The Soldier from Independence : A Military Biography of Harry Truman

Harry S Truman is best remembered as President for the sign on his desk: 'The Buck Stops Here'.

An intelligent reformist, he promoted civil rights, helped found the UN, started the Marshall Plan to aid war-torn Europe, and steered America through WWII and beyond.

None of this would have been possible without his military career, which started in war-torn France where he commanded an artillery battalion, rising to the rank of Colonel in the Army Reserves, and able to go into politics on the strength of his leadership skills, epitomised by his saying, 'If you can't take the heat, get out'.

This book traces Truman's military career, from a lowly enlisted man, through his Chairmanship of The Senate Armed Forces, where he ruthlessly eradicated entrenched corruption, the critical moment in World History where the decision to bomb Hiroshima was made, steering America through the early days of the Cold War, the Berlin Blockade and airlift, and the Korean War, often fighting with anti-Communists who wished to imprison any US citizen even suspected of Communist leanings. This book shows why Truman is regarded as one of the most successful US Presidents, and why he had more right than many who served in that office to be called Commander-In-Chief, and reveals the little-known facts of his remarkable military performance as both soldier and politician, adding a new dimension to the fascinating character of the thirty-third president of the USA.