Overview

Americans are not shy about letting politicians know what’s on their minds, and, in Harry Truman, they believed that they had a president they could level with. He even sometimes responded personally to them—especially on subjects he felt strongly about. Today, it seems remarkable that a man who described the presidency as “the most awesome job in the world” would take the time to read and respond to White House mail.Truman, however, had an unquenchable thirst for what his everyday Americans” were thinking, yet distrusted opinion polls. For him, the daily stack of mail provided the next best poll after the voting booth. Authors Giangreco and Moore include a robust cross section of the thousands of messages sent to Truman. Juxtaposed with informative background essays, these letters provide an undiluted account of the greatest challenges confronting the U.S. during Truman’s administration, including civil rights, the Marshall Plan, the formation of Israel, the atomic bomb, the McCarthy hearings, the Korean War, and the General McArthur’s dismissal, which alone solicited more than 90,000 missives. While the majority of the letters are from private citizens, others come from correspondents, the occasional bombastic senator, and a few from the world figures.

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9780811738514

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Reviews

Dear Harry taps into the Truman era in a way no other book has. It is a grand collection, lively, full of surprise, insight, humor, and humanity. In all, a very welcome event. -- David McCullough, author of Truman A splendid read…. The accompanying text is clear, interpretive, and well worth reading in its own right. Readers will also find more than a few surprises such as the discovery of an exchange between Truman and his senior advisors on the possibility that the planned invasion of Japan could cost up to 1,000,000 American lives. -- Robert James Maddox, author of Weapons for Victory: The Hiroshima Decision 50 Years Later

Dear Harry taps into the Truman era in a way no other book has. It is a grand collection, lively, full of surprise, insight, humor, and humanity. In all, a very welcome event. -- David McCullough, author of Truman A splendid read.... The accompanying text is clear, interpretive, and well worth reading in its own right. Readers will also find more than a few surprises such as the discovery of an exchange between Truman and his senior advisors on the possibility that the planned invasion of Japan could cost up to 1,000,000 American lives. -- Robert James Maddox, author of Weapons for Victory: The Hiroshima Decision 50 Years Later

Author Information

Award-winning author D. M. Giangreco is an editor for the U. S. Army’s professional journal, Military Review, and the author of numerous military history books. His most recent award was the Moncado Prize by the Society of Military History for his article, “Casualty Projections for the U.S. Invasions of Japan, 1945: Planning and Policy Implications.” He lives in Lee's Summit, Missouri. Kathryn Moore, formerly a historical interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, teaches and has written on the Thomas Jefferson DNA findings in The Washington Times. Dear Harry is her first book and she is currently working on First Lady of Monticello, a biography of Martha Jefferson. She lives in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

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