There are several books about Harry S. Truman, and I started this book by Cabell Phillips with a bit of skepticism. The book was published in 1966, and it does suffer from the fact that much of the information about Soviet spying was still classified at that time. The author therefore writes disbelievingly about reports of espionage activities by government officials. One example involves the separate revelations by two people who turned themselves in to the FBI admitting they had been Communists and couriers for large Soviet espionage networks. The author refers to them as “A tense, overwrought spinster named Elizabeth Bentley and a moody senior editor of Time Magazine.”  Their stories “…were so incredible that the FBI at first refused to countenance them.” It is true that the liberal media chipped away at the credibility of both people and their testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). The media had stories that questioned the mental state of both people and portrayed them as unsavory or at least unattractive. The eventual declassification of counterespionage information and the opening of Soviet archives validated the testimony of both people.

Getting that quibble set aside, I did find the book to have good information that is well presented. The dustcover sets the tone of admiration the author has for Truman. He describes the Truman’s story as “…one of the most heartening and surprisingly personal success stories in the annals of politics. From the day in April 1945 when the news of FDR’s death shocked the nation, Harry Truman, the unprepossessing ‘little man from Missouri,’ grew slowly and haltingly to become one of the ‘great’ American Presidents.” That tone continues with the first two sentences of the Preface. “Harry S. Truman was a quite ordinary man. He was also a quite extraordinary President.” The author acknowledges the help of Dean G. Acheson, Clark M. Clifford, and Averell Harriman, three people I have read were trusted Truman confidants. I thought that gave the book a stamp of credibility.

The Prologue gets right to the heart of the story with a description that the author and several other reporters were gathered to witness the unveiling of a new Army weapon on April 12, 1945. An Officer interrupted the proceedings by announcing, “Gentlemen, there’s been an awful tragedy. President Roosevelt died at Warm Springs an hour ago.” Everyone sat in stunned silence until someone said, “Good God, Truman will be President.” We have FDR to thank that the comment was not, “Good God, Wallace will be President.” FDR had allowed Wallace, the ultraliberal Vice President, to be replaced by Truman as his new running mate. The gushing compliments of Truman continue in the Prologue. “And history has rarely witnessed a more heartening triumph of simple virtues of unpretentiousness, honesty, and courage. Harry Truman was, and remains, an ordinary man; not an average man, as he is so often has been depicted, but an ordinary man who must make do without any special endowments of genius, intellect, or charm. His strength lay in his ability to do the best he could with what he had and not to despair over what he did not have. That is wisdom denied the average man.” (Reading that made me wish we could resurrect Mr. Truman to serve the country once again, although I would disagree with his liberal domestic programs.)

Harry found the job of Vice President to be quite easy. He seldom interacted with FDR and mostly was just required to sit in a comfortable chair presiding over often boring dealings of the U.S. Senate. He was paying little attention to the proceedings and was instead writing a letter to his mother and sister during the April 12, 1945 session. He signaled the time had been reached for adjournment, handed his letter to his administrative assistant to be mailed, joined his friend Sam Rayburn for a bourbon and branch water, and started to leave. He was told he was wanted in the residence of the White House “right away.” He knew something momentous had happened. He was ushered into Mrs. Roosevelt’s study. Mrs. Roosevelt waked to him calmly “…in her characteristic, graceful dignity.” She stepped forward, put her hand on Harry’s shoulder, and said, “Harry, the President is dead.” Truman finally found his voice to ask, “Is there anything I can do for you?” Truman said he would never forget her deeply understanding reply. “Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now.”

The book presents a “standard” description of Harry S. Truman. There are many items that would be of interest to people not familiar to his story. For example, his parents never agreed on what the middle initial “S.” stood for. A long bout with diphtheria at the age of ten left him with impaired eyesight, and he had to wear glasses after that. He served honorably in World War I as a Captain commanding a front line artillery unit, and that service was said to have established his understanding of what was required of a leader. He was 35 when he came home from the war and opened a haberdashery business with a friend. The business eventually failed. The Pendergast machine needed an upstanding person, and Harry was offered to run as a country judge. He ran and won. He eventually, though a series of events that eliminated other people, ran for Senator and won.

Most accounts of Truman’s ascendency to the Vice Presidency emphasize his work in the Senate as “lackluster.” This book recognizes that he had served with enough distinction to attract the support of the Democrat Party “kingmakers” when they decided Henry Wallace would do more to harm FDR’s chances of re-election than any other candidate. Many insiders realized that the position was crucial. They saw FDR’s health declining, and realized the importance of selecting a different Vice President. Truman had gained enough recognition that he was asked by James (Jimmy) F. Byrnes to put his name into nomination. Truman responded, “Why sure Jimmy, if that’s what the President wants I’ll not only nominate you, but I’ll work for you.” He had barely hung up the phone when Senator Alben Barkley called to ask Truman to his nominating speech. The desire of two politicians wanting Truman to nominate them validates that he had attracted attention as a Senator.

The “kingmakers” decided that Truman provided FDR the fewest handicaps and some advantages. FDR finally, under pressure from numerous advisors, agreed that Wallace would be a drag on the ticket. He also signaled he would not publicly drop Wallace. FDR wrote a letter that initially said he would be glad to run with Bill Douglas or Harry Truman. Robert Hannegan convinced him to reverse the order to read Harry Truman or Bill Douglas. Truman was not interested in running for the position of Vice President. He was completely happy with his position of Senator, and did not see any reason to change. Hannegan told him the President wanted him on the ticket, and Truman said, “Tell him to go to hell. I’m for Jimmy Byrnes.” Truman later was directed to report to Hannegan’s suite and was told he had to run. The telephone rang and Hannegan answered. FDR clearly asked, “Bob, have you got that fellow lined up yet?” “Hannegan replied, ‘He is the contrariest Missouri mule I’ve ever dealt with.” FDR replied, “Well, you tell him if he wants to break up the Democratic Party in the middle of a war, that’s his responsibility.” Hannegan hung up and asked Truman what he had to say. Truman mumbled, “My God.”

The book jumps to August 6, 1945 when the Enola Gay drops the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima after Truman had given his approval. Truman was handed a message while he was on the destroyer Augusta when he received a message the bomb had been dropped and the detonation“…was even more conspicuous than earlier test.” Truman announced to the crew that a powerful new bomb had been dropped on Japan and they and eventually thousands of other soldiers who had been staging for an invasion of Japan celebrated. Secretary of War Stimson had only told Truman about the bomb on April 25, 1945.The Interim Committee that had been formed to advise the President on the use of the bomb issued the conclusion: “We can propose no technical demonstration likely to bring an end to the war. We can see no acceptable alternative to direct military use.”

The book describes the Truman Administration accomplishments in holding the line against the Soviets despite the fact Truman was criticized frequently and strongly for “being soft on Communism.” The Truman Doctrine prevented Greece and Turkey from becoming Communist satellites. The Marshall Plan pulled Europe out of economic collapse that would have opened the continent to Stalin’s advances. Truman also authorized the massive rearmament that set the stage for Eisenhower and other Presidents to follow to successfully confront the USSR in the Cold War. The Korean “Police Action” destroyed Truman’s popularity, but clearly signaled to the Soviets that the U.S. would not stand by and tolerate Communist military aggression. Truman may have been an imperfect President, but it doesn’t take much imagination to believe the country came out better off because of FDR’s agreement to replace Wallace with Truman. (Wallace ran for President in the 1948 campaign as a Progressive with the support of the Socialist and Communist Parties.)