Truman Books

"History of Saginaw County" was published in East Saginaw, Michigan in 1858 and writted by Truman B. Fox, then a school teacher, small buisness owner, and in 1869 the editior of the Saginaw Daily Enterprise.

This 80 page book was originally printed in May, 1858 on the Saginaw Enterprise's newspaper presses, breifly advertised in their paper and was made availible upon "subscription."

It served as a local history, business directory, has some lumber mill statistics, and is the first, and sometimes only, source for antidotes relating to 1816-1840s military and Indian occupied Saginaw Valley.

Later in life Truman B. Fox moved out of the Saginaw Valley to become the editor of the "Rochester Era" a newspaper based in Oakland County, Michigan. He died on Wednesday, January 18, 1893.

I highly recommend this book for anyone that is interested in the history of Saginaw County. It is an excelent facsimile reprint that is well worth the price.

In Hospital On The Move: Life With The 79th Field Hospital In World War II, Mary Jane Kohlenberg shares the story of her late husband, Lt. Gilbert Kohlenberg drawing upon his letters, photos, news clippings, and memorabilia. Company Commander Lt. Kohlenberg supervised the 79th Field Hospital which was organized to travel with General Patch's 7th Army as it moved across the European Theater of Operations. Hospital On The Move is a superbly presented addition to personal, academic, and community library World War II biographical and historical collections.

I have used this book to help me start my own business selling corporate jets. I fulfilled a lifetime dream of becoming a pilot five years ago. Now I have started a corporate jet sales office and need Dr. Truman's book as a guide to success. His suggestions are enormously practical and I have used them to get started.I will use more as my business grows. It is re-assuring to know his ideas have worked for so many others around the world.I will be a success and hope to be able to thank him in person someday!

Here, finally, is a poet who wants to remarry reason and passion into a symbiotic relationship--instead of distancing himself from the more analytic sciences (as most modern poets do). Gurley's poems examine the physical and empirical reality of the scientist with the subjective and sublime eye of the poet, transforming what he observes through a combination of scientific examination and a poetic love of language and metaphor. The end result is not only a happy co-existence of science and poetry on the page, but a great new well of poems. If you're interested--at all--in modern poetry, you should buy this book. You'll find yourself reading and re-reading the poems and counting the days until Mr. Gurley's next offering.

A fascinating, first-person account.

This is a very valuable firsthand account from a person in high circles during WWII. He was FDR's "right hand man" and obviously chosen as a fellow "navy man" for a position of ongoing close, personal trust, by a president who, prior to his polio, had been a civilian leader in the Department of the Navy (Undersecretary, during WWI, as memory serves?).

Admiral of the Fleet (promoted during the war) Leahy began the war as U.S. ambassador to Vichy! He recounts many personal encounters with Marshal Petain of Vichy France and describes the other prominent personalities and conflicts there.

Recalled in 1942, he then became FDR's personal 'Chief of Staff' to the Joint Chiefs for the rest of WWII! As such, Admiral Leahy was personally present for events and decisions at the White House during WWII that few others witnessed. He gives detailed information (even ship speeds) on all of FDR's overseas trips during the war. He comments on which rooms he and FDR were in, which buildings, the security arrangements, weather, and departure times.

Leahy was present for all (or all but one?) of the Allied war conferences -- Quebec, Casablanca, Teheran -- and also Potsdam, with Truman. (President Truman kept Adm. Leahy on in the same job, till 1949!)

His comments on Churchill and Stalin are very valuable. He includes one verbatim Pentagon phone call received from Churchill on "the secret" [line], as Churchill called it.

Subtle and not-so-subtle navy and anti-Brit bias seep from these pages. Then the reader must remind himself: Adm. Leahy went in to see FDR every day (or nearly every day) from mid-1942 onwards.

Leahy was present at the famous 'showdown' in Hawaii, with FDR, of MacArthur and Nimitz on the future proposed strategy of the Pacific campaign! It's pure real-life drama, recorded.

Interestingly, Leahy opposed a land invasion of the Japanese mainland in 1945, and gives his opinion, but says "the Army" wanted it. Similarly, he opposed having the Soviets come into the war against Japan -- just as MacArthur did!

Highly recommended, as a first-person account by a participant at the highest level during WWII.

Truman Capote's 'In Cold Blood' is enjoying a resurgence of popularity thanks to the Oscar-winning film depicting the author's life and work during the writing of this phenomenal piece. At one point in the film, the character Capote makes the statement that when he thinks about how good this book will be, he can hardly breathe. Perhaps it is because it is part of our history now, I don't consider the book to be that good, but it was a work fairly close to groundbreaking in its impact - it was a new genre, the narrative telling of a non-fiction event as if it were a fictional novel.

The narrative centres upon the murder of a Kansas family by two men, Perry Smith and Dick Hicock, who are in many ways far from typical killers, much less cold blooded killers. The family, the Clutters of Holcombe, Kansas, are far from typical victims, nor is this the kind of place such a murder would be expected. Capote does a remarkable job at an even-handed analysis and narrative treatment of all the characters, from the family itself to the townspeople and investigators, as well as the murderers themselves. Perhaps it is because he found an area of identification?

This is a psychological thriller of a sort - at least it would be, were it not a true life tale. Getting into the minds of the criminals and the investigators was no easy task for Capote, but what comes forth on the page is very crisp and insightful reporting, without the kinds of embellishments one might expect from a figure such as Capote when dealing with middle-America folk.

The question of why for the killing is still never fully resolved, despite Capote's attempt to set out all the story and psychological detail. Perhaps this is as strange as the interest Capote took in the subject in the first place, as well as the effect it had on him, and those around him, ultimately - while Capote himself never again finished a major project after this, that is also true of his assistant, Nell Harper Lee, whose book 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (done about the same time as 'In Cold Blood') was also her last major writing.

A worthwhile book in many ways.

I highly recommened the book,"In Cold Blood". At the same time I rented the movie about Truman Capote, starring Seymor Huffman which prompted me to want to research more. I was not disappointed.

Leuchtenburg, and esteemed historian of the Roosevelt era, examines the profound, lasting impact of Roosevelt's policies on America for many decades following his presidency and how future presidents have operated in Roosevelt's shadow. (The book will need to be revised again due to the Bush plan to privatize Social Security - although FDR's original plan was more modest than the current system, significantly expanded in years after FDR).

Roosevelt influence is still great - the greatest of any modern president.

John Calvin and the Printed Book comes from one of the foremost experts in the field of studying John Calvin, and thus deserves a place on any serious college-level library shelf as an essential reference studying John Calvin's interactions with books and the literary world of the 16th century. Chapters use extensive archival materials and add both biographical and historical elements to the story of John Calvin. Karin Maag translates this classic from the original French.

Wonderful book to read because the characters are so vivid they literally jump off the page. I read it each year to my students and I find myself looking forward to Capote's short story as much as the students do. The story's setting in a small town atmosphere makes the reader want to visit for Christmas and stay awhile.Vocabulary,intrigue and suspense all make this and unforgettable book. After reading The Jug Of Silver,Appleseed and his little sister Middy are characters to remember and remind us all that hope helps up all survive.This would make a make an excellent holiday movie.