Robert H. Ferrell (1921–2018)

This is an excellent biography of an almost forgotten first lady. Grace Coolidge was one of the most popular ladies in the United States during her husband's presidency. Everything she did was copied and discussed. However, today, she is hidden behind the more well-known occupiers of the office of First Lady of the United States.

Grace Coolidge was a perfect foil for her notoriously "Silent" husband. She was energetic and outgoing. She made a real effort to be likeable and relatable in the press. Children loved her and wanted to meet her. However, much of her personality was stifled by her husband. When he died, Grace Coolidge came into her own and lived life on her terms.

Mrs. Coolidge's early life is very elusive. Hardly anything, apart from stories told and retold time and again, survives. Documentation of her life didn't really begin until her husband held public office. This book is a worthy installment in the Modern First Ladies edition of biographies, and Grace Coolidge's life is certainly well-worth reading. What a charming lady!… (mais)

I vaguely remember George W. Bush, when asked how he thought history would judge his Presidency, saying time will tell, and made reference to Truman's transition from a low regarded President immediately after his term ended to being considered a great President after time has passed. I'd heard that before, and know of Truman's unpopular decisions to send troops into Korea, to relieve General Douglas MacArthur as commander during the Korean War, to use the Atomic Bomb at the end of World War II, etc., and was curious to learn more.

In that regard, I found Robert Ferrell's book, "Harry S. Truman: A Life" to be informative and interesting. Ferrell detailed much of Truman's pre-political life, his background on the farm, as a clothing store owner, a judge, and his entry into Politics. And while that background was informative, and provided a good understanding into what drove Truman and how he became the person he was, I felt there was an overemphasis on that portion of his life over his years in the White House. Nonetheless, the major decision points of his Presidency are well covered, and I enjoyed learning more about Truman, as a man and as President.
… (mais)

This is a large, though not complete, collection of the surviving letters from Harry Truman, at first his future wife and then his wife, from fairly early in their courtship to a few letters after he left the presidency. Most of the early letters are entirely about minor personal affairs. For me as a Freemason, the fairly frequent mentions of Harry's masonic activities (he was master of a lodge and an active ritualist) are the most interesting parts of these early letters. They are followed by his letters during World War 1 when he was serving in France and giving quite vivid descriptions of the French countryside and the lifestyle of the American soldiers. (He quotes someone as saying "The Germans fight for territory, the English for the seas, the French for patriotism and the American for souvenirs." --he sent home a few knickknacks made from shell casings.) Even then, he was thinking he might run for local office. When he did become a 'county judge" (commissioner) I realized for the first time (despite having read several biographies of him) that Jackson County where he served actually included all of Kansas City -- I had thought of it as the rural outskirts only. He was in fact quite a major cog in the Prendergast machine. When he went on to the US Senate, he worked hard tough investigations, especially of the railroad corporations, producing what the book calls the 'Truman-Wheeler Transportation Act --another aspect of his career I had not been very aware of. He does give quite a lot of comments to his wife about his very mixed opinions of his fellow senators, major railroad and stock exchange officials, and New Deal officials. There are only a few comments on his selection as VP in 1944, though I had not realized how hard he campaigned that year. When he became president. he seems in his private letters to be a bit overconfident (contrary to some statements he made more publicly) , and throughout the presidential years he keeps telling his wife how complimentary people have been about his speeches etc. It is clear, though, that he did continue to work hard and did the best he could. The letters tend to peter out after 1947, apparently because Mrs. Truman later burned them. The book is seriously under-edited; many people and events mentioned need more explanation. In one case the note speaks of Truman attending the Yalta Conference when in fact he was attending Potsdam. A final thought --if he had had a Twitter account, he would have been in serious trouble.… (mais)