The Accidental President is a well-written account of President Harry S Truman’s first four months in office, spanning the period between FDR’s death and the end of WWII. Even with a seasoned president at the helm this would have been a critical time in US and world history which is why a reluctant VP stepping up to make some of the most crucial decisions in history is fascinating to read about. It’s rare to find an author who can explain historical events and timelines this clearly and also describe historical figures so well they come across as convincingly real human beings. Easily 5 stars. ( )

This book is an excellent read. For anyone who wants to know more about the intrigue of Washington, DC and how FDR ran the White House and the WWI war effort, this book is a must read. Baime reveals to the reading the character and ethical backbone of Harry S. Truman the man, the leader, and the husband and father who assumed the reigns of government at an unbelievable difficult time in this nation's history. As I have been reading this ebook, my father's words about HST kept ringing in my head, "History will be kind to HST and reveal the caliber of this man and his character. The press was not nice to him during his time in office, but history will bear out who he was and what he did for our country." ( )

This book covered the Truman presidency from the death of FDR to the surrender of Japn in September 1945. During those four month, one could understand the measure of the man and the President that Truman was. He had to wind up the war with Germany, negotiate with Russia and their imperialistic designs, as well as how to rebuild Europe. His biggest and hardest decision was the dropping of two atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the war with Japan.

Truman comes off as a man without pretense and vanity. He was very humble and overwhelmed at taking office. Given that he was not privy to many of FDR’s plans and strategies, he made some very wise decisions and proved to be a very good leader in a time of crisis.

Excellent read.

The author did provide one dispiriting observation at the end of the book that I view sadly true. Please read below...

The United States had provided soldiers and a great majority of the tools that destroyed Nazism and saved Europe. The United States had defeated a Japanese military intent on dominating all of the Four East. In the eyes of the world, this was America’s finest hour. Never before had United States achieved such prestige. What Truman did not know at this moment was this: never would the United States achieve such prestige again. ( )

Arghh! There are history books and then there are History books. This is history the same way a slab of beef jerky, a swab of cotton candy, and 2-liter diet cola is a meal. The concept was interesting. Take just the first four months after FDR's death and concentrate on what his successor did with the aftermath. However... Start by renaming the first third of the book: The Death of FDR and What His Successor Did Before He Became President. Then start filling the book with lots and lots of details, many of which are mildly interesting at best, and downright useless at worst. Do we need to know exactly how Truman greeted people he met at particular times, such as, "Hi, how are you? I'm glad you're here"? Does anybody need to know the 2-digit phone number someone had on a ship from about 75 years ago, where both the ship and the person are long gone? When the author frequently says, "Someone said [ ]," is the reader just supposed to guess who it was or if it was one of his staff or one of the reporters or just the janitor happening by to pick up the trash? And did that "someone" represent just him or herself or everyone in the room or all mankind? There are blanket statements about the main subject that have no basis offered for why they were made or why they may be regarded by many experts as historically unjustified. Not a single comment about how racist someone's mother was? Name dropping throughout, but suddenly fail to do so on an important army commander that could be looked up in less than 5 minutes with a computer search engine. And then to top it all off, in the comments following the book, the author claims a disregard for his subject's legacy that he wanted to address, unfortunately a false premise. At least there's a Chamber of Commerce somewhere that loved this book, I'm sure. Good for tourism, no doubt. I'm embarrassed I read the whole thing. I will not be reading any other of this author's works, no matter how many award-winning movies get based on them. Luckily I'm purging the bad taste with a real history book at present. ( )

A narrow history on the Harry Truman’s first four months in office from his swearing in to the presidency to take over for Franklin Roosevelt to the surrendering of Japan.

A. J. Baime provides a brief introduction to Harry Truman, his early years, his failure as a businessman, his time as a Captain of an artillery unit in World War I, his surprising rise from local politician, to little known but important Senator who led The Truman Committee to his brief time as Vice President.

Few have had to deal with the numerous critical decisions he made the first few months m with little preparation provided by Franklin Roosevelt, but the ordinary gentleman from Missouri provided hard work and common sense to the presidency. Not always right but determined to do right.

I strongly recommend this mini history on the last months of World War II in which President Truman saw the surrender of Germany, The approval of the United Nations charter, the successful testing of the atomic bomb , the decision to drop the bomb and the surrender of Japan. ( )

A. J. Baime is a master. His reporting and storytelling are woven to hypnotic effect. This is history and humanity in lush, vivid color.”—Doug Stanton, author of The Odyssey of Echo Company

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s a readable account of the initial several months of the Truman presidency, from April 1945 through to the Japanese surrender in September 1945. It’s scholarly without being stuffy.

The first chapter details President Roosevelt’s failing health and his last day alive, April 12, 1945. Truman is promptly brought to the White House where Eleanor Roosevelt tells him of FDR’s death. Shortly thereafter he is sworn in as president. The next chapter is the obligatory mini-biography which recounts Truman’s early life and how he came to be Vice-President in the 1944 election. He was never part of FDR’s inner circle and was essentially ignored by FDR after he assumed the vice-presidency. He was blissfully ignorant of what was going on when he took on the presidency. He faced a steep learning curve – it was almost perpendicular—but he quickly found his footing. One needs to really give him a lot of credit.

After the book’s introductory chapters, readers follow Truman’s progress as he learns the challenges of the job and the problems facing the nation (and the world). The author tells the story in a straightforward way, chronologically, month-by-month. The major events include the closure of the war in Europe, the Potsdam Conference, the machinations over ending war with Japan and most importantly, the development of the atomic bomb. The author relies on original sources such as letters, minutes from meetings, official reports and so on to advance the story (there’s extensive end notes citing his sources).

Highly recommended for students of US history and geopolitics.

I receive a copy of the book through Netgalley in exchange for an objective review. ( )

"Never had fate shoehorned so much history into such a short period." The Accidental President, A. J. Baime

His first response was "No." Truman did not want the position of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's new Vice President.

But FDR commanded it, and Harry S. Truman had to agree.

FDR was not a well man when he took office for a fourth term. And when he died on April 12, 1945, Truman said, "the whole weight of the moon and stars fell on me."

"Who the hell is Harry Truman?"

The Accidental President by A. J. Baime focuses on Truman's first four months in the presidency, portraying Truman as an unknown 'Everyman' kept out of FDR's loop, but who quickly gained the nation's trust and approval while tackling huge challenges. He came into the job with only a layman's knowledge of international politics but scrambled to catch up. Monumental decisions awaited.

Baime offers a condensed biography and profile of Truman and a detailed recreation of his first four months in the presidency. It is daunting to consider what this failed businessman with a high school degree had to contend with! His straight talking, systematic thinking, and unpretentious style was refreshing and his staff was surprised, and appreciative, of his competence.

When Truman took office, the U.S. Army was fifty-seven miles from Berlin. General Dwight Eisenhower had discovered the horrors of Nazi death camps. General LeMay was ruthlessly firebombing Japan, while Japan was sending out mass suicide missions of Kamikaze pilots. Iwo Jima was captured but a third of the American landing force had died.

The Soviets had suffered huge losses battling the Nazis. They wanted payback. Liberating Poland and Austria, they installed puppet regimes. Prime Minister Winston Churchill wrote, "An iron curtain is drawn down upon their front."

What to do with Germany had to be decided. Already the Soviets were plundering, hauling away everything they could. If the Soviets joined in war against Japan, they would want a part of Japan, too. Truman could not allow a Soviet presence in Japan.

All of Central Europe's infrastructure had collapsed. Seven million persons were displaced without food or coal for heating. Children suffered from malnutrition.

Yugoslavia wanted a piece of Italy. Chaing Kai-shek and Mao Tse-tung had divided China.

The United Nations was yet to be organized, it's future unknown.

Would the U.S. recognize the new state of Israel?

The American wartime economy was thriving, but what would happen when the war contracts ended and servicemen returned home?

Churchill, who would soon lose his position as Prime Minister, Truman, and Stalin gathered at Potsdam. Truman need all his poker skills when facing off with Stalin. In his pocket was the upcoming test of the most terrible weapon ever known. If used against Japan, would it mean the end of civilization?

Reading about this tumultuous time was exciting and disconcerting. The whole world I grew up in was determined during these first months of 1945.

In his notes, Bamie states that history is a kind of myth that morphs through time as new evidence is unearthed and interpretations arise. The author spent three years sifting through original sources, diaries, and documents, ferreting out "new accession" including oral histories.

I enjoyed this highly readable and informative study.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair an unbiased review. ( )