Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.18 (622 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1569767076 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-07-09 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
No traveling press. Just Harry and his high school sweetheart Bess, off to visit old friends, take in a Broadway play, celebrate their wedding anniversary in the Big Apple, and blow a bit of the money he'd just received to write his memoirs. Hopefully incognito. No Secret Service protection. Fellow diners, bellhops, cabbies, squealing teenagers at a Future Homemakers of America convention, and one very by-the-book Pennsylvania state trooper all unknowingly conspired to blow his cover. On June 19, 1953, Harry Truman got up early, packed the trunk of his Chrysler New Yorker, and did something no other ex-president has done before or since: he hit the road. Algeo revisits the Trumans' route, staying at the same hotels and eating at the same diners, and takes readers on brief detours into topics such as the postwar American auto industry, McCarthyism, the nation's highway system, and the decline of Main Street America. An award-winning journalist, Algeo has reported from three continents for public radio's All Things Considered, Marketplace, and Morning Edition.. Matthew Algeo is the author of The President Is a Sick Man and Last Team Standing. One of the Best Books of 2009 -Washington Post "Utterly likable" -Christopher Buckley "An enchanting glimpse into a much simpler age" -Library Journal. In this lively history, author Matthew Algeo meticulously details how Truman's plan to blend in went wonderfully awry. By the end of the 2,500-mile journey, yo
Rick Shaq Goldstein said RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "DAD HARRY TRUMAN'S OUT IN FRONT. DO YOU WANT ME TO HAVE HIM MOVE HIS CAR?". This book is so uniquely fascinating it is in a class by itself! It combines historical political content and world news it includes world events that President Harry Truman effected in an expertly sequenced presentation it gives an unabashed look at the way *WE-THE-PEOPLE-OF-THE-UNITED-STATES* really were in the 1950's which was probably the last decade of true innocence. It gives an intimate look at the private being of one of the twentieth century's most influential characters and it is *ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS* in a humor that doesn't really revolve around any jokes. The humor is actually the unadulterated absurdity. Hop in and take a ride Janet L. Smith Great tale about a President who was an "American Original." It was well written, amply illustrated with wonderful B/W photos of Harry and Bess along the road. It was the best road trip ever and the author retraced the adventure and sought out and interviewed many who were there when the Trumans rolled into town. For any reader who loves an adventure, americana, or just a good 'roadie story' I can recommend this little volume. Harry really was one of a kind. "A great read" according to MAC. Great read. Not only learned a lot about the Trumans but also about the US in the 50s. Nicely written, interweaving the author's current experience following the same route was also well done. It was nice to learn what happened to the places and people the Trumans met along the way.
. (May)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. The book benefits from extensive research through oral history interviews and papers at the Harry S. Acquiring a 1953 Chrysler, the Trumans set out with no fanfare and a curious notion of traveling incognito. All rights reserved. From Publishers Weekly Public radio reporter Algeo (Last Team Standing) brings the 1950s into focus with a fascinating reconstruction of Harry and Bess Truman's postpresidential 2,500-mile road trip. His only income was a small army pension. However, reporters and newsreel cameras soon turned their vehicular vacation into an ongoing media event. Between 2006 and 2008, Algeo retraced their journey with stopovers at some