From Publishers Weekly
Margaret Truman, author of well-received murder mysteries and of the biography Harry S. Truman, here pays tribute to her mother. Drawing on personal recall as well as on some 1500 lettersmostly written by Bess but also several hundred of Harry'sMargaret Truman recreates her parents' lives: the difficult passages when Harry and later Bess were swamped by political pressures, as well as the homespun pleasures of their long marriage. Seldom have the terms of marriage at its most enduring been so touchingly revealed as in these pages, which include dozens of rare photos. Historians will be interested in the book for its insights: HST is portrayed as an honest man used by corrupt bosses early in his career for window-dressinga credible view. HST's legendary bluntness shines through numerous vignettes, and readers will be amused by his comments on FDR, Ike and Nixon. 150,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; first serial to Parade; BOMC alternate; Reader's Digest Condensed Book Club selection.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Truman complements her Harry S. Truman (1973) with this biography of her mother, based upon both recollection and the mining of a cache of family letters. It begins with a charmed Missouri girlhood shattered by a father's suicide, then follows over 60 years of courtship and marriage. While some 1600 of her husband's letters survive, Bess burned most of hers and the book suffers, telling far less about this most private First Lady than we would like, retelling too much about Harry Truman. A worse failure than her stylistic awkwardness is that the author fails to show that Bess Truman was an interesting figure in her own right, and worthy of a separate biography. Robert H. Ferrell's Dear Bess ( LJ 11/1/83) is a better chronicle of the marriage. Buy only to satisfy demand. Robert F. Nardini, M.L.S., Concord, N.H.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
