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The Watchdog: How the Truman Committee Battled Corruption and Helped Win World War Two Hardcover – May 9, 2023

by Steve Drummond (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 74 ratings
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The story of how a little-known junior senator fought wartime corruption and, in the process, set himself up to become vice president and ultimately President Harry Truman.

Months before Pearl Harbor, Franklin D. Roosevelt knew that the United States was on the verge of entering another world war for which it was dangerously ill-prepared. The urgent times demanded a transformation of the economy, with the government bankrolling the unfathomably expensive task of enlisting millions of citizens while also producing the equipment necessary to successfully fight—all of which opened up opportunities for graft, fraud and corruption.

In The Watchdog, Steve Drummond draws the reader into the fast-paced story of how Harry Truman, still a newcomer to Washington politics, cobbled together a bipartisan team of men and women that took on powerful corporate entities and the Pentagon, placing Truman in the national spotlight and paving his path to the White House.

Drawing on the largely unexamined records of the Truman Committee as well as oral histories, personal letters, newspaper archives and interviews, Steve Drummond—an award-winning senior editor and executive producer at NPR—brings the colorful characters and intrigue of the committee’s work to life. The Watchdog provides readers with a window to a time that was far from perfect but where it was possible to root out corruption and hold those responsible to account. It shows us what can be possible if politicians are governed by the principles of their office rather than self-interest.
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  1. Print length
    448 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Hanover Square Press
  4. Publication date
    May 9, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1335449507
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1335449504
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

From unexamined records of the Truman Committee.
How a little-known junior senator fought wartime corruption and became President Harry Truman.
"The Watchdog will make you long for an era when government could be made to work." -- Evan Thomas

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is an original and insightful chronicle of an overlooked yet critical stage in the career of Harry Truman. Not only did his path to the White House begin during World War II, his dogged devotion to detail and bipartisan passion saved many battlefield lives along with billions of dollars. Vividly, The Watchdog takes Truman from junior Missouri senator to his stunning ascension as leader of a world still fighting for freedom."—Tom Clavin, New York Times bestselling author of Lightning Down: A World War II Story of Survival


“Steve Drummond has written an engaging, clear-eyed story of an important but overlooked chapter in the life of Harry Truman. The Watchdog will make you long for an era when government could be made to work.”—Evan Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of First: Sandra Day O’Connor

"It takes a thoughtful and agile reporter to see the story that others have overlooked. It takes an astute student of history to understand how the past speaks to the present. Steve Drummond is both. His unlikely tale of the Truman Committee, a shocking example of governmental success, will have readers looking anew at its chairman and namesake: the wonky senator from Missouri, with a distaste for partisanship and publicity, who became our thirty-third president."—Robin Givhan, senior critic at large of The Washington Post and author of The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History

"Drummond shines a light on a dark, forgotten corner of wartime history."—Kirkus

“Drummond used a trove of documents to create this excellent narrative. The result is a well-written, engaging analysis of an often-overlooked and instructive aspect of Truman’s career that was essential to the war effort."—Booklist

"Few people know the details of what [Harry Truman] did to make himself one of the most famous people in the nation, a story that is as fascinating as it is little-known, and which is told brilliantly in an important new book, The Watchdog. This is, indeed, a book that’s not only hard to put down, but which has a lot to say about how government can, and should work."—Lessenberry Ink

About the Author

Steve Drummond is a journalist at NPR in Washington, where he has been a senior editor for more than two decades. He has been a reporter with newspapers in Florida and the Associated Press in Michigan and has written for many publications, including the St. Petersburg Times, the Detroit News, the New York Times, Education Week and Teacher Magazine. He lives in Maryland, where he also teaches journalism at the University of Maryland.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hanover Square Press; Original edition (May 9, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1335449507
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1335449504
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 74 ratings

About the author

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Steve Drummond

Steve Drummond

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Steve Drummond is an author, educator and journalist who for more than two decades has been a senior editor at NPR in Washington. The Watchdog: How the Truman Committee Battled Corruption and Helped Win World War Two, is his first book.

At NPR, Drummond has held a variety of roles, including national editor, supervising editor of All Things Considered, and executive producer of the network’s Code Switch podcast and its education reporting team. His work has been honored with many of journalism's highest awards, including the Peabody Award, the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award, and the Edward R. Murrow Award.

In 2013, he taught at Princeton University and currently teaches in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Drummond grew up near Detroit and holds a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from the University of Michigan. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
74 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book a great read with vivid characters and suspenseful content. They also describe the content as riveting.

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6 customers mention "Content"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the content riveting, inspiring, and good information. They also say the book provides fascinating information about how the committee helped the war efforts.

"...his committee staff's personal lives to give a finely written and engaging history of Truman's wartime work and his rise to prominence." Read more

"...The book is a great read with vivid characters and suspenseful writing. And it’s inspiring...." Read more

"...It was definitely worth the cost. Lots of good information. The receiver of the gift was very happy. Quality of the book was well worth it." Read more

"...deftly stuffed with the anecdotes, details and digressions that characterize great storytelling, this might be an important contribution to the..." Read more

6 customers mention "Reading experience"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fascinating and like a novel.

"...with Truman's and his committee staff's personal lives to give a finely written and engaging history of Truman's wartime work and his rise to..." Read more

"...The book is a great read with vivid characters and suspenseful writing. And it’s inspiring...." Read more

"...The receiver of the gift was very happy. Quality of the book was well worth it." Read more

"...Well-written and deftly stuffed with the anecdotes, details and digressions that characterize great storytelling, this might be an important..." Read more

Winning the war by committee
5 out of 5 stars
Winning the war by committee
There are many excellent biographies of Harry S Truman, and all of them discuss his critically important work with the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, more popularly known as the Truman Committee. His work there elevated him from Democratic Party back-bencher (one widely derided as "the Senator from Pendergast", owing to his then-disgraced Missouri political boss) to one of the best-known and most respected Senators in the nation, and of course it led to him being chosen as Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate in 1944.But I don't know of any other book which examines the work of the committee in such depth and detail as this. I certainly can't think of one which explores the relentless efforts of the investigators to uncover the truth (or for that matter, which even share the names and personal stories of most of those investigators).The Truman Committee has to this day a reputation for hard work and sterling integrity, as well as an utterly non-partisan character (every single one of its reports were endorsed by all of the Democrats and Republicans on the committee, with no dissensions...something of a miracle in Congressional history), that almost seems too good to be true. But as author Steve Drummond ably proves, that isn't Washington gloss, it was entirely true. And although it's impossible to quantify, as he makes plain here, there is no denying that the work of the committee saved money, saved time, and above all, saved lives.Any student of Truman, or of World War II, will not only find this book invaluable, but a highly entertaining read as well.
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Top reviews from the United States

RobinRedbird
5.0 out of 5 stars I had no idea what Truman really did to improve war production
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2024
Verified Purchase
I knew Harry investigated war profiteering fraud and waste. I did not know how big the enterprise was and how long their work continued to improve war materiel and save American soldiers’ lives
One person found this helpful
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Kelly Durham
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
Terrific book about a little-recalled, but vital aspect of America's 20th Century climb to superpower status. In The Watchdog, author Drummond tells how an obscure politician from Missouri rose in the public perception to became Franklin Roosevelt's running mate in 1944. Harry Truman made his name--and his political future--as head of the eponymous Truman Committee which investigated waste and corruption involved in the massive federal defense spending immediately before and during the critical years of World War II. Drummond weaves together the records of the committee with Truman's and his committee staff's personal lives to give a finely written and engaging history of Truman's wartime work and his rise to prominence.
5 people found this helpful
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Deborah
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2024
Verified Purchase
This was a gift for a family member. It was definitely worth the cost. Lots of good information. The receiver of the gift was very happy. Quality of the book was well worth it.
One person found this helpful
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Ahayes
5.0 out of 5 stars Only 3 pages into reading the Introduction and I was all in - hook, line and sinker!
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
Such a great book! The story of corruption is fascinating (and unfortunately still relevant) and I so enjoyed getting to know who Truman was as a person.

Only 3 pages into reading the Introduction and I was all in - hook, line and sinker!

The story artfully intertwines the relationship of Harry and Bess; America during those times of war; the making of a president; and the story of historic corruption and not only its financial impact, but its humanitarian consequences as well.

I’m looking forward to the livestream Distinguished Author Event, on October 25th, from the Harry S Truman Library and Museum to hear Steve Drummond talk about the story - and those interesting tidbits that aren’t in the book.
4 people found this helpful
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RS
5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping history that reads like mystery novel
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2023
Verified Purchase
It’s 1943 and the U.S. is at war with Germany and Japan, but there are unseen enemies within our borders: war profiteering and corruption. This book follows a rag-tag group of investigators and bureaucrats, led by Harry S. Truman, as they uncover the greedy suppliers trying to rip off the government.

The book is a great read with vivid characters and suspenseful writing. And it’s inspiring. In a world where we assume that politicians can’t accomplish anything, Truman leads a bipartisan effort to save billions of dollars and make sure that America’s fighting men have the equipment they deserve.

This book would make a great gift for that history buff in your life who is always complaining about how Congress and the government can’t do anything right. Once upon a time, they actually did the smart thing and this book will leave you cheering for them.
6 people found this helpful
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Ulrich Boser
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read about Truman -- and the uncovering of graft that almost destroyed America's war machine
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
I'm biased. I've known Drummond's work for years. But the Watchdog is a riveting tale of a largely unknown footnote to World War 2 -- how Harry Truman uncovered epic levels of graft. Deeply narrative, almost Arthur Conan Doyle-esque, the book is taut and thrilling, sometimes even feeling like an "Oceans 11" movie with a ragtag group of dogged but love-able protagonists with Harry Truman at the center. Instead of stealing diamonds, however, the group battles corruption like uncovering companies selling defective engines. Drummond tells the story with verve, drawing on Truman's own papers and wonderful descriptions. (Truman sometimes drank two glasses of buttermilk before bed, it turns out.) This is a must read for any lover of history.
11 people found this helpful
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Nancy D. Walton
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book but…
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
James F. Byrnes was never Majority Leader of the US Senate as stated on pages 90-91 and other pages. The Majority Leader was Alben Barkley of Kentucky, who would become Truman’s Vice President.
3 people found this helpful
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PD
5.0 out of 5 stars So many great stories within a great story...
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2023
Verified Purchase
There are so many fascinating threads throughout this story – even the endnotes are a great read.

Well-written and deftly stuffed with the anecdotes, details and digressions that characterize great storytelling, this might be an important contribution to the Truman record, but it’s also a treasure of stories within a story.

From the swamps of Louisiana to a Kentucky swimming pool, to some world class waffling in the hot seat, this is history that will leave you wondering why you had never heard this story before.
4 people found this helpful
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