Perhaps the best biography of this man is David McCullough's Truman. Not only does the book provide intimate details about his political career, but also his life prior.
Truman, or Harry as his friends called him, served in World War I as a captain in the Army and was in charge of Battery D a part of the 129th Artillery. His battery only had 3 wounded men during the entire time of service. Most of the service of his troops, or his boys as he often refered to them, was at the Meuse-Argonne offensive.
After the war, Harry tried his look in business with some of this boys from Battery D. He became a haberdasher and his store went bankrupt. Truman started an oil company that went under as well. It was then that he turned to politcs and was first elected to the position of road commissioner were he helped Jackson County, MO roads become some of the best in the nation.
After serving a term as commissioner, Harry was elected to Judge and became known throughout the area as "Judge Truman." As his political career grew, he toured the country in an automobile trying to find the perfect design for the Independence courtroom, which he helped design.
There are many facts about this President history books do not tell us.
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He walked 120 paces a minute everywhere he went.
- When the White House was being restored and rebuilt, Harry worked at the Blair House and would walk across the street to the West Wing every day.
- There was an assassination attempt on his life while at the Blair house by Puerto Rican nationlists
- Several words came into popular use while he was President: do-nothing, H-bomb, Iron Curtain, containment, whistle-stop
There is so much more to understand about this President. Pick up Truman for a great understanding of this person and his Presidency.