Customer Reviews

Harry S. Truman (Profiles of the Presidents)

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Of course my first thought when I saw the cover of this juvenile biography of Harry S. Truman for the Profiles of the Presidents series was that there should not be a period after the S, because it does not stand for anything and is therefore not an abbreviation. But Deborah Cannarella tells her readers that actually that S stood for two names, namely those of his grandfathers, Shippe and Solomon. However, it is not until the end of the book that Cannarella points out that when Truman left the White House most Americans did not think he had been a successful president, but as time passed his reputation grew and today many people rank Truman as one of our greatest presidents. Instead, she sets up Truman as a common, everyday man who became president and relied on his own common sense rather than experience to be the leader of the most powerful country in the world.

My assumption has always been that it never dawned on Franklin D. Roosevelt that he would not live to see the end of World War II let alone not complete his fourth term in the White House. This is based mainly on the lack of any evidence to suggest that FDR picked Truman to be his successor; while Roosevelt did have to persuade Truman to take the post, the argument had to do with Democratic Party unity and not carrying out FDR's programs. Of course, today it would be hard to imagine the nation being better served by an accidental president than what happened with Truman, but it would be interesting to know who FDR would have picked for vice president if he had a clearer idea of his own mortality. But keep in mind that in 1860 the nation elected the only man in the nation who would see that the Union was preserved, so there might be something to this manifest destiny idea after all.

Cannarella covers the biographical details of Truman's life, cataloguing his various political offices and underscoring the integrity that was the defining element of his character. Young readers will also learn more about what Truman did as president than you will usually find in these volumes. The book is illustrated with period photographs of Truman's personal life and public career, including a pair of portraits of Harry and future wife Bess Wallace when they were childhood friends. The back of the book includes a glossary, fast facts about the president, a parallel timeline of world and presidential events, and lists of various resources to help young readers understand the life and times of Truman better.