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Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip [Hardcover]

Matthew Algeo
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (152 customer reviews)

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Book Description

May 1, 2009
On June 19, 1953, Harry Truman got up early, packed the trunk of his Chrysler New Yorker, and did something no other former president has done before or since: he hit the road. No Secret Service protection. No traveling press. Just Harry and his childhood sweetheart Bess, off to visit old friends, take in a Broadway play, celebrate their wedding anniversary in the Big Apple, and blow a bit of the money he’d just received to write his memoirs. Hopefully incognito.
 
In this lively history, author Matthew Algeo meticulously details how Truman’s plan to blend in went wonderfully awry. Fellow diners, bellhops, cabbies, squealing teenagers at a Future Homemakers of America convention, and one very by-the-book Pennsylvania state trooper--all unknowingly conspired to blow his cover. Algeo revisits the Trumans’ route, staying at the same hotels and eating at the same diners, and takes readers on brief detours into topics such as the postwar American auto industry, McCarthyism, the nation’s highway system, and the decline of Main Street America. By the end of the 2,500-mile journey, you will have a new and heartfelt appreciation for America’s last citizen-president.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Public radio reporter Algeo (Last Team Standing) brings the 1950s into focus with a fascinating reconstruction of Harry and Bess Truman's postpresidential 2,500-mile road trip. I like to take trips—any kind of trip, Truman wrote. They are about the only recreation I have besides reading. Between 2006 and 2008, Algeo retraced their journey with stopovers at some of the same diners and hotels the couple visited. When Truman left the White House in 1953, he returned to Independence, Mo., rejecting lucrative offers he felt would commercialize the presidency. His only income was a small army pension. Acquiring a 1953 Chrysler, the Trumans set out with no fanfare and a curious notion of traveling incognito. However, reporters and newsreel cameras soon turned their vehicular vacation into an ongoing media event. The book benefits from extensive research through oral history interviews and papers at the Harry S. Truman Library, and Algeo's own interviews with eyewitnesses. With deliberate detours, this book is a portal into the past with layers of details providing unusual authenticity and a portrait of the president as an ordinary man. 20 b&w photos, 1 map. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"With deliberate detours, this book is a portal into the past with layers of details providing unusual authenticity and a portrait of the president as an ordinary man."  —Publishers Weekly


"Matthew Algeo recalls [my grandparents'] memorable trip beautifully and with the sense of humor it deserves."  —Clifton Truman Daniel, grandson of Harry S. Truman



"Enlivened by Algeo"s endeavors to see the places where Truman stopped, this is an engaging historical sidebar."  — Booklist Online



"An engaging account . . . Well-researched."  —Wall Street Journal



"Combines . . . history with the ever-popular road book, researching, duplicating, and reporting in detail on the last trip the Trumans took, driving their new Chrysler to Washington, and back to Independence."  —Max J. Skidmore, author, After the White House: Former Presidents as Private Citizens



"Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure resonates Aaron Copeland's 'Fanfare for the Common Man'—brassy, bright, energetic, brief and declaratively American."  —Washington Times


"Algeo has done a first-rate job of piecing together the trip . . . a fascinating reading experience." —Jackson Free Press



"Charming and engrossing."  —Riverfront Times


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Chicago Review Press; 1st edition (May 1, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1556527772
  • ISBN-13: 978-1556527777
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.8 x 6.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (152 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When he's not writing his own biography in the third person, Matthew Algeo writes about unusual and interesting events in American history.

His latest book is The President Is a Sick Man (Chicago Review Press, 2011).

His previous book, Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure, was named one of the best books of 2009 by the Washington Post. It is now available in paperback.

Algeo is also a journalist. He has reported from four continents, and his stories have appeared on some of the most popular public radio programs in the United States.

In addition to reporting and writing, Algeo has held jobs as a convenience store clerk, a gas station attendant, a Halloween costume salesman, and a proofreader. He also worked in a traveling circus (as a hot dog vendor; no acrobatics involved).

His wife, Allyson, works for the United States government as a Foreign Service officer. They currently reside in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
93 of 97 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is so uniquely fascinating it is in a class by itself! It combines historical political content and world news... it includes world events that President Harry Truman effected in an expertly sequenced presentation... it gives an unabashed look at the way *WE-THE-PEOPLE-OF-THE-UNITED-STATES* really were in the 1950's which was probably the last decade of true innocence. It gives an intimate look at the private being of one of the twentieth century's most influential characters... and it is *ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS*... in a humor that doesn't really revolve around any jokes. The humor is actually the unadulterated absurdity of a trip that not only is completely impossible to happen today... but probably impossible to ever take place in the rest of recorded time.

Former President Harry S. Truman... a mere few months after leaving office... decides to take a "road-trip" with his loving wife Bess in their new 1953 Chrysler New Yorker from Missouri to Washington D.C... to Philadelphia for his first post-Presidential speech... and then to New York for some sightseeing... and then back to Missouri. The reader will be made aware of some shocking doses of reality... which is what makes this so darn funny. At that point in time former Presidents were *NOT* provided with any secret service protection... and former Presidents got absolutely *NO* pensions. When Harry left the White House he had to get a loan in order to survive. "A chain of clothing stores offered him a job for a hundred thousand dollars a year as a "sales manager". The author chronicles the Truman's road trip in exquisite detail and you will chuckle out loud when the former Commander-In-Chief stops in small coffee shops and less than elegant hotels... and the response of everyday people... when after multiple double-takes... recognize the former President. Harry consistently shows why he was a President of the people. He shook hands with everyone... signed autographs... took his morning walks with reporters walking with him... and taxi drivers beeping at every corner yelling... "HI HARRY!" And of course Harry waved back. He would stop and pose for pictures with everyone once they were able to close their gaping mouths that had dropped open in shock. Here is a man walking down the street who had made the decision to drop "the bomb" during the war... desegregate the military... fire MacArthur... helped form the United Nations... and more... having a meal in a booth at the Princess Diner in Frostburg, Maryland. In addition... during the time encompassed by his trip... landmark news continues to occur that were ripple effects of his Presidency... such as the execution of convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Along with the folksy human side of Harry... the reader will be educated with Harry's true personal and political opinions regarding household names such as his feelings toward JFK then a young senator. "KENNEDY EMBODIED THE KIND OF ELITIST SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT THAT TRUMAN DESPISED. FURTHERMORE, TRUMAN NEVER CARED FOR KENNEDY'S FATHER, THE HAUGHTY AND OVERBEARING JOE KENNEDY, WHOM TRUMAN HAD ONCE THREATENED TO THROW OUT A HOTEL WINDOW FOR BELITTLING FDR." Harry also truly hated Richard Nixon.

The way Harry's former staff felt about him was eloquently displayed in a toast made in his honor by Dean Acheson who among other things said about his former boss: "AND WHAT WE ALL KNEW WAS THAT, HOWEVER HOT THE FIRE WAS IN FRONT, THERE WOULD NEVER BE A SHOT IN THE BACK. QUITE THE CONTRARY! HE STOOD BY US THROUGH THICK AND THIN, ALWAYS EAGER TO ATTRIBUTE SUCCESSES TO US AND ACCEPT FOR HIMSELF THE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR FAILURE..."

Truman's favorite author was Mark Twain and he "kept a framed copy of his favorite Twain quote on his desk in the oval office: "ALWAYS DO RIGHT! THIS WILL GRATIFY SOME PEOPLE AND ASTONISH THE REST."

You will definitely be astonished by this book!
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40 of 44 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Excellent Read! April 13, 2009
Format:Hardcover
In the age of paparazzi and the 24-hour news cycle, the thought of a U.S. president traveling sans security and often going unrecognized is simply astonishing. Matthew Algeo's account of the Trumans' trip is astonishing in its own right.

Constantly entertaining, frequently laugh-out-loud funny, HARRY TRUMAN'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE is an extraordinary book. Equal parts history and travelogue, Algeo beautifully paints a picture not just of the famously in love Harry and Bess, but of a rapidly changing America in the mid-20th Century. And by recreating the Trumans' journey himself, Algeo shows us just how much things have changed in the last half-century.

For a fascinating, truly unique read, I highly recommend this book.
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent adventure March 26, 2009
Format:Hardcover
I was 11 years old when this trip took place, and yes, people actually did drive for "the fun of it" back then. The story was a nice mixture of life in the '50s and a look at Harry Truman's unique personality. Lots of Presidential and other trivia (from turnpikes to tailfins) await the reader, as well.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun trip
Truman is my favorite president so this was a special treat. A great trip with a view of a man who loved meeting people.
Published 8 days ago by Katy
4.0 out of 5 stars Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure
I wish I could relive Harry Truman's era. He had the gumptionto do what he thought was right.Those times didn't seem so simple then as they do now.
Published 8 days ago by Bruce Irvin
5.0 out of 5 stars Great trip!
This brought back such good memories of President Harry Truman and First Lady Bess. Amazing to think that he retired with no pension.
Published 14 days ago by Grannan
4.0 out of 5 stars Travelling with Truman
What a delight to travel back in time with Harry and Bess Truman! I learned more about American history in my lifetime. Read more
Published 28 days ago by spockc
5.0 out of 5 stars Truman's Excellent Adventure
This is a well written book that gives great information about President Truman when he and his wife drove their car on a long trip and who they visited and where they stayed each... Read more
Published 1 month ago by L. Ackelson
3.0 out of 5 stars Just a trip!
I always liked Harry Truman as President, and this little book really presents Mr. & Mrs Truman as my kind of people
Published 1 month ago by richard mayo
5.0 out of 5 stars What a road trip!
The digression of the author on a repeat of the road trip was at times bothersome. I did like knowing about the many stops at Truman's time and then the current visualization a... Read more
Published 2 months ago by RO
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read, and lots of history.
Lots of history in a most interesting format. Road trips were a big thing in my family. The end of WWll era is an important piece of history.
Published 2 months ago by Don Burklo
5.0 out of 5 stars Great stories about a sadly bygone era
David McCullough's "Truman" greatly increased my respect for Harry Truman. This book greatly increased my affection for him (and Bess). Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rocky63
4.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
A nostalgic look at one of my favorite presidents. As a fan of classic cars and the 1950s as well, I couldn't put it down.
Published 3 months ago by hellerlaura
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