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An Unplanned Life: A Memoir

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From National Review Online:
An Unplanned Life, by George M. Elsey. The newly published reminiscences of the author's days as a Naval aide to FDR and speechwriter and advisor to President Truman. Now 87, Mr. Elsey spent many hours with Roosevelt in the White House Map Room, served as the president's personal witness to the invasion of Normandy, and decoded and delivered to Truman the first report of the mission over Hiroshima. The stories are fascinating and engagingly told - the product of careful note-taking, an undimmed memory, and a modest, gentlemanly character. --Matthew Scully

George Elsey was a Harvard graduate student in history who wound up as a 23 year old Naval Aide to FDR in the midst of World War II. Thus began an unplanned career as a key witness, participant, and recorder of one of the most important chapters in our nation's history.

Working in the Map Room, he coded, decoded, read, and transmitted the most top secrets of the war, including:

-Handing Churchill the news that the Allies had sunk three German U-Boats, which Churchill knew meant that we'd broken the top secret German Enigma code. Churchill jumped up and down and shouted "We got them! We got them! We got them!" This was in May, 1943, regarded by many as the turning point of the war.
-Handing FDR the news that Mussolini's government had collapsed in July, 1943.
-Handing Truman the news of the atomic bomb.

But he didn't just pass along news, he made news. He was a key architect of Truman's foreign policy, and also nudged him to proceed with civil rights speeches. And then during the "greatest political upset of the century," George Elsey wrote Truman's speeches during his famous Whistle Stop Campaign, sometimes as many as 15 speeches a day.

He had many more accomplishments in government life as well.

He worked at the Red Cross for over 20 years, 13 as President, and was personally responsible for many of the core tenets that live on to this day.

George Elsey is the kind of man we all want to be, and his story, written with great candor, modesty, and precision, reminds us that giants used to roam the halls of the White House.

While the title of this book could fit most of our lives, most of us do not get to go to Princeton, and then assigned to work in the White House through World War II and beyond.

Mr. Elsey did this and more. He was assigned to the White House early in the war. He was to remain, first with Roosevelt and then with Truman for many years. Later, during the Viet Nam war he worked with Clark Clifford looking for ways to get out of the war. Finally he spent a long career with the Red Cross.

This career placed him near the center of power for many of the critical years of the 20th century. Now at 88 years old, it is clear that his memory is still sharp. And as his attitude towards life comes through it is easy to see how he would have fit into many different assignments.

The photograph section of the book is fascinating as it shows him off to the side or behind the president, but often with people very powerful in their own right.

This book is a joy to read. George Elsey has told the story of his experiences with clarity and continuity that makes history reading fun. The word serendipity came to mind numerous times while George relates the fortuitous events in his life. He does not belabor the reader with oft-told events that are common knowledge. His narrative style paints a vivid picture of how important and significant world affairs melded together through the 40s, 50s and 60s. Persons who also grew up in this time-frame will immediately relate to the events. George Mckee Elsey still exhibited his sharpness of mind during a recent radio program on NPR called, The Book Guys.

George Elsey was one of the architects of Truman's upset of 1948. Truman even predicted the outcome some weeks before the election to Elsey and Elsey put the prediction in a safe place. Truman was a little optimistic, but he really defied the odds and the bookmakers in Nevada by beating Tom Dewey.
This is a must for any fan of Harry S Truman. Bet they sell lots of this book at the Truman Library in Independence, MO. There were no two people like Bess and Harry Truman.