Truman
by David McCullough
The failed haberdasher who became president: the Missouri farm, the war, the machine politics, the decisions (the bomb, the Marshall Plan, Korea, firing MacArthur). McCullough's longest book and a study of ordinary character under extraordinary load.
Read it if…
you want proof that ordinary people can carry enormous responsibility.
See the book →
Skip it if…
you want brevity; it is over a thousand pages.
Try instead: The Path Between the Seas →
Three things you will actually use
- The buck stops here.
- Decide and sleep.
- Plain speech is a form of courage.
Do this first
Read the chapters on 1945.
Our verdict
Ordinary character, extraordinary load.
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