Truman Books

A well-written book about the exciting summer the author had in Alaska. I enjoyed this book very much, and recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.

It is obvious very quickly that the author is an academic and not a writer. I didn't think it was possible to turn the spectacle of Mc Neil River falls and it's dozens of grizzlies into a dull, lifeless narrative, but Thomas Bledsoe has managed to accomplish the feat. If you're in search of a well written book capturing the excitement of being surrounded by bears in Alaska, you will be disappointed. This reads almost like a textbook for a class you wished you hadn't signed up for.

Prof. Spalding's little study of Harry Truman's coming to grips with the developing Cold War must enthrall some historians and Truman fans. While other writers are enlarging Truman's role in formulating the geographic containment of the Soviet Union, Spalding elevates Truman to mythical statuses of thought and action on a par with Lincoln's. At times she reduces Winston Churchill to but a glib flack for Trumanesque wisdom: "he invited Winston Churchill to give the Fulton (College) address (on the Iron Curtain) of March, 1946, relying on him to articulate and underscore the stakes of the Cold War to the American public as only Churchill could". George Kennan's spring, 1946 "Long Telegram" from Moscow was, Ms. Spalding opines, overshadowed by a 100,000 word tome written by an obscure White House aide in the name of close Truman confidant Clark Clifford. She admits that the Clifford report is "often overlooked or dismissed as overzealous anticommunism", yet credits it as "the theoretical basis of containment". Truman biographer David McCullough does credit Clifford and aide George Elsey for work on the President's announcement of the Truman Doctrine. Finally, Ms. Spalding trods the halls of Marxism, asserting the Trumanesque belief that Yugoslavia's Marshal Tito would have attempted to unseat Stalin as leader of the Communist Bloc if only Yugoslavia's army had been a tad stronger. A pretty thought, but if she is correct, Truman's view of 1948 Balkan events exaggerated the point of resurging Yugoslav nationalistic Marxism. She also fails to deal with US covert operations aimed at causing mischief in Soviet satellites.
A strong spin on still evolving respect for Truman, but one that left this writer not toally convinced.

Democrats struggling to develop a foreign policy vision in the post-9/11 world would do well to study Harry Truman's tough response to Soviet aggression following the Second World War. This book, based on years of primary research, is an excellent introduction to the subject.

James Bond updated for the 1980s. He is no longer 007, as that section of MI6 no longer exists. M still uses him to solve problems, and here is sent to Scotland to investigate a nuclear physicist.

The crazy supervillain scheme in this book is the planned terrorist takeover of a bunch of nuclear plants.

John Gardner's first James Bond novel, "License Renewed" is outstanding, a magnificent achievement which reinvents and updates the incredible literary world created by Ian Fleming. John Gardner has completely re-postured Bond for a much tougher world. The worldly agent that Ian Fleming created is back here to stay. Bond's adversaries are even more dangerous and brilliantly evil as inspired by Fleming's earlier works. Bond in response to these evil doers puts his life on the line and lets it role! The villain, Anton Murik Laird of Murcaldy, is an enduring version of the classic Fleming scoundrel. He is a worthy opponent, for the new daring do Bond.

MR. CITIZEN very much reflects the public persona of its author, President Harry S. Truman. The essays are written in a straightforward, matter-of-fact style. There's no flowery language, no colorful turns of phrase. And he talks about everything from foreign policy and his decision to use the atomic bomb to what his favorite foods are. It's very direct and to the point. I quite liked reading it and enjoyed learning his opinions and thoughts on the varied subjects that he covered.

As far as what this book actually contains, I offer a brief summary. He talks about his life post-White House, his brief, informal meetings with President-elect Eisenhower, his strained relationship with Adlai Stevenson (including his thoughts on why Stevenson would have made a poor President), religion, politics, health, the Constitution, the future of the two US political parties, and many thoughts on the Presidency itself. In fact, it's this last subject that I found to be of the most interest, and what Truman himself seemed to most enjoy discussing (outside of his childhood in Missouri). Indeed, the section entitled, "What to do with former Presidents" made quite a lot of sense to me, and it's a pity that there has not been a major effort to give ex-Presidents debate time in the US Senate.

Truman's writing style I found to be deceptively simple. The beginning chapters are full of humorous and slight anecdotes about Truman's life after the White House. He talks a lot about how ordinary people react to him and how -- despite his best efforts -- it was simply impossible to go back to being a regular citizen after his stint as Mr. President (hence the title). These stories are told in a light manner, and many of them are quite funny. I loved the anecdote about the loud guy who stopped outside Truman's house and bellowed, "Is this Truman's house?!" followed by "Are you Truman?!" and concluding with a request for a photograph.

These passages ill-prepared me for the more in-depth subjects which were to follow. He doesn't use a lot of supporting arguments for his conclusions, but I have to admit that he often makes a very good point. For example, he has a section supporting military conscription for all able-bodied males. My instinct is to disagree with this thesis, yet he makes a very strong case in saying that an all-volunteer military runs the risk of becoming completely insular and removed from what the civilian population actually wants. It's not enough to dissuade me from my existing opinions, but I can't say that his argument is without merit. Indeed, it seems worryingly prescient.

Some of the very last sections of the book are perhaps just slightly too obscure for the layman like myself and will be of more interest to the hardcore historian. I simply don't know enough about the Cold War to understand why, say, he wrote entire essays about certain subjects. His discussion about why the Soviet and US leaders should hold summits inside North America as well as in Moscow makes perfect logical sense, I just don't have enough context to know why its important.

I wish some of these essays had been a little longer so Truman would have been able to spend more time putting forth his arguments and fleshing out his stories. But that, I imagine, wouldn't have been consistent with the man's style. In any event, this is a worthy read that offers insights into the thinking behind some of the more important decisions of the twentieth century. And it's nicely balanced by some personal reflections and good old-fashioned plain speaking.

"Mr. Citizen" is a collection of magazine articles written by former President Truman. They begin with his return to Independence and his attempt to, once again, be plain old Mr. Citizen and his gradual realization that that was not possible. He continued to write about events in his retirement, his assessment of Adlai Stevenson, who he tried so hard to get into the White House, his view of history, what to do with former Presidents, and his duty to teach from his experience and other topics.

Truman was an experienced politician and a well read man. His insights and suggestions are interesting and worthy of consideration. For those interested in the thought of Harry Truman, this book is a good source.

I was very excited to buy this book and begin reading it during the holidays. I skipped around in it rather than reading from start to finish. One of the best items in it isn't actually an essay at all - its a murder mystery story that is captivating, but is fictional ("Handcarved Coffins.") (Midway through reading it I searched via Google for info on the murders and quickly found it was not an actual non-fiction account.) I enjoyed the essay about the history of the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood where Capote lived for several years. An essay about a theatre group going to the USSR to perform Porgy and Bess was interesting and humorous.

The essay on Marlon Brando, "The Duke in His Doman" seemed like a waste of pages. The gist of it is that when Capote met with Brando in Japan during the filming of Sayonara, Brando was self-absorbed and arrogantly believed himself to be a great philospher. I think that essay could have been left out.

There are a number of very short essays that are probably better described as "vignettes." I found these less satisfying - Capote seems better at capturing a place or person with more words, with the exception of the Brando essay.

This book might have been better if it had been a combination of essays and letters and some of the weaker essays had been left out, or supplemented by relevant letters.

Capote was one of the best writers ever even when his lifestyle was in the pits. This collection of essays prove it.

I must start this review with a disclosure; I am a friend of George Manos, the author of this book. I can, however, unconditionally recommend the book to lovers of good music and those have a historic interest in President Truman.
In his book George describes his relationship with President Truman as his personal pianist without any political implications. There is nothing Democratic or Republican here, just his description of Truman's love of music and the author's relationship with him. But the book is much more than about Truman, it is a wonderful story about how a son of a Greek immigrant made is way in music to become a world-class musician. Anyone interested in music will enjoy this book.
As a personal note, I was honored to be invited to George's 80th birthday party at his house. Many guests requested he sit down at the piano and perform for us. "Play `Happy Birthday'" was finally not ignored. George sat at the piano and improvised on the familiar "Happy Birthday" song for a long time, it was wonderful. Unfortunately one of the guests (obviously not a music lover) demanded he just play "Happy Birthday". Of course he switched to the familiar strains and we all sang "happy birthday" to him, but for me, I would have listened to the improvations for much longer!

Older readers especially will treasure this nostalgic window into the life and times of Maestro Manos. Too, it may serve as an inspiration to the more youthful contemplating music-oriented career paths.

This is review of the Dark horse TPB comic Episode I Adventures ISBN 1569714436 published march 2000 and printed in Canada.

Here is who will like this comic... Did you like the movie? Did you read the novelization for more? Do you like the Graphic Novel aspect presented by a well done comic book? If you answered yes to all 3, you will probably grade this at 4 to 5 stars.

SWE1 Adventures is a little like the Journal series where the original SW movie was retold from the point of view of 3 of the main characters. This comic is 4 stories told from the perspective of a single character and a final conclusionary story.

This is a beautifully produced comic using recent technical improvement, but still made in Canada, so the binding is real good. In fact, My son has had me reading this comic to him a frequently and it is taking some physical abuse, and holding up to that abuse. I have been so disappointing with the binding of the TPB's since sending the manufacture to China.

Story 1 - Anakin is excellent in every way... story, pencils, inking and coloring 3.5 stars.

Story 2 - Amadala did not have that richness of visual appeal nor attention to detail by the pencil artist. The saving grace is that the story is OK. This is not a story my son asks me to read - 3 stars.

Story 3 - Qui-Gon Jinn - good story, good production - 3.5 stars.

Story 4 - Obi-Wan Kenobi - Best story, very rich coloring and inking, good pencils 5 stars!

Story 5 - Adventures - a sort of a wrap-up story which is the least interesting of the 5, but is one of the most visually interesting works - 3 stars.

The obi-wan story is worth the price of admission all by itself so I am rounding up and giving this comic 4 stars and a solid recommendation.

I was really not looking forward to reading these stories, but as when they came out collected I picked them up, but I really didn't have very high hopes. And then I read them. It was quite a pleasant surprise. This is not one story, but rather 4 stories which take place during the events of The Phantom Menace, as well as the little Episode 1 #1/2 which is kind of silly.

The Anakin story was the best of the lot. Taking place (immediately) before the Jedi land on Tatooine, it shows us Anakin's idealism, his dreams, and a glimpse of his life and friends. The art, while not spectacular, also fits his story very nicely.

Next came Queen Amidala's tale. Taking place right before the podrace, it is similar to one of the levels of the TPM game. A component of Anakin's pod is stolen, so Amidala and Jar Jar take off to retrieve it. The art wasn't very interesting, not bad, but not good, and the whole story is pointless and doesn't really fit into the whole. There are a few neat character interactions here, but not much.

Next come Qui-Gon. The art was the best of the lot, done by Robert Teranishi of "Union" fame. It portrays Watto's double crossing of Qui-Gon as he tries to collect on the parts he needs and Anakin's freedom, and it also includes the scene cut out of the movie where Anakin beats up the Rodian kid. Plus, it has interesting dialogue which sounded right.

Last came Obi-Wan, which was the most dissapointing of the bunch. The art was okay, but the story, written by the guy who did the comic adaptation of the film, was essentially Obi-Wan recapping the entire movie to Yoda, and once in a while a little commentary by Yoda on Obi's performance.

And then came the 1/2 issue. It had little segments by each of the four writer/illustrators of the main stories. The Anakin bit isn't real interesting, but the assassination plot ties into the "Emissaries to Malastare" plotline. The Qui-gon basically just is a little epilogue to the existing story, Obi-Wan is found reflecting on Ani's admirable Jedi traits, and the Queen gets to know Jar Jar a little better on the way to Coruscant.

Overall, a quick enjoyable, read. Recommended.

This excellent book is a history of Youngstown v. Sawyer, a landmark Supreme Court case on Presidential powers. The case arose when the White House nationalized steel factories in order to block a labor strike that threatened to disrupt steel production during the Korean War. The Supreme Court firmly rejected Truman's claim of an "inherent" Presidential power to seize private property during wartime. Given the extremist constitutional claims made by the current Bush Administration -- including the power to hold American citizens incommunicado for the duration of the (potentially endless) war on terror -- Youngstown remains hugely relevant today.

Marcus lays out the political, legal, and foreign policy contexts of Youngstown before delving into the details of the litigation and discussing the constitutional significance of the outcome. Her exposition is workmanlike and methodical, as befits a recycled doctoral dissertation. My only real complaint -- hence the rating of four stars -- is that long sections of the book are little more than summaries of legal briefs and courtroom oral arguments. These could have been cut back. But with that qualification, I would recommend the book without reservation to anyone interested in American constitutional history or the institution of the Presidency.

In an earlier era, steel making was a key strategic industry for the US. Marcus takes us back to 1952 and the tensions of that era. With World War 2 still recently over and the Korean conflict starting up, the international situation looked grave. She walks us through the events that led Truman to take over the steel mills. She marshalls the arguments pro and con for this, that echoed through the nation.

A very readable study in the limitations of presidential power. Plus a current reader might be struck by the parallels between Truman's actions and Bush's recent decisions. Both presidents asserted prerogatives that were strenuously opposed by others. Though in retrospect, the Cold War and the then developing Korean War were far deadlier for the US than the current situation, where the US has a unipolar hyperpower advantage.

I bought this book for my daughter and my nephews when theywere 5, 6, and 7 y.o. They loved it and understood the aunt/ant wordplay. We read and reread this book, and even I never tired of it. And at the end of the book I always asked them, what did Truman's aunt do that made her so special, and they replied she really listened and she had fun with him. Good things for adults to do with kids.

Truman has an interesting and clever aunt who seems to enjoy sending him unpredictable and adventurous gifts for his birthday. Naturally he is suspicious whenever the packages from his aunt arrive. However, in this instance he is overjoyed, because his aunt has apparently fulfilled his fond wish to own an "ant" farm. After sending away for this farm, however, what arrives at his doorstep is a growing collection of "aunts", in various shapes and sizes and temperaments, all very aunt-like. What he does with this situation takes up most of the rest of the book. My four year old daughter had a bit of trouble understanding the subtle word play between "ant" and "aunt"--not being able to detect the difference in spelling and needing me to explain the difference as we went along--which took away much of the impact. An older child might enjoy it quite alot more.

I found myself thinking that the person who would really enjoy this book was my younger sister, all of forty-something, who is the quintessential aunt and would probably find the book hilarious. But I wouldn't buy it for a four year old.

I believe it is very difficult to write a book about writing about humor. Truman's book is no exception.

It is better than some of the others, however, because he has no axe to grind about humor. Instead, he points to the "Lego" building blocks of humor and where one can find them: current events, personal experiences, marriage, travel, sports, church or religion, pets, and so forth. Truman also spends considerable time describing how to sell humor to people who want it, but he is totally discouraging about how much one will be paid for this.

If you are looking for a laugh in this book, you will find a couple; but if you are looking on how to write something laughable, then perhaps this one is it.

This book had me laughing and learning. Phil explains the different types of humor, where to get ideas, and how to develop your humor writing skills. Numerous examples from his own writing, and a few from classic humorists, serve well to bring his points home. A list of suggested markets is included to get you started selling your work. If you want to liven up or lighten up your writing, "Writing Humor for more than Laughs" should be your first resource.