The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World

Bought as a gift for later in the year. Should be well appreciated

This isn't a biography from cradle to the grave, which,lets be honest -spend too many pages on tedious stuff, this mainly covers a few months when Truman went from not even a household name in his family to the most powerful man on the planet taking momentous decisions almost daily. In his first four months of his presidency he had seen Germany defeated, spent days horse trading with Churchill and Stalin (one of them would have been too much for most politicians) on what Europe would look like post-war and give permission to drop two nuclear bombs that forced Japan to surrender. Throw in the first seeds about the state of Israel being created and Truman's decisions still have huge consequences today. Throw in the fact he never wanted to be President and his wife hated the idea all the while he was in office nakes the title completely accurate of someone who was thrust into office and power and judging by this book did a pretty good job under circumstances probably no world leader had seen before or since.

I knew nothing of Truman before reading this, and Baime does a good job of painting a compelling portrait of the man, who he obviously admires and likes. It is difficult not to share that view after reading this book (which ends at America at the zenith of its power and Truman at the zenith of his popularity: no Korea or McCarthy here). There are some irritating factual errors - even I knew that Gromyko was not the Soviet Foreign Minister in 1945, nor was Anthony Eden yet Lord Avon - and it might have been interesting to explore how history has treated the decision to drop the bomb: Baime rather suggests that it was dropped largely because no one seemed to have much of an idea what else to do with it. Those niggles aside, a recommended read.

An excellent account of Truman's baptism of fire (literally). A must read for anyone interested in modern history, and anyone who isn't.

It was not until April 25, 1945 (or page 167 of A.J. Baime's "The Accidental President"), that newly inaugurated president Harry Truman was told about the US development of the atomic bomb. That was nearly two weeks after Truman succeeded Franklin Roosevelt, who had died on April 12th. (I'm not exactly sure, but I think the Soviets may have known about the bomb before Truman did because of the spying done at Los Alamos.) Why hadn't Truman, who had been Vice-President since January 20, 1945, been let into the loop? A.J. Baime covers this and lots more in his book, "The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World". It's a book that concentrates on a short time in history, but gives the reader the full story of how that period of time relates to the periods that came before and after. He writes a short bio of Truman and his family before moving into his nomination as Vice-President (the voting was actually done on the floor of the Democratic convention, different from today when the Presidential candidate selects his running mate and a perfunctory floor vote is taken). Truman was considered a dark horse and underestimated by those who didn't know him - like Franklin Roosevelt - but he was much respected by his peers in the Senate. His formation in 1941 of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program boosted his national profile a bit, but he was still an unknown quantity by the American public, shocked and saddened after Roosevelt's sudden death. Baime covers the Allied meeting at Potsdam, the decision to drop the two atomic bombs, and the early formation of the United Nations, among other topics. But most of all, Baime examines Harry Truman, the man and the statesman and how the challenges of his "accidental presidency" were met and exceeded. A.J. Baime's book is one of the best history books I've read. He's an easy writer and his words seem to flow on the page.

Readable

Interesting because I got this book to read out of the blue for pure curiosity around the motives to drop the atomic bombs over Japan. Maybe it would shed some light on this matter... For my great pleasure, the book has more than that. It covers the end of the FDR era and the beginning of a new one: Harry S Truman as the first President coming from the common people to rule the world and set eternal development for all humankind (UN, NATO). Glad to understand a little bit more about the ’40s political environment, specially USSR (Stalin) and Great Britain (W. Churchill the last official meet before his term was over). I am not American and probably because of that I never had heard the lend-lease doctrine (program), where the Americans taxpayers were called to support (finance) the battle against Hitler and the rebuild of a devastated Europe. Thanks For That. Excellent book, five stars for sure.

Espléndida descripción de los primeros meses de la presidencia de Truman, aunque yo habría deseado, a tenor del nombre del libro, una mayor extension sobre el resto de su presidencia, de la misma manera que dedica bastantes páginas a sus años previos a ña misma

The paper and print quality is so bad... Brown paper with such a light print that it's so hard to read. The print is also not at all clear. Regret buying. Returned immediately. These Indian editions are unfortunately made with such poor quality. How do these publishers get away with this?

I very much enjoyed the first four chapters regarding how Harry S Truman (HST) became the 33rd president of the United States. Some of this information author A. J. Baime reveals I had not been exposed to previously. Most especially the physicians intervention and interaction in Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)'s death at Warm Springs, Georgia. Very interesting minutes prior to his death, he was still smoking after a year before his physician told him to "distance himself from cigarettes." The book makes light of the Annals of Internal Medicine case report regarding FDR's medical history. Part two is the political education of HST. It is ripe with many interesting facts regarding his life from farmer to president of the USA. Especially interesting, is the 1944 Democratic Chicago Convention in which the Democratic National Committee (DNC) maneuvers to obtain HST on the ticket as vice president. Shades of 2024. Part three is the beginning of the four-month span of HST "baptism of fire" as the replacement of FDR after his passing. Here the reader obtains an eyewitness look into his demeaner and personality with his family and the surrounds. This period is the countdown to the July 1945 Potsdam Tripartite Meeting and the uncertainty of the atomic bomb effectiveness. Part four provides the reader with the ongoings to arrival at the "Big Three Potsdam Meeting" and views of HST during and while the waiting for the test results of the Trinity plutonium bomb test. Many do not realize this was really the testing of the Nagasaki weapon which material was obtained from the reactor in Hanford, Washington. To really appreciate the final part of the book the reader should view the recent film "Oppenheimer" to understand what is happening parallel to the Potsdam meeting. Here The Manhattan District Program is pushed to completion to provide HST with the information to negotiate the finality of the second world war. The book is very interesting and easy to read. However, the contrast of the paperback print can cause asthenopia over time. It is highly informative and sophisticated even for the historian. It is composed of five parts with thirty-eight chapters, an epilogue, B&W photos, notes, and a helpful index. Using personal letters, communiques, diaries, and newspaper articles the author has crafted a significant contribution to the historical record. All interested in this period should purchase this book.