The Accidental President

Posted on 15 October 2017 by A.J. Baime

The dramatic, pulse pounding story of Harry Truman s first four months in office, when this unlikely, small town Washington outsider had to take on Germany, Japan, Stalin, and the atomic bomb, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.Heroes are often defined as ordinary characters who get thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and through courage and a dash of luck, cement their place in history Chosen as FDR s fourth term vice president for his well praised work ethic, good judgment, and lack of enemies, Harry S Truman was the prototypical ordinary man, still considered an obscure Missouri politician That is, until he was shockingly thrust in over his head after FDR s sudden death At the climactic moments of the Second World War, Truman had to play judge and jury during the founding of the United Nations, the Potsdam Conference, the Manhattan Project, the Nazi surrender, the liberation of concentration camps, and the decision to drop the bomb and end World War II Tightly focused, meticulously researched, and using documents not available to previous biographers, The Accidental President escorts readers into the situation room with Truman during this tumultuous, history making 120 days, when the stakes were high and the challenges even higher. Best Read [ The Accidental President ] Author [ A.J. Baime ] – kino-fada.fr I have read many biographies about Harry S Truman 1884 1972 In this book A J Baime narrows the scope of the book to the first four months of the presidency The author does provide some early history of Truman so the reader understands how events came about.On April 12, 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt summoned Truman to the White House to inform him of the death of FDR Truman said his worst nightmare immediately became a reality He had only been Vice President for three months and had not been i I have read many biographies about Harry S Truman 1884 1972 In this book A J Baime narrows the scope of the book to the first four months of the presidency The author does provide some early history of Truman so the reader understands how events came about.On April 12, 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt summoned Truman to the White House to inform him of the death of FDR Truman said his worst nightmare imme...I met former President Harry S Truman when he spent several days at my college If you wanted to chat you could just walk up to him The best time was early in the morning when he took his daily constitutional walk Walking along with him was a great way to get to know how down to earth he was, and how much he valued every person.Some of that comes through strongly in Baime s book, which has as its primary focus the four months after Truman is thrust into the job by the death of Franklin De I met former President Harry S Truman when he spent several days at my college If you wanted to chat you could just walk up to him The best time was early in the morning when he took his daily constitutional walk Walking along with him was a great way to get to know how down to earth he was, and how much he valued every person.Some of that comes through strongly in Baime s book, which has as its primary focus the four months after Truman is thrust into the job by the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt It would have been a whole lot easier if FDR had taken any steps to prepare Truman for that possibility Aside from sending him a congratulatory note on election night he did almost nothing.I have read some excellent ...Never had fate shoehorned so much history into such a short period The Accidental President, A J BaimeHis first response was No Truman did not want the position of President Franklin D Roosevelt s new Vice President.But FDR commanded it, and Harry S Truman had to agree.FDR was not a well man when he took office for a fourth term And when he died on April 12, 1945, Truman said, the whole weight of the moon and stars fell on me Who the hell is Harry Truman The Accidental President b Never had fate shoehorned so much history into such a short period The Accidental President, A J BaimeHis first response was No Truman did not want the position of President Franklin D Roosevelt s new Vice President.But FDR commanded it, and Harry S Truman had to agree.FDR was not a well man when he took office for a fourth term And when he died on April 12, 1945, Truman said, the whole weight of the moon and stars fell on me Who the hell is Harry Truman The Accidental President by A J Baime focuses on Truman s first four months in the presidency, portraying Truman as an unknown Everyman kept out of FDR s loop, but who quickly gained the nation s trust and approval while tackling huge challenges He came into the job with only a layman s knowledge of international politics but scrambled to catch u...This is a popularized history book about Harry Truman and the tumultuous first four months of his presidency There was a lotabout Truman s history than I expected, stopping in its tracks the story of the first four months, but the background was helpful to get a measure of the man Truman, a self educated man who grew up in poverty, had some redeeming characteristics, such as his work ethic and his respect for knowledge and fact There is no substitute for a fact When the facts are know This is a popularized history book about Harry Truman and the tumultuous first four months of his presidency There was a lotabout Truman s history than I expected, stopping in its tracks the story of the first four months, but the background was helpful to get a measure of the man Truman, a self educated man who grew up in poverty, had some redeeming characteristics, such as his work ethic and his respect for knowledge and fact There is no substitute for a fact When the facts are known, reasonable men do not disagree with respect to them He was also a white supremacist, with an all out racist, Confederate loving mother who was like Granny Clampet to the nth degree, two points treated too lightly in the book The author admires Truman too much to be objective on other issues too, presenting in the end an uncritical elegy to Truman.I grew skeptic...Harry Truman was sworn in as the 33rd U.S President on April 12, 1945 following the death of President Franklin D Roosevelt The first 1 3 of the book provides a background while the final 2 3 captures Truman s first four months in office most notably as Commander in Chief during the final stages of World War II When Truman took office the stage was already set for rapid historical events to unfold, but certain decisions still had to be made The fall of Germany, the Postsdam Conference and t Harry Truman was sworn in as the 33rd U.S President on April 12, 1945 following the death of President Franklin D Roosevelt The first 1 3 of the book provides a background while the final 2 3 captures Truman s first fo...Thank you to the publishers for providing an ARC of this book through NetGalley.This was a brilliant biography of Truman, concerning the first four months of his presidency It briefly covers a few months prior to Roosevelt s death, so we understand how Truman came to make the decisions he did, and goes into depth concerning the war with Germany and the war with Japan, the Manhattan Project, the formation of the United Nations, Europe s struggle to feed its peoples and refugees and the burgeonin Thank you to the publishers for providing an ARC...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 It was not until April 25, 1945 or page 167 of A.J Baime s The Accidental President , that newly inaugurated president Harry Tru...Right Man, Right TimeHarry S Truman has been one of the most forgotten presidents of the 20th Century Standing in the shadow of FDR, it s easy to see why But my cynicism of FDR is well founded, especially when in his 4th term the events of his hapless arrogance threw this nobody from Independence, MO into what under his leadership became the most powerful position in the wold.To think that it was Truman who led America into the position as the greatest superpower the world has ever seen shoul Right Man, Right TimeHarry S Truman has been one of the most forgotten presidents of the 20th Century Standing in the shadow of FDR, it s easy to see why But my cynicism of FDR is well founded, especially when in his 4th term the events of his hapless arrogance threw this nobody from Independence, MO into what under his leadership became the most powerful position in the wold.To think that it was Truman who led America into the position as the greatest superpower the world has ever seen should be something to consider.Many say that FDR got us through the war but I think it was the media that did, whose agenda FDR carefully adhered to.It was Truman as a s...Very well written and researched, with vivid scenes and one detail about the bomb that was new to me Hard to doI ve read quite a bit about it Considering who is president as I write this, it s a bit depressing, but that s not the author s faultThis surprisingly good book was published only last year October 2017 Harry Truman served as a Democrat president for 7 years But the context of this book focuses only on the first four months of his presidency, until Japan s surrender during WWII Truman was a southerner from Kansas City, Missouri In 1945 he was the vice president of America s arguably the most admired president, Franklin D Roosevelt FDR Till today, FDR is remembered by many Americans for the current U...

15 October 2017

A.J. Baime