On April 12, 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office and the attention of the world was focused on his successor, Harry Truman. No president has ever assumed office with such an awesome burden of responsibilities. The United States was embroiled in the worst war in history, and Truman had to make decisions affecting the lives and destinies of millions of people. He confounded all skeptics with the astuteness and vigor he displayed in coping with the problems, both domestic and foreign, that confronted him.

Truman's early years in Missouri were rich with the heritage of rural America, the life of hard work and common sense, and of forthright words between men. He served with distinction as an artillery captain in World War I, then became active in county politics and dreamed of one day being a congressman.

When Truman was elected to the Senate in 1934, he was attacked by the press as a tool of the Pendergast political machine that supported him. But he answered this challenge with his vigorous campaign for re-election in 1940, a victory he won exclusively on his own merits. After he assumed the Presidency, he launched such notable programs as the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, NATO, the Point Four Program—all in an effort to build a peace that would endure. He was often outspoken and made enemies. The press frequently vilified him. But again it was the people who vindicated him by re-electing him to office in the famous campaign of 1948, a race Thomas Dewey was predicted to win with ease.

Harry Truman could be stubborn as well as resilient, and the author has captured the spirit of the man—his mixture of toughness and good will, cockiness and humility, deep loyalty to friends and honesty to all. He was proud to be called a common man, but history shows that he was one of the least common of all.

From the book