State of the Union Address
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* Judicial appointments
* Supreme Court
* Sherman Minton Supreme Court nomination
* Cabinet
* Truman Balcony
* "The buck stops here"
* Executive Orders
* Presidential Proclamations
* Eisenhower transition

| Foreign policy|

* Truman Doctrine
* Potsdam Conference
* 1945; Agreement on Europe
* Declaration to Japan
* Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945)
* War Brides Act (1945)
* Alien Fiancées and Fiancés Act (1946)
* Luce–Celler Act (1946)
* Executive Order 9835 (1947)
* General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1947)
* Hoover Commission (1947)
* National Security Act of 1947
* U.S. Department of Defense
* Joint Chiefs of Staff
* National Security Council
* National Security Resources Board
* Air Force/Department
* Central Intelligence Agency
* Displaced Persons Act (1948)
* Key West Agreement (1948)
* Marshall Plan (1948)
* Joint Long Range Proving Grounds (1949)
* North Atlantic Treaty
* 1949; NATO
* Revolt of the Admirals (1949)
* Korean War
* 1950–1953; U.N. Security Council Resolutions 82, 83
* Defense Production Act of 1950
* Relief of Douglas MacArthur
* Office of Defense Mobilization
* 1950; Science Advisory Committee, 1951
* Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952
* National Security Agency (1952)

|

Fair Deal|

* Medal of Freedom (1945)
* Revenue Act of 1945
* National Mental Health Act
* 1946; National Institute of Mental Health
* Atomic Energy Act of 1946
* U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
* Employment Act of 1946
* Council of Economic Advisers
* Flood Control Acts
* 1946
* 1948
* 1950
* Fulbright Program (1946)
* Hill–Burton Act (1946)
* Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946
* Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946
* Federal Tort Claims Act
* Legislative Reference Service
* National School Lunch Act (1946)
* President's Committee on Civil Rights (1946)
* Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (1947)
* Housing and Home Finance Agency (1947)
* Presidential Succession Act of 1947
* Taft–Hartley Act (1947)
* Agricultural Act of 1948
* Executive Order 9981 (1948)
* Revenue Act of 1948
* Agricultural Act of 1949
* Housing Act of 1949
* Dingell–Johnson Act (1950)
* Revenue Act of 1950
* Excess profits tax
* Unrelated Business Income Tax
* Revenue Act of 1951
* Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1952
* 1952 steel strike

Life|

* Early life and career
* Presidential Library, Museum, and gravesite
* Missouri Office and Courtroom
* Truman Committee
* 1944 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection
* The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace

Homes|

* Birthplace
* Harry S. Truman Farm Home
* Harry S. Truman home and National Historic Site
* Historic District
* Blair House
* Truman Little White House

Elections|

* United States Senate election in Missouri, 1934
* 1940
* Democratic National Convention 1944
* 1948
* 1944 United States presidential election
* 1948
* campaign
* "Dewey Defeats Truman"
* campaign song
* Ferdinand Magellan railcar
* 1952 Democratic Party presidential primaries

Legacy|

* Bibliography
* Truman Day
* Harry S Truman Building
* Truman Dam and Reservoir
* Harry S. Truman Scholarship
* Truman Sports Complex
* U.S. Postage stamps
* Statue of Harry S. Truman

Public image|

* Give 'em Hell, Harry! (1975 play and film)
* Harry Truman (1975 song by Chicago)
* Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur (1976 film)
* MacArthur (1977 film)
* Backstairs at the White House (1979 miniseries)
* Truman (1995 film)
* Truman (1997 documentary film)
* The First Lady (2022 TV series)
* Oppenheimer (2023 film)

Family|

* Bess Wallace Truman (wife)
* Margaret Truman (daughter)
* Martha Ellen Young Truman (mother)
* Clifton Truman Daniel (grandson)

* ← Franklin D. Roosevelt
* Dwight D. Eisenhower →

* ← Henry A. Wallace
* Alben W. Barkley →

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Works of David McCullough

Books|

* The Johnstown Flood (1968)
* The Great Bridge (1972)
* The Path Between the Seas (1977)
* Mornings on Horseback (1981)
* Brave Companions (1991)
* Truman (1992)
* John Adams. (2001)
* 1776 (2005)
* The Greater Journey (2011)
* The Wright Brothers (2015)

Films presented
or narrated|

* Brooklyn Bridge (1981)
* Smithsonian World (5 episodes, 1984–1988)
* The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God (1984)
* The Statue of Liberty (1985)
* Huey Long (1985)
* The Congress  (1988)
* The Civil War (9 episodes, 1990)
* American Experience (23 episodes, 1991–2006)
* Coney Island (1991)
* D-Day Remembered (1994)
* Seabiscuit (2003)

Adaptations|

* Truman (1995)
* John Adams (miniseries) (2008)

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