Ebook The Accidental President Harry S Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World A J Baime 9781328505682 Books
Download As PDF : The Accidental President Harry S Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World A J Baime 9781328505682 Books
“[A] well-judged and hugely readable book . . . few are as entertaining.”—Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times
“A. J. Baime is a master. His reporting and storytelling are woven to hypnotic effect. This is history and humanity in lush, vivid color.”—Doug Stanton, author of The Odyssey of Echo Company
Heroes are often defined as ordinary characters who get pushed into extraordinary circumstances, and through courage and a dash of luck, cement their place in history. Chosen as FDR’s fourth-term vice president for his well-praised work ethic, good judgment, and lack of enemies, Harry S. Truman was the prototypical ordinary man. That is, until he was shockingly thrust in over his head after FDR’s sudden death. The first four months of Truman’s administration saw the founding of the United Nations, the fall of Berlin, victory at Okinawa, firebombings in Tokyo, the first atomic explosion, the Nazi surrender, the liberation of concentration camps, the mass starvation in Europe, the Potsdam Conference, the controversial decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the surrender of imperial Japan, and finally, the end of World War II and the rise of the Cold War. No other president had ever faced so much in such a short period of time. The Accidental President escorts readers into the situation room with Truman during a tumultuous, history-making 120 days, when the stakes were high and the challenges even higher.
“A. J. Baime is a master. His reporting and storytelling are woven to hypnotic effect. This is history and humanity in lush, vivid color.”—Doug Stanton, author of The Odyssey of Echo Company
Heroes are often defined as ordinary characters who get pushed into extraordinary circumstances, and through courage and a dash of luck, cement their place in history. Chosen as FDR’s fourth-term vice president for his well-praised work ethic, good judgment, and lack of enemies, Harry S. Truman was the prototypical ordinary man. That is, until he was shockingly thrust in over his head after FDR’s sudden death. The first four months of Truman’s administration saw the founding of the United Nations, the fall of Berlin, victory at Okinawa, firebombings in Tokyo, the first atomic explosion, the Nazi surrender, the liberation of concentration camps, the mass starvation in Europe, the Potsdam Conference, the controversial decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the surrender of imperial Japan, and finally, the end of World War II and the rise of the Cold War. No other president had ever faced so much in such a short period of time. The Accidental President escorts readers into the situation room with Truman during a tumultuous, history-making 120 days, when the stakes were high and the challenges even higher.
Ebook The Accidental President Harry S Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World A J Baime 9781328505682 Books
"We have all read good books and great books from a historical perspective.
This book is one, if you please, that is an absolute must read. The story of HST and the burdens he had to bear after the death of FDR (and having served only 82 days as VP) are profound.
As the book indicates, his first four months after taking the oath of office were four months that changed the world. No other president in history faced the critical challenges that Truman faced (much less the constant comparisons to FDR). Fighting many things such as "who the hell is Harry Truman?" was just one of the hurdles. Crisis after crisis and Harry got it done.
Applause to the author, A.J. Baime for telling this gripping narrative of HST when the world was still in flames."
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Tags : The Accidental President Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World [A. J. Baime] on . <DIV>“[A] well-judged and hugely readable book . . . few are as entertaining.”—Dominic Sandbrook,A. J. Baime,The Accidental President Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World,Mariner Books,1328505685,Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies),Presidents Heads of State,United States - 20th Century,BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Presidents Heads of State,Biography,Biography Autobiography/Presidents Heads of State,GENERAL,General Adult,HISTORY / Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies),HISTORY / Asia / Japan,HISTORY / Europe / General,HISTORY / Military / World War II,HISTORY / United States / 20th Century,Harry S. Truman; Franklin Delano Roosevelt; presidency; Berlin; UN; Potsdam Conference; atomic bomb; Nazi; Hiroshima Nagasaki; Zion; Europe; World War II; Cold War,Harry S. Truman;Franklin Delano Roosevelt;presidency;Berlin;UN;Potsdam Conference;atomic bomb;Nazi;Hiroshima Nagasaki;Zion;Europe;World War II;Cold War,History,History/American,History/Americas (North Central South West Indies),History/Asia - Japan,History/Europe - General,History/United States - 20th Century,History American,Non-Fiction,Presidents Heads of State,U.S. HISTORY - WORLD WAR II (DOMESTIC ASPECTS),U.S. PRESIDENT,United States,United States - 20th Century,BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Presidents Heads of State,Biography Autobiography/Presidents Heads of State,HISTORY / Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies),HISTORY / Asia / Japan,HISTORY / Europe / General,HISTORY / Military / World War II,HISTORY / United States / 20th Century,History/Americas (North Central South West Indies),History/Asia - Japan,History/Europe - General,History/United States - 20th Century,History,History American
The Accidental President Harry S Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World A J Baime 9781328505682 Books Reviews :
The Accidental President Harry S Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World A J Baime 9781328505682 Books Reviews
- Since I turned two years old at the time the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan I thought it would be interesting to read about what was taking place in the world at the time of my birth and in the years immediately following. Harry Truman came into the presidency with an extremely humble attitude and his wife dreaded the thought of this taking place. So much happened during the following four years and President Truman was up to the challenge and the American public viewed him as one just like they were. It was his wife Bess who first used the term "accidental president" stating he could no longer be thought this way because he was later elected on his own merit. Pilot Paul Tibbets used the name Enola Gay after his mother for the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. Such tidbits of information and others are found throughout the book. This book isn't a full length biography of President Truman's life. After a general introduction to Truman's early life the main part of the book is limited to his first four years in office.
What I especially liked about the book is that it held my interest because I found it to be very readable for someone with a general interest in history. You need not be a scholar by any means to enjoy this book. - This is my third book I have read by this author and one thing its for sure, is he knows how to make his subject matter come alive. His previous books on Willow Run and the La Mans battle between Ferrari and Ford were just tremendous. This book is outstanding.
Taking what Baime claims is four of perhaps the four most consequential months of any presidency, a point of which is probably correct, this book starts off with FDR's surprising death in Warm Springs, Georgia as World War II reaches its penultimate moments with the collapse of Germany and the beginning of the end of the Empire of Japan. Though the book claims only 4 months, you still get a portrait of Truman the man, his beginnings and his rise to the presidency.
A humble man put in extraordinary circumstances, Truman somehow navigated the tough course. While not college educated, Truman was still shown to be a man of history and of music. Though I have read the mammoth McCullough biography, this book is just as outstanding. These four months were pretty momentous, and yet Truman had to navigate the end of the war, the Chinese civil war, and the domestic economy as well (though not the subject of this book). Amazing sense of the man and his predilections.
This book is so effortless to read and a pleasure. Highly recommended, - We have all read good books and great books from a historical perspective.
This book is one, if you please, that is an absolute must read. The story of HST and the burdens he had to bear after the death of FDR (and having served only 82 days as VP) are profound.
As the book indicates, his first four months after taking the oath of office were four months that changed the world. No other president in history faced the critical challenges that Truman faced (much less the constant comparisons to FDR). Fighting many things such as "who the hell is Harry Truman?" was just one of the hurdles. Crisis after crisis and Harry got it done.
Applause to the author, A.J. Baime for telling this gripping narrative of HST when the world was still in flames. - I enjoyed this book very much. The author writes well and keeps you turning the pages.
I suspect that we will never see the likes of a Harry Truman in American presidential politics. While I did read McCollough's complete biography years ago, it was refreshing to revisit one of my favorite presidents. I was born while he was in office.
All the more unusual was that Truman was never a success. He had a farm that failed, as well as a business that went under and never had the money to buy a house. After the White House, they lived in his mother-in -laws house in Independence. Add to this that his wife's mother did not like him and thought he would never amount to much.
He worked hard and was humble, but he was tough on the Russians and they could not believe that FDR was gone and this Missouri rooster was crowing loudly against their ambitions in Europe. He was the kind of man you did not want to trifle with and I respect that about him.
He made the decision to use atomic weapons on the Japanese in order to quickly conclude the war and likely save a quarter of a million of young soldiers that would have to invade Japan and fight an ugly battle.
He took all these responsibilities on himself, working a grueling schedule and trying to read everything he could to prepare himself for the heavy work of international diplomacy. He pulled it off and we will never see the likes of this again.
It struck that the author made the statement toward the end of the book that America peaked with the surrender of the Japanese and will never see those lofty heights again. I have to agree with him. America has seen her best days. All the rest is polite conversation.
I highly recommend this book.
