Posted by guest blogger and Edwardsville Patron Irv S.
Conflict and Crisis: The Presidency of Harry s. Truman, 1945-1948 by L.A.Times Washington correspondent Robert J. Donovan is well
researched, well written, and well documented. 430 pages (plus extensive
endnotes of 18 pages and a comprehensive index) is a lot of writing/reading to
cover three and one half years. The period was critical, the decisions crucial,
the characters fascinating.
I grew up admiring Pres. Truman during a period when his
approval and popularity fell to very low levels. I'm not sure that one who is
not a "Trumanphile" will find it as satisfying as I did. Donovan
gives a "warts and all" description of a politician who assumed the
office of president vastly unprepared but who grew into an effective
leader,commander-in-chief, and statesman. James MacGregor Byrnes, a fine
biographer himself describes the book as "...a masterly account...pungent,
plain-spoken, unvarnished...a fair-minded...account of a remarkable
presidency." Mr. Burnes was right on!
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