Jon on Books

A while back I finished listening to Truman (hardcover, paperback, audiobook), written and narrated by David McCullough, and I can't recall a biography of that quality since listening to John Adams (also by David McCullough).

I'm not much of a historian, and to be honest, I'm horrible with dates and such, so I really like listening to David McCullough books because they're both entertaining and educational. This book was no let down - it covers Truman from his humble roots in the midwest, his service in WWI, his slow move to Washington, his remarkable Presidency and WWII, and back to the midwest and his retirement. There aren't too many Americans who've experienced a life like Truman's, and McCullough does a wonderful job of telling his story.

Of special interest is the coverage of the Manhattan Project and his decision to use atomic bombs to help end WWII. Like I said, I'm not much of a history buff, so a lot of the facts revealed on that topic were new to me.

The narration, which can truly make or break an audio book, is pretty good. As I mentioned, Truman is narrated by the author. Personally, I feel narration by a book's author is hit or miss - it's either really good or really, really bad. I tried listening to 1776, another of McCullough's books that was also narrated by him, and I couldn't finish it because of the monotony of the narration. Luckily, this book doesn't suffer the same fate:). As a special bonus to audiobook listeners, there are actually some brief clips of a few Truman speeches that I think are very revealing of the character of Truman (I was amazed at how shrill and cartoon-like his voice was).

Truman trivia: what does the "S" in "Harry S Truman" stand for? Read the book and find out!:)

4 out of 5 stars. A must read.