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Truman
Truman | David McCullough
35 posts | 37 read | 23 to read
The Pulitzer Prizewinning biography of Harry S. Truman, whose presidency included momentous events from the atomic bombing of Japan to the outbreak of the Cold War and the Korean War, told by Americas beloved and distinguished historian.The life of Harry S. Truman is one of the greatest of American stories, filled with vivid charactersRoosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Wallace Truman, George Marshall, Joe McCarthy, and Dean Achesonand dramatic events. In this riveting biography, acclaimed historian David McCullough not only captures the mana more complex, informed, and determined man than ever before imaginedbut also the turbulent times in which he rose, boldly, to meet unprecedented challenges. The last president to serve as a living link between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, Trumans story spans the raw world of the Missouri frontier, World War I, the powerful Pendergast machine of Kansas City, the legendary Whistle-Stop Campaign of 1948, and the decisions to drop the atomic bomb, confront Stalin at Potsdam, send troops to Korea, and fire General MacArthur. Drawing on newly discovered archival material and extensive interviews with Trumans own family, friends, and Washington colleagues, McCullough tells the deeply moving story of the seemingly ordinary man from Missouri who was perhaps the most courageous president in our history.
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review
fredthemoose
Truman | David McCullough
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a chunky monkey! Solid presidential biography. Beginning was a little cloying and overly fawning for someone who did a lot of failing up. But as Truman‘s career gained heft, so did the book. Worth a read if presidential biographies are your thing!

40 likes1 stack add
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Therewillbebooks
Truman | David McCullough
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Sniffing around some presidential biographies

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Bookwormjillk
Truman | David McCullough
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Pickpick

I finally finished this book!

Truman is an interesting character- McCullough said he lived in a time of lost certainties and rocket ships to the moon. This book does a really good job of breaking down all he lived through, his decisions while president, and his really fascinating post presidential life. I recommend this book if you‘ve got the time!

#NFNov

Amiable Congratulations on finishing! It‘s a hefty one. This was my “big book” for 2019, too. 5y
Tamra I enjoyed this one, especially since I knew next to nothing about Truman. 5y
Clwojick 6 pt

5y
43 likes3 comments
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Bookwormjillk
Truman | David McCullough
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#TIL that Truman lobbied Congress for an allowance for former Presidents in order to pay office expenses. Sounds like he needed it. #NFNov

Clwojick 4 pt 5y
29 likes1 comment
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Bookwormjillk
Truman | David McCullough
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#TIL that Truman tried to take a road trip after he was president, but the press kept showing up. #NFNov

36 likes3 comments
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Bookwormjillk
Truman | David McCullough
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#TIL that when Truman left Eisenhower‘s inauguration his limo stopped at a traffic light on the way to lunch, and it was the first time he had to do that in almost 8 years.

#NFNov

(Getting close to the end of this interesting but very long biography. Hoping to finish this month.)

Clwojick 4 pt 5y
37 likes1 comment
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Bookwormjillk
Truman | David McCullough
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#TIL that President Andrew Jackson beat off a would be shooter with a cane. #NFNov

Clwojick 4 pt 5y
43 likes1 comment
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Ericalambbrown
Truman | David McCullough
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Pickpick

I finally finished this behemoth. It‘s an excellent book! If you are looking for a biography of Truman, I highly recommend this one. This book is also very well annotated, which is something I always look for with historical/biographical books. I‘m so glad I read this one.

Amiable This one was my giant book for 2019, too! Every year I pick a book that is around 1,000 pages and start it on Jan. 1. I finished it sometime in March —that sucker is HUGE! 😬😀 5y
Ericalambbrown @Amiable It is huge! I‘m a Missouri girl and have never been to the Truman library, somehow. I wanted to read this before I go in the spring. I‘m so glad I did! 😊 5y
Crazeedi In my shelf but havent tackled it yet!! 5y
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Bookwormjillk
Truman | David McCullough
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#TIL That the FBI gave Dewey information to defeat Truman in the presidential election. (It didn‘t work.) #NFNov

rsteve388 4 pts 5y
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Ericalambbrown
Truman | David McCullough
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So odd to read about my home town in history books. Due to Churchill giving his Sinews of Peace speech (better known the Iron Curtain address) in Fulton in 1946, we have a Christopher Wren church and a segment of the Berlin Wall at what is now the National Churchill Museum. It‘s kinda nifty. Here‘s the link to the museum if you‘d like to see pictures and such: https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/

inthegreensandblues That's really cool! I'm only 3 hours from there. I'm making a mental note for the next time I'm out that way for a Katy Trail trip. 5y
Ericalambbrown @inthegreensandblues where-ish are you? 5y
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Ericalambbrown Oh, sweet! I‘m in SW Missouri now, just north of Springfield, which also about 3 hours away which is why I asked. 😀 5y
jewright I‘ve been to that museum. It‘s neat! 5y
Ericalambbrown @jewright it really is. I‘ve seen so many presidents, most after their terms, speak there just because of the significance of the spot. It was a great place for a history nerd to be from!😊 5y
51 likes6 comments
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Ericalambbrown
Truman | David McCullough
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I wanted to share a great resource I got over at the Plodding Through the Presidents page in Facebook land with y‘all. This link is to a blog that has biographies of all the presidents. I am trying to read a biography on every president and this resource is pretty awesome if you are into that sort of thing. Screen shot of the blog homepage so you can see if you may be interested.

https://bestpresidentialbios.com/curriculum/

Bookwormjillk Thank you! I‘ve been looking for something like that! I love presidential bios. 5y
Ericalambbrown @Bookwormjillk I‘m so glad I posted it then! I figured there‘d be someone on Litsy land that wound like this. 5y
46 likes2 comments
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JCPaulk
Truman | David McCullough
Pickpick

The definitive biography of a much misunderstood man.

sisilia I need to read more McCullough. Read John Adams a few years back and loved it! 5y
22 likes1 comment
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sisilia
Truman | David McCullough
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I love it when a bookstore recommends heavyweights like Truman 😍 #Strand

Liz_M You're in NYC! Thank you for bringing beautiful weather and enjoy your vacation. ☺ 6y
sisilia @Liz_M Haha thank you! And yes, it‘s glorious spring weather today 👍🏻☀️ 6y
64 likes2 comments
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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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Pickpick

Completed for the “something about politics” box in the #nonfiction2019 challenge. Excellent and comprehensive (at 1,200+ pages, VERY comprehensive) look at Harry Truman‘s life before, during and after his presidency. I learned a lot and came away with an appreciation for Harry that I never had before. Another winner by the fabulous David McCullough (this book won the Pulitzer, actually).

@Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Sounds excellent! I haven‘t read this one, but I usually feel the same after finishing a Doris Kearns Goodwin. 6y
Amiable @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Doris and Ron Chernow are my other must-read historians as well! 6y
xxjenadanxx Where can I find the #nonfiction2019 Bingo blank? I‘d love to join in! 6y
See All 6 Comments
Amiable @xxjenadanxx I just tagged you on a post with the blank card 6y
xxjenadanxx @Amiable I appreciate it!! :) 6y
Amiable @xxjenadanxx Anytime! 🙂 6y
54 likes6 comments
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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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Every year I select a book that is approximately 1,000 pages long (no less than 900) and begin reading it on Jan. 1, with the intention of getting through it at a leisurely pace. I aim for at least 100 pages per week, and allow myself to read other books simultaneously. This enables me to complete chunksters with very little pressure. This year‘s pick was David McCullough‘s biography of Harry Truman. Finished it today—all 1,206 pages. 👍🏼

M.V Whoa, I'll adopt that strategy 6y
Amiable @M.V It works for me! I‘ve been doing it for about 10 years now. I alternate fiction one year and nonfiction the next. I‘m already thinking ahead to what my book will be for 2020! 6y
CarolynM What did you think of the book? 6y
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Dolly I‘m more than half way through a doorstop of about 1400 pages that I started January 1 - of last year 😅. I hesitated to read this way but I haven‘t been arrested yet by the literary police. 6y
Suet624 Nice job!!!👍🏼👍🏼👏🏽👏🏽 6y
Moony Congratulation! Very cool strategy! 6y
Kaye How‘d you like the book ? It‘s very popular on Audible. Maybe because it‘s so many hours long ! 6y
Amiable @CarolynM @kaye The book is very good. I mean, it‘s David McCullough—I don‘t think he knows how to write a bad book! I was particularly interested in the chapters about Truman‘s life before he became president, though. Some of the political details about the presidential years were just so detailed that my attention flagged. But all in all a good read. @Suet624 @Moony Thanks! @Dolly I know, right? Let the reading cops come find us! 😀 6y
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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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Mine too, Harry. That‘s my idea of heaven, too. 🥰

CarolynM 👍 6y
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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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Harry Truman on June 20, 1956.

Velvetfur Oohh that's a very similar sentiment to the one I've just finished, by Harry Leslie Smith! 6y
Amiable @Velvetfur Must be something about the name Harry! 😀 6y
Velvetfur @Amiable Haha, good one! 6y
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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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Interesting commentary from Harry S Truman.
In 1948. 😳

Kaye Sounds pretty fitting in today‘s world too, doesn‘t it ? 6y
Amiable @kaye It‘s scarily accurate, yes. And sad, too. Because nothing seems to ever change. It‘s disheartening. 6y
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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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Harry Truman made this comment about his daughter, Margaret, being a “nice girl.” But now all I want to do is find out what Alice Roosevelt and the Wilson girls were up to. 🧐😊

59 likes2 comments
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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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Thank you, Harry. Yes, it is indeed remarkable how much could be accomplished in Washington if people weren‘t concerned about who gets the credit. 🧐 #imisshavingafunctionalgovernment

wordzie 👏 6y
Gina Just WoW 6y
Lauram I have a feeling this is going to be one of my next McCullough books. 6y
KatieMiller People who do things without expecting credit are remarkable human beings. 6y
Amiable @wordzie @Gina I know, right? @Lauram It‘s very good. Supersized, so it‘s a commitment, to be sure! @KatieMiller ❤️❤️ 6y
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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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Fascinating...in 1946, President Truman was trying to get universal healthcare for all Americans. IN 1946. And yet here we still are.

Gina WoW! 6y
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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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In the first hours after FDR's death, Eleanor Roosevelt was more concerned about Harry Truman than she was for herself. That is a composure -- and a compassion-- I'm not sure I'd be capable of. 😳

And also? That last sentence gave me chills.

Lauram During the war, my grandmother chosen to act as a representative for her work group to have tea with Eleanor Roosevelt. She said she was the most elegant woman she‘d ever met. Eleanor later sent wedding dresses (at their request) so the girls had something nice to wear. (edited) 6y
Amiable @Lauram That is a wonderful story! Eleanor Roosevelt was such an amazing and inspirational woman. 6y
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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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Kicking off #winterstormreadathon by snuggling into my #cozyreadingnook with my #stack of nonfiction books and my #hotbeverage --tea, of course! 🙂

@MrBook @BookBabe

Kayla.Adriena It's perfect ! 6y
Crazeedi Kick back and enjoy! 6y
Kaye Uh Oh. I see one of my all time favorite true crimes on your table ! 6y
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Amiable @kaye "And the Sea Will Tell" -- my latest library pick! I heard about it on the "What Should I Read Next?" podcast! It's good then, yes? 6y
BookBabe Excellent! 🙌🏻👌🏻 Glad to have you join us! 🤗 Happy reading! 📚 6y
Kaye Gosh it‘s wonderful ! They made it into a TV movie long ago. The book is 5 stars. 6y
BookishMarginalia Looks so inviting! Enjoy! 6y
97 likes7 comments
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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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Thankful for a broken leg because it meant more time for reading? Gee, Harry S. Truman certainly sounds like a fellow Litten. 😳😀📚

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Amiable
Truman | David McCullough
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Since 2011 I've had an annual tradition: I pick a chunkster book that's approximately 1,000 pages and start it on Jan. 1, and then read a chapter a day until I'm done (while also reading other books that are easier to carry around!) I also alternate fiction and nonfiction. For 2019 it's nonfiction. So the winner is: "Truman" by David McCullough (1120 pages). Here we go! ?

Reviewsbylola Love this! It‘s a fun idea. 6y
shawnmooney Love this tradition! I‘m doing the same this year with Don Quixote. 6y
Amiable @Reviewsbylola @shawnmooney I find that it's a stress-free way to get through some of the super giant books. A chapter a day is so doable. Depending on the book, it usually takes me until March or so to finish. 6y
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Tamra I enjoyed this biography! 6y
Amiable @Tamra Good to hear! Because I was vacillating between this one and Ron Chernow's bio of 6y
tracey38 Sounds like a good tradition! 6y
Tamra @Amiable tough choice, both are good. Immersive! 6y
LisaJo Great idea. Now going to use it to finish a trilogy where each book is almost 900 pages long. 6y
Amiable @LisaJo I try to aim for a chapter a day -- unless the chapters are very long and that bogs me down, in which case I target 100 pages per week. Then I log my progress on Goodreads at each 100-page increment. It keeps me moving with forward momentum. And also, allowing myself to read other books at the same time helps ensure that I don't start to resent the chunkster book's monopoly on my time. It works for me! 😀 6y
BookBabe What a cool idea! 🙌🏻 6y
Kaye Good idea. I‘ve got some that have been on my kindle so long there‘s dust on them. 6y
youneverarrived I love this idea! 6y
75 likes12 comments
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sisilia
Truman | David McCullough
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Truman! Long time no see! I abandoned him 8 years ago because it was too heavy to read McCullough‘s works one after another (I just finished John Adams at that time).

I kinda miss Truman now... 😿

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Bookwormjillk
Truman | David McCullough
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I know how to do Saturday nights

Beckys_Books 🤣🤣 7y
JHSiess I relate! 🤓 7y
16 likes2 comments
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Bookwormjillk
Truman | David McCullough
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Just a short book about Truman for some light bedtime reading.

Beckys_Books It would take me months to read that, especially if I only read it at bedtime! 7y
Tamra This was good! 7y
Bookwormjillk @Beckys_Books I have a 1 hour commute too- but I still think it will take me a while! 7y
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EllieDottie
Truman | David McCullough
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We were traveling yesterday so I wasn't able to post so this is one day late but when my bf heard about the #someoneelsesbooks prompt he was so excited about having his books featured that I had to post anyway! #riotgrams

Nebklvr Beautiful! 7y
Jinjer How cute of him to be excited ! 7y
80 likes2 comments
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EllieDottie
Truman | David McCullough
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All these #chunksters are all on my tbr except East of Eden which I am almost finished with! #splashintosummerreads

Fernoppy The only one I've read is The Inheritance Trilogy. Loved it. 8y
EllieDottie @Fernoppy I'm so excited to read it! 8y
59 likes2 comments
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Aseleener
Truman | David McCullough
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#feistyfeb #presidentialreads

I've had this on my shelf for years, but have never attempted it. It's over 1,000 pages! 😱

#tbr #nonfiction @RealLifeReading

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Hollie
Truman | David McCullough
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Pickpick

Since I'm a history instructor, I read a LOT in school, but the first book to come to mind for #readinschool today was Truman by McCullough. It is expansive and detailed and you'll learn that the S in Harry S Truman doesn't have a period because it doesn't stand for anything. You'll learn things you never thought you'd want to know like what Truman ate for breakfast the morning of his wedding. McCullough does a top notch job fleshing out the story

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Erynecki
Truman | David McCullough
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Pickpick

I read Truman many years ago. I pretty much love anything by McCullough. This article in this morning's WSJ is about how the election is siphoning away audiences from books, tv shows, and movies. I confess, the election had definitely distracted me from my TBR list.

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Erynecki
Truman | David McCullough
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I'm doing a totally informal survey here... Do you read non-fiction? How often? What kinds of non-fiction? What percentage of your reading month belongs to non-fiction? I'm mostly a non-fiction reader so I'm curious about why I see so much fiction on @Litsy . Do you read non-fiction but don't post it here? Thanks! P.S. Photo is of the Enigma machine at Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.

TheNextBook I read quite a bit of nonfiction. Probably one out of every 3 books is a nonfiction for me. Ranges from memoirs, biography, autobiography and history. 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Normally I read one of each at the same time. And post about both. This month I'm catching up on horror / fantasy reads for the Halloween season. 🎃 8y
Marchpane About 10% non-fiction I think. I post reviews of both fiction and non-fiction. In my head, memoirs and essays are a separate category from non-fiction. 8y
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BookishFeminist I read tons of nonfiction as well. Usually at least one novel & one nonfiction book at a time. Nonfiction just takes me longer to get through so it doesn't get as many posts usually! I also really enjoy really substantive fiction that is often based in heavy nonfiction topics- stuff with commentary. 8y
LauraBeth I ❤️ non-fiction - particularly politics, biographies, social science and history 8y
bookishkai I love nonfiction, and I go through stages where that's all I read and then don't read any for a while. I especially love history, biography, politics, animals, NASA and space exploration, and sports. 8y
LeahBergen I probably read one work of nonfiction to every two works of fiction that I read. 8y
Erynecki @TheNextBook @BarbaraTheBibliophage @Marchpane @bookfeminist @LauraBeth @bookishkris thanks for your replies! I really found them insightful and helpful. Have a great weekend! 8y
ValerieAndBooks I love non-fiction and memoirs/biographies but they tend to take longer for me to get through because I always have more than one book going at a time 😊 8y
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brendanmleonard
Truman | David McCullough
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HBD to American historian David McCullough! His rich, relaxing voice on American Experience and The Civil War introduced and nurtured my early love of American history. I love his thesis that "history is the story of people," and we need more popular historians like him.

becausetrains It's good to have popular historians that don't dumb down history, isn't it? Also applies to authors like Jill Lepore, though hers is more investigative history. 8y
SusanInTiburon @becausetrains: Agree, and that's why I like Barbara Tuchman's work, too. 8y
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