Truman

World War II was roaring to a climax. Harry Truman was meeting with the speaker of the House of Representatives and his old friend Sam Rayburn when he was called to the White House: Franklin Roosevelt was dead. Truman was now faced with more problems and decisions than any other leader in American history.While American, British, and Russian armies were smashing into the heart of Nazi Germany and American troops were fighting a ferocious battle with the Japanese in the Pacific, Harry Truman took the oath of office, swearing to "protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Suddenly - in the middle of a global war - he had become president of the most powerful nation in the world.Raised in Missouri, the son of a farmer, Truman was destined to make history. After distinguishing himself as an Army captain in World War I, Truman went on to become a judge, a senator, and the vice president before assuming the office of the thirty-third president of the United States. After a forceful victory in the war that raged almost five years, he then served the nation in the tumultuous years that followed: implementing the Marshall Plan, helping to create NATO, ordering the Berlin airlift, and courageously defending freedom in Korea.New York Times bestselling historian and novelist Thomas Fleming, an intimate of Truman and his family, provides a rare glimpse into the life and spirit of a leader often ridiculed for his "just folks" style and modesty but who surprised his critics with his direct and tenacious decision making - and in the process became one of America's greatest presidents.