Next up: #33 Harry S. Truman

[Shoshana O'Keefe]

Thanks so much to everyone who came on Sunday to talk about Lincoln.  As usual, I'm astonished and overjoyed by how enthusiastically everyone embraces the subjects and what wonderful discussions we have.  You guys are all so great - I can't say enough about how much fun I'm having.  And, for those of you who intended to come and read that whole goddamned book, only to be tragically unable to make it, I'm so very sorry and you were definitely missed.  I hope to see you all soon and I'll be more than happy to engage you in conversation about Abraham Lincoln for hours on end if you like.  

You may have heard by now that the number 33 was drawn from the hat, which was decoded to mean Harry S. Truman!  Funny, I didn't realize until I looked at Ian's president placemat that Hoover and Truman are only one space apart.  The countries each of them presided over were so vastly different, and not just because FDR was president for like 20 years.  I'm so glad to embark on this with the perspective of having studied Hoover. 

So, as for the books, there is good news and bad news.  The good news is that one of the most critically acclaimed books in the entire genre of presidential biographies is about Truman (this one by David McCullough).  The bad news is that it's 1000 pages long.  I felt bad enough that the Lincoln books were all about 800 pages.  My original intent with this book club was to make sure the reading requirements were light enough to fit into our busy lives without causing stress.  That said, I'm going to try and tackle it and I know a few others will, too.  

If you are not up to the McCullough book, no one will judge you.  Laura talked to a friend who is very enthusiastic about and Truman and has read a few of the books, and he says that this one by Merle Miller is very good, and only 448 pages.  There is also this one I saw that's only available on Kindle, but is super short and gets decent reviews from the users.  

As for scheduling of the next meeting, the normal pattern would dictate a meeting in May.  This is perfect because it avoids the problem of summer travel, so until further notice we will aim for that.  I will check in with everyone in April to see if a lot of people are reading McCullough and maybe need more time.  If that's the case, we'll try to meet in the summer.

Until then, enjoy the books!  See you all later on in the year.

Shoshana

[Brian Andrews]

I have a 135 minute solution for those of you who want to get a taste of McCullough but don't want to invest the time for 1000 pages, McCullough wrote the script for the filmed biography of Truman made in 1995 starring Gary Sinise. Here is the film's IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114738/. It is available from Netflix as a disc, but not for streaming. 

I am sure Shoshana would want me to say that this would be a good supplement to some other text, not a replacement.... 

Brian Andrews
www.brianandrews.org
510.421.0036

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[Gabriella Raymond]

Despite warnings of how terrible it is, I plan to read Truman's autobiography as well as a book that focuses on his and FDRs roles in WWII.  I figure any differences between Truman's self image and the McCullough research will make for interesting discussion.

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