Truman is absolutely one of the most interesting presidents of all time. His presidency set into motion so many plays into the future. The fact that he was not elected in that first period of president is so important. This was very well done.

I've always had a soft-spot for Truman. Thrust into the presidency when he never expected to attain the office, at a very stressful and precarious time. He rose to the challenge, and did (I think) the best he could.

Baime, who has also written about Truman's re-election campaign ("Dewey Defeats Truman"), FDR's attempt to get America ready to supply the Second World War ("The Arsenal of Democracy") and more, offers a well-written, well-researched and engaging account of Truman’s first four months in office. Faced with multiple challenges on the foreign stage, including Germany (the fall of Berlin, the Nazi surrender), Japan (extensive bombing campaigns and the atomic bombs), Russia (particularly relations with Stalin), and also the founding of the United Nations, to name but a few.

The Accidental President is a worthy addition to the ever-growing library of Truman biographies. It's not as substantial/weighty as David McCullough's more famous (but also excellent) biography, but that might be in its favour - if you're interested in these tumultuous times, then I would certainly recommend this book. (And, while we're at it, give "Dewey Defeats Truman" a look, too.)

Baine's telling of Harry S. Truman's rise to President of The United States is an incredible read. It tells the story of a politician who had no desire to rise to the heady heights of the Commander in Chief. Following the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt the book centers on Truman's first four months in charge and Baine does a sterling job. To give a complete picture of the man, Baine takes the reader back to his early life and the army. What I took from the book is that Truman was a regular Joe, he was approachable.

“It is the story of an average man, swept to dizzy heights against his will, a little bewildered by it all and doubting whether it is really true.”

A terrific read.

I received a free PDF copy of The Accidental President by A. J. Baime courtesy of Net Galley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have read a number of biographies about the Presidents of the United States including Harry Truman.  This is the first book by A. J. Baime that I have read.

This was an interesting read from the perspective that it focused on the first four months that Truman served as President following the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It does provide some background on Truman that helps in providing some depth to the man if you have not read any of the other numerous biographies on him. I would also suggest that the publisher have an editor who has an understanding of history work with the author, who is not a historian, as there were some glaring historical mistakes.

The book itself is a quick read and does provide some insight into Truman's first four months in office, but with not as much detail as I would have liked. In addition, the author appears to be a huge fan of Truman which causes him to gloss over any rough spots in his character.

I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a quick read on a specific part of Truman's presdidency.

I received an advanced copy from Goodreads. I shared this book with my Mother who lived during President Truman's time in office. We both loved, loved this book. She remembered a lot of facts that occurred during her time and we both had fun discussing the book. It is one of the best historical accounts of a Presidency that I have read. This book should be on the bestsellers list, it is not getting the acclaim it deserves.

I don’t know a lot of American history, so it is always interesting to read about the past presidents and this was a good read. It could not have been easy being the successor of FDR at the time of war and Truman’s reluctance, uncertainties and tough decisions in the last 4 months of WWII are well captured in the book. However, the writing style left me a little unsatisfied even though I am unable to pinpoint the reasons. I read through most of the book but was unable to complete it because the download expired. I would recommend this book to any history buffs who know a little about President Truman already.

A fantastic book about the early days of Truman becoming President after only three months of being Vice President. He did not know of anything that had been going on with FDR and his administration or with any plans for either of the plans for the war or after. He needed to be brought up to speed on the war with Germany, and in the Pacific. With the Manhattan project, and the plans for after the war. He was not made aware of the agreements that were made with Stalin until the War with Germany was winding down. He felt that if he went against those agreements that it would cause more conflict, he did not have the time to think about long term because we were still fighting in the Pacific and with the amount of men lost on Okinawa the estimate of men needed for invasion of Japan had risen, so had the projection of loss of life. Now he had to make a decision on other to use the atomic bomb or not. This was a decision that he took lightly, but one he made for what he felt would save American lives in the long run. What I can personally say about that decision is that my father with the 82nd Airborne was getting ready to board a plane to go to the Pacific and they were told to stand down. He and his fellow troopers were happy for they had been fighting for over a year, some longer. It would be later that he discovered about the bomb. This book is great in the fact that you get the early history of Truman’s life, but you see the inner workings of what happened after FDR passed and how he not only responded to his death but how he became a President you had to make some of the biggest decisions one man needed to make. An excellent book and I have read other Truman bios.

My apologies - because this book was not available as a mobi file, I was unable to read it in the time allotted. I had looked forward to it, and will look for it on Amazon. (Rating is not reflective of any opinion; Netgalley will not allow submission without one)

This was a brilliant biography of Truman, concerning the first four months of his presidency. It briefly covers a few months prior to Roosevelt’s death, so we understand how Truman came to make the decisions he did, and goes into depth concerning the war with Germany and the war with Japan, the Manhattan Project, the formation of the United Nations, Europe’s struggle to feed its peoples and refugees and the burgeoning problem of Russia.

This was well researched and well written. Baime is a journalist and this comes across in the writing style. He makes you feel for Truman and humanises him very well. I liked Truman before reading this book, but I like him more having read this.

First things first: I need a film adaptation of this book starring Mark Rylance as Truman ASAP!

It was never going to be easy to follow FDR, especially unexpectedly and while in the midst of a world war. Enter Harry Truman, Missouri everyman. Although the least-likely candidate for the job, in hindsight he was perhaps the best. Despite the book's length, Baime focuses on the first four months of Truman's presidency, from FDR's sudden death, to keeping up with Stalin and Churchill at Potsdam, to the dropping of the atomic bombs. A suspenseful narrative style keeps the history from getting too dry. I would have liked Baime to explore the rationale and moral implications behind Truman's momentous, yet necessary, decisions (for instance, Baime followed up Truman's sudden halt of the lend-lease program -- an essential source of food for millions of Europeans -- with an explanation that Truman simply liked to make quick decisions). However, the book is a good overview of the Truman's navigation of the stormy political waters at the start of his presidency.

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.

I like Harry. This is a great story focusing primarily on the four months between his rise to the presidency and the end of the war. His earlier life is covered, though, with particular attention to his brief tenure as vice president. He knew when he met with the obviously ailing FDR that he would not remain the vice president for long.
Truman’s style is contrasted with FDR’s. He came into the presidency totally unprepared, but I suspect he did a better job than Roosevelt would have. Roosevelt was too willing to acquiesce to Stalin, whereas Truman stood firm.
One huge difference between Truman and his predecessor was how they dealt with their cabinets. Roosevelt enjoyed causing discord among the cabinet members and watching them bicker. How can you efficiently run a government that way? Truman surrounded himself with a team that would work together. He didn’t ramble on at meetings as FDR had, but got to the point and moved on, to the astonishment of the cabinet members.
Truman didn’t have the formal education expected of a president, but he was widely read, and his very ordinariness is what made him great.

My e-reader was unable to utilize this PDf/epub book so unfortunately I was unable to read it for review.
I would be interested should kt become available in a different format.

Albert Baime’s ‘The Accidental President’ is a portrait of Truman during the first four months of his administration, from FDR’s death on 12 April 1945 until 14 August 1945, when Japan’s surrender was made public.

The book is dedicated to the author’s father “who … kept a portrait of Harry S. Truman on his office wall for more than forty years”, and it is soon evident that the younger Baime shares his father’s admiration of the 33rd President.

There is, it has to be said, a great deal to admire about Truman as man and politician but although Baime acknowledges that opinion regarding his period in office is deeply polarized he gives very short shrift to any contemporary (such as Admiral Leahy) or any historian who has the temerity to be at all critical of his hero.

This is most obvious in relation to Truman’s most controversial decision, to drop the Bomb on Hiroshima, with Baime aligning himself with those historians like Alonzo Hamby, Stephen Ambrose and Douglas Brinkley, who regard the decision as wholly warranted on military grounds, and rejecting those historians like Gar Alperovitz who regard the decision as motivated as much by the desire to exercise leverage against the Soviets as to force Japan’s surrender. ‘Ignoring’ might actually be a better word than ‘rejecting’: Alperovitz’s sole formal appearance in the book is tucked away in one of its 358 footnotes, and then only as the source of a quotation from Joseph Grew.

Moreover, Baime’s arguments are sometimes weak. He tells the reader, for example, that “almost every advisor to Truman recommended the bomb’s use at the time”. Even if this were true (and I would contend that it ignores, for example, those nuclear scientists who were denied the opportunity to express their doubts directly to Truman), it wouldn’t validate his decision. The crucifixion of Jesus was almost universally applauded at the time but that doesn't make it right.

But if Baume’s book lacks balance and nuance, its 134,000 words read very well and present an appealing account of Truman as an individual. The book certainly has narrative pace and a strong thesis, the only problem is that, in my opinion, that thesis in relation to Hiroshima is an untenable one.

"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.