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Citizen Soldier: A Life of Harry S. Truman
When Harry S. Truman left the White House in 1953, his reputation was in ruins. Tarred by corruption scandals and his controversial decision to drop nuclear bombs on Japan, he ended his second term with an abysmal approval rating, his presidency widely considered a failure. But this dim view of Truman ignores his crucial role in the 20th century and his enduring legacy, as celebrated historian Aida D. Donald explains in this incisive biography of the 33rd president.
In Citizen Soldier , Donald shows that, for all his failings, Truman deserves recognition as the principal architect of the American postwar world. The son of poor Missouri farmers, Truman overcame professional disaster and personal disillusionment to become something of a hero in the Missouri National Guard during World War I. His early years in politics were tainted by the corruption of his fellow Missouri Democrats, but Truman's hard work and scrupulous honesty eventually landed him a U.S. Senate seat and then the Vice-Presidency. When Franklin Roosevelt passed away in April 1945, Truman unexpectedly found himself at the helm of the American war effort -- and in command of the atomic bomb, the most lethal weapon humanity had ever seen. Truman's decisive leadership during the remainder of World War II and the period that followed reshaped American politics, economics, and foreign relations; in the process, says Donald, Truman delineated the complex international order that would dominate global politics for the next four decades. Yet his accomplishments, such as the liberal reforms of the Fair Deal, have long been overshadowed by a second term marred by scandal.
Until we reevaluate Truman and his presidency, Donald argues, we cannot fully understand the world he helped create. A psychologically penetrating portrait, Citizen Soldier candidly weighs Truman's moments of astonishing greatness against his profound shortcomings, offering a balanced treatment of one of America's most consequential -- and misunderstood -- presidents.
In Citizen Soldier , Donald shows that, for all his failings, Truman deserves recognition as the principal architect of the American postwar world. The son of poor Missouri farmers, Truman overcame professional disaster and personal disillusionment to become something of a hero in the Missouri National Guard during World War I. His early years in politics were tainted by the corruption of his fellow Missouri Democrats, but Truman's hard work and scrupulous honesty eventually landed him a U.S. Senate seat and then the Vice-Presidency. When Franklin Roosevelt passed away in April 1945, Truman unexpectedly found himself at the helm of the American war effort -- and in command of the atomic bomb, the most lethal weapon humanity had ever seen. Truman's decisive leadership during the remainder of World War II and the period that followed reshaped American politics, economics, and foreign relations; in the process, says Donald, Truman delineated the complex international order that would dominate global politics for the next four decades. Yet his accomplishments, such as the liberal reforms of the Fair Deal, have long been overshadowed by a second term marred by scandal.
Until we reevaluate Truman and his presidency, Donald argues, we cannot fully understand the world he helped create. A psychologically penetrating portrait, Citizen Soldier candidly weighs Truman's moments of astonishing greatness against his profound shortcomings, offering a balanced treatment of one of America's most consequential -- and misunderstood -- presidents.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 2, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 13, 2021
The first half of this concise biography is easily the best part of this book: a simple, straightforward account of Truman's life and development, his family, his work & war experience, and his political influences. It provides an exceptionally well-rounded assessment of Truman as a man. But the WWI hints at what I feel is the particular weakness of the biography's second half. Too much detail about certain event, combined with observations (or should I say salvos) at other people...and actually less about Truman himself. In the end, I gleaned far more detail and insight into life as a lower middle-class citizen of Missouri -- and a combat battery officer -- than I learned about the Truman presidency.
January 18, 2013
Best read as an introductory biography of Harry Truman, one that is accessible and comprehensive, covering his entire life, it is written in a refreshing style, almost that of a friend speaking before friends.
The emphasis is on Truman's personality and his personal life rather than on the details of his political career or his administration. It is based primarily on his own words: his letters to Bess and others, his 'Memoirs', his official papers, and other writings, including the recently released 'Pickwick Papers'. The latter Truman wrote while 'hiding out' in the Kansas City Pickwick Hotel, writing them as personal justification for his actions as a Pendergast machine politician. In them, he records his discomfort with the corruption that he participated in or condoned - a discomfort that, according to the author, often led to psychosomatic illnesses. The author uses this discomfort, these 'sick spells', as proofs of Truman's basic goodness.
I believe a more scholarly biography would not have relied so heavily on the subject's own testimony in assessing his character. People seldom reveal themselves fully to others - are not completely honest to even the people closest to them, even to themselves - are often hiding behind a mask, playing the role of an ideal image of themselves. It is safer to assess character by actions, deeds. Still, the author gets Truman right - her assessment of his character and of his achievements is. by and large, accurate.
The author makes no pretense of writing a scholarly biography, and this is not one. There are no footnotes. And even when she quotes long passages, she provides no citations for them - for example, she quotes a 'Lt. Jay Lee' twice - both quotes were so interesting that I wanted to find and read the original source - but she does not further identify him or characterize the document she is quoting - a letter? memoir? Not only is there footnote, there is entry in the bibliography for a Jay Lee. I had to turn to the internet and the Truman Library site to discover that Lt. Lee was the 'gas officer' for Truman's battery in WWI - but the source of the quotes is still unknown to me.
And the work has some minor errors, perhaps inadvertent, the sort that better editing might have caught and corrected, but they are annoying. For example, she states that the only president who recorded his experience of war, previous to Truman, was Teddy Roosevelt - thus ignoring a classic of American autobiography, Grant's "Memoirs". A more serious omission is that in discussing Truman's policy on Civil Rights, his submission of a ten point legislature program to Congress in Feb '48, she goes on to say (p. 190) that because the reaction to it was so negative, he did not fight hard for its passage, and "It took almost a generation for a president to touch this subject again" - ignoring the fact that a few months later, June '48, Truman himself ended segregation in the armed forces, thus ignoring the most signal civil rights achievement of Truman's presidency.
The author's stated intention is to write, not a scholarly, but a psychological biography. But even here one is disappointed. She does not delve deeply into Truman's psyche. Some readers (I, for one) might wish for some psychological explanation of Truman's attachment to Bess. The story is that he, as a six year old boy, fell in love with her, a five year old girl, and then remained faithful to her, having no other romantic interest during his bachelor life other than this unrequited love. While 'sweet', this seems really quite odd, incredible - he was 35, after all, when he married Bess; she was 34. One also wishes for some explanation of how the 'plain speaking' Truman, self-confident, feisty, often profane, tolerated the treatment he received from the Wallace women, the disrespect from his mother-in-law, the neglect from his wife - how he tolerated her lengthy absences from the White House even though her absence made him miserable. This 'doormat' aspect of his character remains amystery.
Also mysterious is the author's treatment of Eleanor Roosevelt. In a remarkable paragraph in which she criticizes Eleanor's housekeeping, her cooking, and even her child-rearing practices, she writes (p. 137): "Her mother-in-law [FDR's mother] deserves more credit than history gives her to make up for Eleanor's deficiencies." Good Grief! If there was ever a mother-in-law from hell it was Eleanor's - and this, mind you, was written by an author who says not a single disparaging word about Bess or Mother Wallace. Any person inclined to armchair 'psychologizing' might wonder if the author is projecting whatever dissatisfaction she feels towards the Wallace women onto poor Eleanor.
Incidentally, the selection of photographs chosen to illustrate this work are superb - are evocative of the man and the time.
The emphasis is on Truman's personality and his personal life rather than on the details of his political career or his administration. It is based primarily on his own words: his letters to Bess and others, his 'Memoirs', his official papers, and other writings, including the recently released 'Pickwick Papers'. The latter Truman wrote while 'hiding out' in the Kansas City Pickwick Hotel, writing them as personal justification for his actions as a Pendergast machine politician. In them, he records his discomfort with the corruption that he participated in or condoned - a discomfort that, according to the author, often led to psychosomatic illnesses. The author uses this discomfort, these 'sick spells', as proofs of Truman's basic goodness.
I believe a more scholarly biography would not have relied so heavily on the subject's own testimony in assessing his character. People seldom reveal themselves fully to others - are not completely honest to even the people closest to them, even to themselves - are often hiding behind a mask, playing the role of an ideal image of themselves. It is safer to assess character by actions, deeds. Still, the author gets Truman right - her assessment of his character and of his achievements is. by and large, accurate.
The author makes no pretense of writing a scholarly biography, and this is not one. There are no footnotes. And even when she quotes long passages, she provides no citations for them - for example, she quotes a 'Lt. Jay Lee' twice - both quotes were so interesting that I wanted to find and read the original source - but she does not further identify him or characterize the document she is quoting - a letter? memoir? Not only is there footnote, there is entry in the bibliography for a Jay Lee. I had to turn to the internet and the Truman Library site to discover that Lt. Lee was the 'gas officer' for Truman's battery in WWI - but the source of the quotes is still unknown to me.
And the work has some minor errors, perhaps inadvertent, the sort that better editing might have caught and corrected, but they are annoying. For example, she states that the only president who recorded his experience of war, previous to Truman, was Teddy Roosevelt - thus ignoring a classic of American autobiography, Grant's "Memoirs". A more serious omission is that in discussing Truman's policy on Civil Rights, his submission of a ten point legislature program to Congress in Feb '48, she goes on to say (p. 190) that because the reaction to it was so negative, he did not fight hard for its passage, and "It took almost a generation for a president to touch this subject again" - ignoring the fact that a few months later, June '48, Truman himself ended segregation in the armed forces, thus ignoring the most signal civil rights achievement of Truman's presidency.
The author's stated intention is to write, not a scholarly, but a psychological biography. But even here one is disappointed. She does not delve deeply into Truman's psyche. Some readers (I, for one) might wish for some psychological explanation of Truman's attachment to Bess. The story is that he, as a six year old boy, fell in love with her, a five year old girl, and then remained faithful to her, having no other romantic interest during his bachelor life other than this unrequited love. While 'sweet', this seems really quite odd, incredible - he was 35, after all, when he married Bess; she was 34. One also wishes for some explanation of how the 'plain speaking' Truman, self-confident, feisty, often profane, tolerated the treatment he received from the Wallace women, the disrespect from his mother-in-law, the neglect from his wife - how he tolerated her lengthy absences from the White House even though her absence made him miserable. This 'doormat' aspect of his character remains amystery.
Also mysterious is the author's treatment of Eleanor Roosevelt. In a remarkable paragraph in which she criticizes Eleanor's housekeeping, her cooking, and even her child-rearing practices, she writes (p. 137): "Her mother-in-law [FDR's mother] deserves more credit than history gives her to make up for Eleanor's deficiencies." Good Grief! If there was ever a mother-in-law from hell it was Eleanor's - and this, mind you, was written by an author who says not a single disparaging word about Bess or Mother Wallace. Any person inclined to armchair 'psychologizing' might wonder if the author is projecting whatever dissatisfaction she feels towards the Wallace women onto poor Eleanor.
Incidentally, the selection of photographs chosen to illustrate this work are superb - are evocative of the man and the time.
August 1, 2014
Very good concise biography of a man who is usually given less respect in the Presidential pantheon than many of our illustrious leaders. Harry Truman is presented as a no-nonsense, common sensical type of man who endured many family and career failures before entering the US Army in WWI. His early struggles on the family farm, early jobs in banking and haberdashery, helping to take care of his young siblings, all contributed to his poor self-esteem until he was given command of an artillery battery serving in France on the Western front. We learn the reasons for his disdain of West Point graduates (who were far less effective in WWI combat than many of the Citizen Soldier/National guardsmen). He also had to overcome his insecurity about his lack of college education--a rarity among 20th Century leaders.
Even serving under FDR he did not get the respect he deserved. Almost everyone in the President's cabinet knew more about the Atomic Bomb project than Truman did in 1945. Truman's main task during the Second World War was to check on the efficiency of the Military Industrial Complex, root out waste and corruption, and make sure the American people were getting the most for their money.[The Truman Committee] Whenever he tried to investigate the Manhattan Project he was abruptly told, "That is TOP SECRET and you don't need to know anything about it." That is what happened when FDR suddenly died and Harry Truman found himself an instant War President with no information on the weapon of the century. He was brought up to speed in a couple of months and then expected to make decisions on using the bomb based on his limited information.
He usually adapted well, but he suffered repeatedly from headaches and Gastric problems resulting from stress. His handling of the Korean War is described well, especially his controversial decision to replace General MacArthur at the height of the conflict.
This book is not exhaustive by any means, but is a shorter introduction to a "Common Man President" based on other recently written detailed sources. Highly recommended.
Even serving under FDR he did not get the respect he deserved. Almost everyone in the President's cabinet knew more about the Atomic Bomb project than Truman did in 1945. Truman's main task during the Second World War was to check on the efficiency of the Military Industrial Complex, root out waste and corruption, and make sure the American people were getting the most for their money.[The Truman Committee] Whenever he tried to investigate the Manhattan Project he was abruptly told, "That is TOP SECRET and you don't need to know anything about it." That is what happened when FDR suddenly died and Harry Truman found himself an instant War President with no information on the weapon of the century. He was brought up to speed in a couple of months and then expected to make decisions on using the bomb based on his limited information.
He usually adapted well, but he suffered repeatedly from headaches and Gastric problems resulting from stress. His handling of the Korean War is described well, especially his controversial decision to replace General MacArthur at the height of the conflict.
This book is not exhaustive by any means, but is a shorter introduction to a "Common Man President" based on other recently written detailed sources. Highly recommended.
January 29, 2023
This is an interesting but not great or thorough work about President Truman. If you’re really interested in the man from Independence, my favorites are David McCullough’s “ Truman” or Merle Miller’s “Plain Speaking.” Both are more complete, better sourced and less opinionated than this book by Dr. Aida Donald.
I have two beefs with this work. I was drawn to the title, “Citizen Soldier” because I’ve read much about Truman’s political life but less about his heroic WWI career as a cannon captain. In fact only one of seven chapters deals with his war service.
Second, she also states she wants to approach Truman from a psychological point of view, but is she qualified to do that? Her doctorate is in American history, not psychology.
Finally an additional concern has to do with credibility - if you can’t get basic facts correct, how can I trust more complex material and assertions?
On page 8, Chapter 1 the author states “…Independence was a growing town, a day’s ride ‘WEST’ of Kansas City.” Uh, no - check a map. It is EAST of Kansas City. This author was editor in-chief of Harvard University Press. Once I saw that obvious error, all future assertions became suspect.
This is a quick read, but did not suit my needs.
I have two beefs with this work. I was drawn to the title, “Citizen Soldier” because I’ve read much about Truman’s political life but less about his heroic WWI career as a cannon captain. In fact only one of seven chapters deals with his war service.
Second, she also states she wants to approach Truman from a psychological point of view, but is she qualified to do that? Her doctorate is in American history, not psychology.
Finally an additional concern has to do with credibility - if you can’t get basic facts correct, how can I trust more complex material and assertions?
On page 8, Chapter 1 the author states “…Independence was a growing town, a day’s ride ‘WEST’ of Kansas City.” Uh, no - check a map. It is EAST of Kansas City. This author was editor in-chief of Harvard University Press. Once I saw that obvious error, all future assertions became suspect.
This is a quick read, but did not suit my needs.
November 13, 2019
I have read far better biographies on the life of Harry S. Truman. I learned a few new things here, but mostly just a short review of his life and leadership. The biggest disappointment was I felt the author offered far too much commentary and some of it felt like revisionist history.
June 13, 2023
Not the best book on Truman, but still interesting. If you want a great Truman book- McCullough.
February 8, 2013
I found myself disagreeing with many of the author's conclusions. For example after quoting Truman saying he had liked the little sob (Stalin) many years later when he realized how deceptive Stalin had been, she comments that it is hard to understand such contradictory statements. I see no contradiction and I don't think there is any great insight needed. Truman had enjoyed Stalin's company and found him pleasant to be with. I'm sure Stalin could be very likable when he felt he needed to be. That doesn't change the later realization that Stalin was dangerous and deceptive. I felt she used the word "blurted" way too often to describe Truman's impromptu remarks. The focus of the book is really on Truman's presidency both after FDR's death and when he won election on his own. The rest of his life, other than his time in WWI was really given short shrift. I think the author made some good conclusions about how WWI service affected Truman's decisions as president. She comes down squarely on Truman's side in his most famous decision, to use the atom bomb, as well as his decision to fire McArthur. I think she makes a good argument for Truman making the decision to use the bomb. She points out that Truman upholding the constitutional power of really being the Commander in Chief and his policy of aggressive containment of Communism were ultimately not beneficial for the country's future history (Iraq is given as an example).
I think I will take the author's suggestion and read the McCullough biography of Truman.
I think I will take the author's suggestion and read the McCullough biography of Truman.
June 2, 2015
I thought that Aida D. Donald wrote an excellent, short biography on Harry S. Truman. If I used a few words to describe this book it would be: "never-give-up" and "persevere." I have to say that Truman was a man that had great patience and when he wanted something, he did his best to make it happen. His mother was the one who made Truman to be the man his father wasn't. Initially I didn't care for Bess because her priorities were money and the importance of being popular. But after the horrible death (suicide) of her father, her family loss their place in society. Initially Bess didn't want to marry Harry, but later they did married on June 28, 1919 (she was 34 and he was 35). It is interesting to think of that period -- the Jazz Age: gin drinking, avant-garde crazed; self-centerness; anything-goes-culture; but Truman had no interest in Gatsby's world. He retained his steady, energetic, agreeable nature. He was a "take-charge" man, a leader, a confident, not quite middle-aged man. Bess sadly suffered two miscarriages until Mary Margaret was born in 1942. Bess wrote to Harry that she was so sorry that she gave birth to a baby girl, because she thought that he wanted a boy.
June 16, 2013
There is so much to be said about the life of Harry S Truman; so much this book doesn't cover. It's fair to say upfront that this isn't a good book and I wouldn't recommend it. The detail is lacking, the writing is bland and sometimes erratic.
This isn't a book for research or one that delivers rich historic detail, but instead it reads like a lecture outline. It's a short 239 pages, written in a very informal and often lazy prose, with random quotes and broad, unsubstantiated generalisations abounding.
The "Select Bibliography" in the back of the book is threadbare and has many unacademic sources, so the book even fails as a launching point for seeking out more on the subject. Perhaps tellingly, the Bibliography notes that this book as very reliant on two other biographies of Truman, which may explain why this book reads so small and derivative and may suggest readers should instead read those other biographies.
This isn't a book for research or one that delivers rich historic detail, but instead it reads like a lecture outline. It's a short 239 pages, written in a very informal and often lazy prose, with random quotes and broad, unsubstantiated generalisations abounding.
The "Select Bibliography" in the back of the book is threadbare and has many unacademic sources, so the book even fails as a launching point for seeking out more on the subject. Perhaps tellingly, the Bibliography notes that this book as very reliant on two other biographies of Truman, which may explain why this book reads so small and derivative and may suggest readers should instead read those other biographies.
February 26, 2013
My 5th grader had to do a biography report and he chose Truman. The library did not have any chapter books 100+ pages for his level, so we chose this book for him. I figured I'd read it as well to help w/ the report if he needed it. I don't usually read non-fiction books like this and I didn't know a whole lot about Truman but I really enjoyed learning about the person and president he was. I enjoyed the history involved. I thought it read easily and was a good, basic, informational piece that covers Truman's life from beginning to end.
April 24, 2013
this is a really accessible book about Harry Truman. I'd recommend it for someone who wants to read about Truman for a warm up to a bigger biography or for someone that wants a short read on him.
As some have mentioned, it's not meant to be a scholarly biography with length or footnotes, and the author spoke her mind about her view of politics and history. I thought the poke at Eleanor Roosevelt about halfway through the book stood out as being a bit harsh (especially about the cooking) but I think she's right in that history often gives us Eleanor's view of Sara's story.
As some have mentioned, it's not meant to be a scholarly biography with length or footnotes, and the author spoke her mind about her view of politics and history. I thought the poke at Eleanor Roosevelt about halfway through the book stood out as being a bit harsh (especially about the cooking) but I think she's right in that history often gives us Eleanor's view of Sara's story.
January 8, 2013
This book triggered me to do more reading on Truman perhaps by someone not so linked into current political bias. She would make statements and then contradict them 3 lines later. There was some interesting insights in Truman's formative time in the Army in WWI. I have always admired his honesty and straightforward way of behaving. Wish he was around today.
January 16, 2014
Donald wrote a solid biography. Her insight was woven through a clear and concise narrative of Truman's life that pointed out both his strengths and flaws. She did a wonderful job of placing his most difficult decisions in context and left me with the view that Truman was a great accidental president and a good flawed man.
February 14, 2015
Shows how Harry Truman's experiences in World War I influenced his life before World War II, and informed his fateful decision to employ atomic weapons to bring the Pacific war against Japan to a speedy end. This is a good addition to McCullough's book Truman, if you enjoyed that.
November 9, 2012
Although this was a short book, I think the author adequately detailed the major parts of Truman's life. Her thoughts regarding Trumans use of the atomic bomb is especially interesting.
January 5, 2013
This biography is drenched in bias. Donald cherry-picks facts in her attempt at hero-worship.
June 25, 2014
A pretty basic but not overly in depth bio. It is the type of book that makes for a good intro to Harry but beware the sloppiness. The author repeats a lot of bits and I found a couple of mistakes.
October 22, 2014
He doesn't know sh*t from apple butter..
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June 28, 2024Thanks, now I know that Harry Truman had enthusiastic sex with his wife in the White House.
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