Truman

This Pulitzer Prize–winning biography examines the life and presidency of Harry S. Truman, covering his rise through Missouri politics, World War I service, and his time in the White House. His presidency encompassed major historical events including the atomic bombing of Japan, the beginning of the Cold War, and the Korean War. The narrative draws on newly discovered archival material and interviews with Truman's family, friends, and Washington colleagues to portray a more complex and determined figure than previously understood. The biography traces his journey from the Missouri frontier through the Pendergast machine of Kansas City, the 1948 Whistle-Stop Campaign, and consequential decisions including the atomic bomb, confrontation with Stalin at Potsdam, troop deployment to Korea, and the firing of General MacArthur. The account includes figures such as Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Wallace Truman, George Marshall, Joe McCarthy, and Dean Acheson. As the last president to serve as a living link between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Truman's story reflects the turbulent times in which he led the nation.