undefined

Review ------ "The story of Truman’s accession to the presidency is worthy of a Hollywood melodrama, and A.J. Be’s zippy, well-judged and hugely readable book more than does it justice . . . although there are plenty of good biographies of Truman, few are as entertaining as Be’s." —Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times "A.J. Be is a master. His reporting and storytelling are woven to hypnotic effect. Opening the first page of The Accidental President is like pulling up a chair to Truman’s White House desk where we sit engrossed as world events unfold in the most manner, titanic in scale. Be brings us as close as we are likely to get to this completely surprising, quirky, wily, and transformational president. This is history and humanity in lush, vivid color." —Doug Stanton, author of The Odyssey of Echo Company and Horse Soldiers “A.J. Be is a master storyteller, and The Accidental President contains everything a reader could ever want from a work of history: characters that jump off the page, tension that makes your pulse pound, and smooth, smart writing that makes you think. Amazing!” —Jonathan Eig, author of Ali: A Life and Luckiest Man " and absorbing, A.J. Be's biography uses new sources to paint Harry Truman as a complex and thoroughly American figure. A sharply-drawn portrait of an era as well as a man." –Stephan Talty,author of The Black Hand and Agent Garbo “No president in history – particularly one who came in without having been briefed by his predecessor – has faced such monumental decisions. A.J. Be has put a spotlight on those four months, recounting them faithfully and with heart, so that you come away with not only a sense of history, but a sense of the man, Harry Truman, as well. As Grandpa himself said a few years later, ‘It’s hell to be President of the Greatest Most Powerful Nation on Earth.’” —Clifton Truman Daniel, Truman’s grandson and author of Growing Up with My Grandher: Memories of Harry Truman “An entertaining new history of Truman’s first months in office...filled with events that are strikingly proportionate to what the Trump administration has weathered since January.” —John Batchelor, The Daily Beast “A fast-paced, well-detailed chronology of Truman's transformation from an official with little administrative responsibility into a politically astute and ultimately beloved leader.... A warmly human portrait of an unlikely president.” —Kirkus Reviews "By relying mostly on primary sources, Be allows for a better perspective of Truman, in which his political decisions are equally as significant as the correspondence with his beloved wife, daughter, and mother. He also adeptly manages to include nuanced U.S.-Russia relations and East Asian diplomacy." —Library Journal (starred review) "An attractive tale for fans of both presidential and WWII history. . . Be opens a clear . . . window on a pivotal moment in history." —Publishers Weekly "Be is a master story-teller who appears to have invented a time machine. His carefully crafted narrative transports the reader back in time... Each sentence is carefully constructed and colorfully packed with details that makes Harry Truman and this period in history come alive. The Accidental President reads more like a captivating novel than non-fiction. The book is good history in that it simplifies events without being simple." —PresidentialHistory.com Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) About the Author ---------------- A.J. Be is the New York Times best-selling author of The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War and Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans. Both books are in development for major motion pictures. His latest book, The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World, was published in 2017. Be is a longtime regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Popular Science, and Men’s Journal. He holds an M.A. in literature from NYU and currently lives in Granite Bay, California. Visit A.J. at Facebook.com/ajbe and Trumanbook.com. Read more ( javascript:void(0) )