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Where the Buck Stops: The Personal and Private Writings of Harry S. Truman

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I recommend three books for those who want to read about Truman: "Plain Speaking" by Merle Miller, "Truman" by David McCullough, and this book by Harry S Truman himself. This book should be read as often as the Bible and Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations." It's a political book (an apology) as well as a memoirs intended to offer advice to present and future politicians. "What It Takes to Be a Good President: 1) Making Up Your Mind, 2) Sticking To It, 3) Listening and Persuading, and 4) Accepting the Past and Having Enough Time." This method could also be very useful in trying to accomplish anything in life.

I feel lucky when I find a book I really enjoy and this one I really enjoyed. He called Daniel Webster a "gasbag". He said Teddy Roosevelt did a lot of talking but very little in the way of acting to solve problems. Truman loved Andrew Jackson and after reading his description of Jackson I also feel that he was one of the best presidents and one of the most interesting characters. This was a really enjoyable way of learning the history of this country and seeing these guys the way they really were and not the mythic characters I used to think from taking American History in high school. I think high school students should be made to read this book, so that American History would come to life for them. I never thought anything of James Polk before reading what Harry wrote about him. And Calvin Coolidge sleeping (I mean zzzzzzz) his way through the Presidency! I liked the way Harry didn't blame Hoover for the depression. Harry was the little kid describing the Emperor's new clothes!

This book does something very rare--it actually reveals the plain-spoken nature of Harry S. Truman while still demonstrating the depth and breadth of Truman's knowledge of history, politics, economics, and foreign affairs. It was really amazing to me that an essentially "self-taught" man was so brilliant with such a deep understanding of a vast array of issues. Unlike our current president, Harry S. Truman understood the complexities of international relations and implications of taking unilateral approaches in our foreign policy.

Truman also recognized that military action was something to be used as a LAST resort, especially when the rest of the world is against such an action. Although Truman had an appreciation for some military experience in public servants, he also recognized the danger of career military men in those positions. Unlike politicians of today, Truman was bold enough to make the unpopular decision to fire General McArthur because our foreign policy should not be predicated on our ability to anhilate every other country on the face of the earth.

This book is absolutely essential for the student of Harry S. Truman in particular, as well as for the student of History in general. Truman goes through all the important historical phases of our country and makes the information really breathe. In this age of political sophistry, it's very refreshing to hear a politician just being himself. It's interesting that Truman was vilified in his day. Perhaps he told it too much like it was for ears of that time. Nonetheless, this is a book that can be read again and again. This and Merle Miller's wonderful book, Plain Speaking -- An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman, should be in every Truman admirer's library.

As a child and young adult, I was taught to have great respect for Mr. Truman. Among the things he was praised for was his plain-speaking manner and the fact that he told it as it was, with no sugar coating. I never really understood what that meant until I read this book. The Harry Truman that comes across here is a person you could easily image as your next-door neighbor. He always gives it to you in a no-nonsense, down-to-earth way that anybody can understand the first time.

That having been said I just want to voice two criticisms. First, I think Mr. Truman's understanding of history might be a little too "black and white". For example, he states that after WWI, the allied powers didn't really go to hard on Germany in terms of making the Germans pay reparations. I think just the opposite is true. The allied powers at Versailles imposed very hard terms on the Germans. Mr. Truman was correct in stating that the allies never entered German soil, however, the severity of the peace terms combined with the fact that the Germans never saw an enemy soldier sowed the seeds for Hitler's preaching that the Germans were stabbed in the back. I'm just saying that perhaps Mr. Truman's historical understanding was not as sophisticated as me might think.

Second, it seems that Mr. Truman's dislike of Mr. Eisenhower finds it's way onto virtually every page of the book. No matter who or what he's talking about, he seems to find a way to turn the subject into a criticism of Ike. I guess he really didn't like him too much.

All that having been said, I think this is great book.

Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, reveals in his personal writings in a no nonsense and blunt account of his impressions of the history of the presidency. For those who have followed Truman's presidency, he indeed was a man who did not sugar-coat what he was on his mind, and with the first sight of the title of this book, WHERE THE BUCK STOPS: THE PERSONAL AND PRIVATE WRITINGS OF HARRY S. TRUMAN, nothing should shock the reader. Margaret Truman has compiled her father's most intimate and somewhat conversational writings that reflect on the past in terms of the presidents who came before him as well as how his presidency and leadership parallels in comparison, that is, according to Truman.

The book examines the most historical and monumental presidents in American history and the events that played a significant role to determining their place in history. But Truman's commentary is not entirely about praise, and he could also be a harsh critic. And with his rich wealth of knowledge, especially when it came to the subject of history, Truman takes readers through a short history lesson exerting his cunning aptness to detail thus providing an exposition and analysis of history's misconceptions, misunderstandings, and controversies, which he dedicates in the section, "How America Got Started" as well as the section that follows.

But the surprising aspect about the writings is that there is hardly a mention of one of the most controversial part about the latter part of his second term in office, his debacle with General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War. But he has a so-called bone to pick with Eisenhower, which he dedicates a chapter, "Why I don't like Ike." Evidently, Ike was not the only president that Truman took a disliking to because the preceding chapters include a hodgepodge of presidents that he thought were not deserving of their place as president, Ulysses S. Grant, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Zachary Taylor. But it may not come to a surprise with whom Truman held to the highest regard, which he titles the section, "Our Great Presidents and Some in Between," George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

WHERE THE BUCK STOPS almost reads like a conversation. Indeed, Truman covers the serious side of the history of the American presidency, but the highlight is his down to earth humor that does not falter or hinder the perceptions he had about the presidents who served before him. This is as close one can get to see how Harry S. Truman was as a man as well as a president, true to form.

Harry Truman was too honest for the average person and loved the common folks too much too be appreciated for the great things he did for the world and the United States.He is a blessing to read!We need more men like him today!

He was a good man, honest, loyal & expected loyalty in return. He also held grudges. He had an impressive grasp of history & of course he helped write it. His daughter, Margaret, edited this book, primarily for length, not for content. It was not to be published until after his death. She honored that request & we are rewarded by rare candor from a president. This book is in essence a history of the U.S. via the presidents good & bad & the constitution.
Unexpectedly, he has special venom for his immediately successor, Dwight Eisenhower. He devotes an entire chapter, I Don't Like Ike. You realize soon that this is a partisan book. The facts of history don't always match with Harry's opinions. His problem with Ike was mostly personal. In fact the transition from his to Ike's administration was pretty seamless, especially in foreign policy. He admired Ike & was very pleased when the general decided not to run for president in 1948. That was Harry's turn to win it on his own. He felt betrayed however, when Ike decided to run in 1952. Harry wasn't even running. He campaigned hard for Adlai Stevenson, who lost badly. Ike was much like Truman. His completion of the interstate highway system, over Republican opposition was classic Truman. He thought Ike lazy, dis interested & past his prime. Probably right. He contradicts himself when it suits him. He has a belief that generals make bad presidents. Zachary Taylor, U.S. Grant & Eisenhower are his examples. Yet the two presidents he admires most, George Washington & Andrew Jackson were generals. Harry claims they were not professional soldiers. I think Washington would be insulted. Jackson preferred to be addressed as "General" the rest of his life. He of course derides George III & that is expected. He calls "old" King George a tyrant, among other thing. Actually he was not a tyrant. He was honest, faithful & hardworking (unusual for kings in any case). He was of course, upper class with a common touch & was a farmer at heart. Sounds like our George. He was also five years younger. It was their politics that caused a problem. Truman's favorite president was Jackson. He waxes on throughout the book. Now that man was a tyrant & defied the supreme court, when he could. Like Jackson, he admired Jefferson & Washington. Truman later came to admire Lincoln, the only one in his family. Harry considers himself a southerner. Jackson does not measure up to the other three.
Harry just about covers every president & you never forget he is a Democrat. He had an opinion on everyone. He also discusses the constitution at length, his dedication to & the various amendments good & bad in his estimation. The last chapter is the special reverence he has for the man before him, Franklin Roosevelt. It is a tribute approaching worship as he discusses the last days, Stalin's treachery, Yalta & finally his conference at Potsdam.
The book is set up in bite-sized chapters, almost like lectures. It seems very personal & I felt as though I was listening to a likable, highly partisan, old man. He goes astray often with little historical anecdotes, such as Button Gwinett's autograph, (he was a signer of the Declaration of Independence) Hessian flies, Wilson entertaining Mrs. Galt at the White House & so many more. These must be the result of artful editing by Miss Truman. Harry Truman does not care for footnotes but his daughter uses them liberally & they do help clarify.
A personal engaging book in Truman's unvarnished style.

This book is worth reading only if you've already learned quite a lot of history. In many instances Truman embellishes or distorts historical facts, and on certain points he is embarrassingly wrong. It's a wonder that the editor of the book, his daughter Margaret (who majored in history in college) didn't catch some of his errors. Particularly egregious is Truman's discussion of the American Revolution, in which he asserts that George III was "an absolute monarch." Nothing could be further from the truth. By the late 18th century, the King of England had considerably less political power than the President of the United States would have in later years.

Moreover, Truman's attacks on Eisenhower smack of vindictiveness, and while they may contain some truth they are not to be trusted on the whole. Truman was a suspicious man, and once he took a dislike to someone, he tended to put the most negative possible spin on anything that man said or did.

The book is written in a lively style, but beware: Truman was a politician, a man full of grudges and prejudices. These come out in this book--sometimes strongly enough to make you wince.