Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography Of Harry S. Truman – Merle Miller, 1974 ★★½

Cocktails with Harry

While written as an oral history of Harry S. Truman, Plain Speaking flows like a morality play in which a hero imparts life lessons and reveals his inner self to one gradually won over by his goodness. But can you trust what you read?

Merle Miller was hired in 1961 by television producer David Susskind to interview Truman for a documentary. Miller had been a published critic of Truman, in particular his decisions to drop atomic bombs on Japan. Yet over time, as the two had a series of meetings to discuss this Truman TV project, Miller found much to like about Give ‘em Hell Harry.

Truman – David McCullough, 1992 ★★★★

Historian as Cheerleader

When does an author’s enthusiasm for a subject bleed into full-blown boosterism while still holding together? I submit David McCullough’s Truman. It’s a fine history and marvelous narrative that nevertheless gets tinny and strained by giving Give-‘em-Hell Harry every break.