Book Description

This digital document, covering the life and work of Nikola Tesla, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thomson Gale. The length of the entry is 3108 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

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Harry S. Truman had opinions on just about everything, from Joseph McCarthy (whom he sarcastically referred to as "the greatest asset the Kremlin has") to the best time of the day ("early morning"). Alex Ayres has compiled a whole mess of quotes, organized alphabetically by subject, that show off Truman's candor and sass for all it's worth. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document, covering the life and work of Harry S Truman, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thomson Gale. The length of the entry is 4947 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description

The odds were against them.

Three men.They lived in different parts of North America, at different moments in American history. But each was a defender of his people's right to stay on the land that had always been theirs.

OSCEOLA led the Seminoles into battle in the swamps of Florida. TECUMSEH and the Shawnees fought the white intruders in the Indiana Territory, COCHISE and the Apaches battled the enemy in the Southwest.Each was determined to keep the white men from taking any more Indian land. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Harry Truman as the simple Man from Independence
"Harry Truman: The Man From Independence" devotes as much time to character of Truman as the loyal, honest, fiercely determined man from Independence, Missouri as it does to his time in the White House. Karin C. Farley begins with Truman's early life as a high-spirited farm boy with poor eye sight growing up in the Depression and traces his career from farmer and soldier to haberdasher and Senator. Clearly Farley is trying to help young readers understand some of the controversial decisions Truman made as president, such as ordering to drop the atomic bomb on Japan and the firing of General Douglas MacArthur, in terms of both Truman's personal experience and the climate of world opinion. The result is that Farley underscores the idea that Truman was a man who always kept in touch with his Midwestern roots which gave him a common-sense approach to life, whether he was commanding Battery D during World War I or meeting with Stalin at Potsdam.
The volume is illustrated with black & white photographs from Truman's personal and political lives, including one of the President inspecting the controversial Truman balcony he had build on the White House during the complete renovation during his second term. In the back of the book you will find a chronology of important dates in Truman's life and sources young students can find for additional information. All of the juvenile biographies touch on the idea that Truman remained faithful to the simple man of common sense he had always been even when he became the most powerful person in the world as president, but this is very much the focal point of Farley's volume. Farley also ends the book with Truman's own thoughts on the politics and the "art of government" that are a nice little philosophical statement for young students to read. ... Read more

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A Pivotal Period of History and a Pivotal Subject
While David McCullough's more recent biography of Harry Truman has received widespread recent attention, Robert J. Donovan's earlier biography published in 1977 has much to recommend it. Whereas McCullough's extensive volume covers Truman's entire life, Donovan zeroes in on the pivotal period of a pivotal presidency. Donovan begins as Truman takes over the awesome responsibility of the presidency after Franklin D. Roosevelt's death. Donovan covers in perceptive detail Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan as a means of ending World War Two. Donovan follows the war to its conclusion, and also focuses carefully on the exciting 1948 presidential campaign, when Truman scored one of the greatest upsets in American political history by defeating heavily favored Republican nominee Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York.

Donovan turns an astute eye as well on Truman's great foreign policy accomplishments of the Marshall Plan, the Truman Doctrine, and the creation of NATO. As a Middle East historian, I was benefitted by his thorough presentation of the controversy leading up to the granting of recognition to the new nation of Israel, and how Truman's decision was crafted.

I would urge that any dedicated Truman scholar should read both the McCullough and Donovan volumes. McCullough covers a wider perspective, while Donovan, on the other hand, gives broader coverage to the pivotal foreign policy events from 1945 to 1948, as well as Truman's sensational upset victory over Dewey. ... Read more

Book Description

Patrick Gossage went to work for Pierre Trudeau as a press secretary in 1976. "You were so green," Trudeau reminisced years later. That very innocence gives a remarkable freshness to these first-hand observations of the Trudeau years.

Gossage's diary--his impressions of the media people, politicians and backroom operators he worked with every day--provides a remarkable portrait of the period. He records some of Trudeau's most difficult moments: the victory of the PQ in Quebec, the break-up of his marriage, electoral defeat at the hands of Joe Clark. Gossage also portrays some of Trudeau's triumphs: the patriation of the Constitution, his remarkable peace initiative during the Reagan presidency.

Close to the Charisma offers an insider's view of the workings of official Ottawa that is unusual for its candour and wit.
... Read more

Reviews (1)

A good introductory biography for kids about Harry S Truman
Of course my first thought when I saw the cover of this juvenile biography of Harry S. Truman for the Profiles of the Presidents series was that there should not be a period after the S, because it does not stand for anything and is therefore not an abbreviation. But Deborah Cannarella tells her readers that actually that S stood for two names, namely those of his grandfathers, Shippe and Solomon. However, it is not until the end of the book that Cannarella points out that when Truman left the White House most Americans did not think he had been a successful president, but as time passed his reputation grew and today many people rank Truman as one of our greatest presidents. Instead, she sets up Truman as a common, everyday man who became president and relied on his own common sense rather than experience to be the leader of the most powerful country in the world.

My assumption has always been that it never dawned on Franklin D. Roosevelt that he would not live to see the end of World War II let alone not complete his fourth term in the White House. This is based mainly on the lack of any evidence to suggest that FDR picked Truman to be his successor; while Roosevelt did have to persuade Truman to take the post, the argument had to do with Democratic Party unity and not carrying out FDR's programs. Of course, today it would be hard to imagine the nation being better served by an accidental president than what happened with Truman, but it would be interesting to know who FDR would have picked for vice president if he had a clearer idea of his own mortality. But keep in mind that in 1860 the nation elected the only man in the nation who would see that the Union was preserved, so there might be something to this manifest destiny idea after all.

Cannarella covers the biographical details of Truman's life, cataloguing his various political offices and underscoring the integrity that was the defining element of his character. Young readers will also learn more about what Truman did as president than you will usually find in these volumes. The book is illustrated with period photographs of Truman's personal life and public career, including a pair of portraits of Harry and future wife Bess Wallace when they were childhood friends. The back of the book includes a glossary, fast facts about the president, a parallel timeline of world and presidential events, and lists of various resources to help young readers understand the life and times of Truman better. ... Read more