This week, my book is called: the accidental president. The author weaves a tale about Harry Truman's story. He started in humble beginnings, getting nowhere fast, when WW1 happened (he was 33) and he jumped into it with both feet. It seems while Truman was in all accounts a true man of average. Even as life, it seemed, for this man of humble beginnings, had it out for him; he threw himself in everything with gusto, learning as much as he could. While life and its age of time seemed to play hard to get before and right after WW1 (he failed in all his business trials), he found himself a cog in the wheel of politics through his connections. While his core ethics were never changed, he knew what side his bread was buttered and often had to look the other way in the corrupt machine of Kansas City Missouri's politics. As he went from the country judge of 10 years to (what seemed a random) candidate to the Senate, he found himself somewhat freed-rather judged by his own true merit- coming into his sent second term. While he gained popularity with the Truman report and his committee, he never seemed to achieve FDR's acknowledgment (which I find kinda sad as all his campaigns were in accordance to support FDR), even when he was approved and voted in as his vice president. In any case, Truman found himself in several controversial decisions as his abrupt departure from second in command to first, starting with approving the dropping of the atomic bomb to his efforts in supporting domestic and foreign aid after WW2 and his decisions for both the cold war and the Korean war. He found himself in remarkable terms considering he and his family has always been content in staying the line while others had seen to propel him into higher standings so to ensure their own success.
I think the most impressive thing I noted in this book was that he found the love of his life in that schoolhouse in the 1900s and worked his butt off to woo her into marriage and then was quite content to keep her and only her for the rest of his life. One looks at most other men/women, especially in that era of life and that is not true of them all (especially those in power).
His life span eclipsed many a revolution. The age of industry, at least 4 or 5 wars, the depression, many a movement, and the new age of the young people (50s/60s era). A man who stayed true to his roots but far surpassed them!
