Truman Books

I think that I read this book when I was in high school. I remember liking the book then but it wasn't until this day that I understand how important that book was.
Being a citizen and representing "the citizens" is where Harry got his spirit and power. To Harry being a citizen and representing his fellow citizens was his presidential philosophy. And he really believed it. And as I remember I ended up believing it also.

Here's the basic plot for people trying to find this book:

"Valerie Frolich, the beautiful, twenty-year-old daughter of New Jersey senator John Frolich, was among the youngest guests at the elegant Georgetown party. Her provacative dancing raised not a few eyebrows--but could someone have found it distasteful enough to kill her?
Assigned to report on her murder is Joe Potamos, of the Washington Post's police beat. With the help of a certain lady piano player, Potamos begins to investigate the story. What he finds out about Valerie--a top-notch journalism student as well as a breaker of male hearts young and old--leads him to a number of startling questions about Georgetown's most powerful men and women." From back cover.

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Volume 1 of this analysis combines the scholarly reflections of political leaders and others who consider Truman's national security legacy on the 50th anniversary of his Presidency. Truman was credited with bring post-WW II order: both former aides to the President and seasoned national security experts blend memories with analysis in a coverage recommended for any college-level library strong in political science and American history.

"A New Kind of War" by Howard Jones gives its readers a look into the Truman Doctrine. The author's work is well researched and thorough. Jones offers readers a look at the importance of the Truman Doctrine in America's foreign policy. Although the main emphasis that Jones adhered to was how the Truman Doctrine impacted Greece and the metamorphosis of American foreign policy as it aimed to contain Soviet expansionism, Jones also makes a point to discuss how policymakers may not have considered involvement in Vietnam as carefully as they should have in light of the intervention in Greece.

Jones begins by giving readers important background regarding the struggle between Greece and the KKE, the Greek Communist Party. The Greek civil war occurred just after German occupation during World War II. The occupation by Germany left Greece very unstable. The author tells how the Soviets began to pressure Greece; and how Communist Russia was poised to take Greece and neighboring Turkey into its possession. Jones explains how Britain's economy was lagging and that the nation could not continue to assist Greece in fighting off the KKE. Because Britain withdrew its assistance so quickly, America was left to determine the course of action regarding the war in Greece. Jones explains that America's position after World War II was one of power in the eyes of other nations, and that America was expected to respond to Greece's need for aid. America felt that by giving aid to Greece, they could prevent Greece from falling under communist rule. Jones describes how the administration felt that should Greece fall to the KKE, that the results would be a sort of chain reaction-"domino effect"-throughout Western Europe.

Jones titles his book "A New Kind of War" because of the changing dynamic of conflicts at the global scale. Basically, the author expresses the idea that the war that was being faced was not simply a combat war, but also a war with policy decisions that would allow the rest of the world to judge between the Communist Soviets and democratic America. Jones states, "The United states had to develop a policy that would at once be flexible enough to handle contingencies and yet be sufficiently restrained to prevent local conflict from erupting into full-scale war" (page 16). This is where the Truman Doctrine enters into American foreign policy.

In his analysis of the Truman Doctrine as a global strategy, Jones explains that the doctrine is known as"the first shot of the Cold War" by critics (page 36). He goes on to note that some feel that the doctrine was an arrogant use of power that helped to lead America into the conflict in Vietnam. Jones also expresses the opinion that the doctrine showed America's fortitude in containing communism. Jones not only addresses the benefits and negative aspects of the Truman Doctrine, but he also addresses the fact that the doctrine was designed to combat the fight against communism in social, political, and economic ways.

Covering the specific provisions of the Truman Doctrine in detail, Jones gives readers a sense of the ideas behind the policy. On March 12, 1947, President Truman introduced his economic and military aid program to Congress. Truman asked for $400 million in aid for Greece and Turkey; and although he never stated that the money would be going towards aiding the struggle against communism, it was obvious though his referral to the "two ways of life" and the struggle between them (page 43).

Jones cites the military itinerary of the Truman Doctrine to be the most controversial aspect of the doctrine. In his discussion of American military intervention, the author highlights the careful consideration on the part of the American government as to whether or not to send American forces to fight in Greece. America ultimately acknowledged, "only the Greek army could win (or lose) the war" (page 94). Jones discusses how America did, however, decide to send American officers to Greece to offer "operational advice" in the field.

Jones includes little known facts about the struggle in Greece. This information-such as the reports in early 1948 that guerrillas were abducting children and taking them to Yugoslavia, a Communist nation-helps readers to see why the American government was so adamant about helping Greece and Turkey ward off the Communists. The author is also careful to emphasize the extensive considerations that went on behind each of the decisions made in regard to the situation in Greece.

In his evaluation of American strategy, Jones is concise. "The administration's strategy worked," explains the author, "because the advisers maintained the distinction between the ideal and the reality" (page 226). Jones expounds on this by stating that America's goals were consistent and that the main goal was to simply help Greece fight its own battle. In contrast, Jones explains that the goals of intervention in Vietnam were less cohesive and did not call for the South Vietnamese to fight for themselves, rather that Americans would come in and fight for them.

Jones expresses the wisdom of the Truman Doctrine in regards to Greece. The utilization of the flexible and restrained policy allowed America to answer Soviets in a way that would prove to be wise. The government realized that America would not be able to impose the same policy on each nation or situation, and therefore the policy was solid with respect to meeting a variety of challenges (page 236). "The Greek experience constituted a victory for America's foreign policy," states Jones (page 226).

Although the main focus of "A New Kind of War" was on the Truman Doctrine and the results of good foreign policy regarding Greece, Jones still manages to point out how sometimes foreign policy decisions are not as carefully evaluated as they should be. Jones uses a plethora of sources to research his work and he provides the reader with a complete view of the Truman Doctrine and the circumstances surrounding it. Overall, the book was of stellar quality.

I found this little gem in my library. I had never heard of Mr Tugwell.

He was involved in the FDR presidency and greatly admired him. In this book he examines what happened 1945-1970 and compares this to what might have been had Roosevelt not died.

His main thesis is that the Cold War was unneccesary. He starts from the idea that Truman used The Bomb to intimidate Russia and keep her out of post-war Japan. He was too inexperienced to control his subordinates and allowed them to use the American nuclear monopoly to try to contain Russia. Eisenhower continued the policy of containment while allowing our cities and infrastructure to decay. Kennedy was in office for too short a time to know what he planned, but his early record was not good -- Bay of Pigs, missile crisis, "Ich bin ein Berliner." These actions intensified the cold war. Johnson committed the worst excess with his escalation policy in Vietnam and then lying to the American people. Finally we arrive at Nixon and 1970.

Tugwell can hardly conceal his astonishment at Nixon. Here was a committed communist-fighter and conservative Republican who began the process of tearing down containment and building up detente. He initiated social programs, welfare and food stamps. He visited China although that was in the future as the book was written. He began the withdrawl from Vietnam.

For Tugwell the period 1945-1970 was a series of grand strategic mistakes. We could have developed better relations with Russia by granting them their sphere in eastern Europe and access to the sea through the Dardanelles. By engaging in land wars on the Asian mainland we over-reached our true frontier -- the Phillipines, Japan. By neglecting our domestic needs we allowed the cties to decay, brought about the alienation of youth and social disruptions so evident in 1970.

This is interesting stuff. But best of all is his writing style. It was like reading the Pentagon Papers, very crisp and to-the-point. I intend to try to find some other of his writings. He re-appraises the presidency in 1977 which might be very fun to read. I would love to hear what he had to say about our current president but unfortunately that is not possible.

Never has there been a finer presentation on any religion as Dr. Madsen's tour of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Madsen and his fine production staff takes us on a spellbinding historical journey to the early days of the church and its young, energetic, beloved and often reviled American prophet, Joseph Smith. Smith, who ignited the passions of both friends and foes, announced to the world not only the restoration of primitive Christianity, but the establishment of the Kingdom of God as foretold by the prophet Daniel and the return of the Elijah, which was prophesied by Malachi and Christ. The scenes of the modern day holy land of the LDS faith, its temples and earliest meeting places are beautifully shown and the history brilliantly narrated by Dr. Madsen. It's only to be hoped that a similar series on Christ and the Holy Land in Jerusalem of the same maginificent quality is in the making.

I am fussy when it comes to church productions, and Dr. Truman Madsen did a great job teaming up with Peter Johnson to produce this incredibly engaging series on the early days of the Mormon church. If they had similar productions on other churches and leaders, I'd order them too, just for the education value. These far exceed even my annoyingly high standards. Very well done.

A work of towering genius by one of the ablest historians writing on the Reformation today, Frank James does not disappoing his growing international fan base by writing a book of this outstanding nature. Every theology professor ought to buy this book

This book should really be titled 'Presidents at UNDECLARED War.' During the years since the founding of the republic, the United States has only been in five declared wars. During those same years the United States military forces have engaged in more than two hundred armed conflicts. It is not a new thing, Wikipedia says: 'The first United States military action overseas, executed by the U.S. Marines and Navy, was the storming of Derna, Tripoli in 1805 in an effort to bolster diplomatic efforts in securing both the freedom of American prisoners and an end to piracy on the part of the Barbary state. The opening line of the Marine's Hymn, From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, refers to this action.'

This is a very interesting book in how it looks at the conflicts fought since World War II. It covers not the conflict itself so much the interaction between the President and Congress. It further raises interesting questions about how Congress acts in these cases. For instance in the vote regarding Iraq, Congress voted 77 to 23 in favor of the Iraq war.

With the current dissatisfaction regarding Iraq, it will be very interesting to see what happens, especially if the Democrats gain control of Congress.

Protestants And The Cult Of The Saints In German-Speaking Europe, 1517-1531 by Carol Piper Heming (Assistant Professor of History at Central Missouri State University) is a thorough and scholarly examination of 180 pamphlets published between 1500 and 1500 by religious reformers in German-speaking Europe. Heming presents evidence of the difficulties Protestants had in distancing themselves not only from the Catholic church, but also its many cults of saints. Especially focusing upon why the Reformation leaders so emphatically denounced the cult of the saints, and whether these holy patrons were expunged from Protestant worship without general protest among the Protestants themselves, is presented with an especially astute precision and an academically impressive historical insight.