Plain Speaking

by Merle Miller and Harry S. Miller, Merle; Truman

Book Overview

"Never has a President of the United States, or any head of state for that matter, been so totally revealed, so completely documented" (Robert A. Arthur).Plain Speaking is the bestselling book based... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399112618
• ISBN13: 9780399112614
• Release Date: February 1974
• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.76 lbs.
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

I'm Usually Not a Harry Truman Fan, But...

I'm not a Harry Truman fan but PLAIN SPEAKING:AN ORAL BIOGRAPHY OF HARRY TRUMAN is sensational!!! President Harry Truman was a bit of a hothead--it wasn't necessary for him to drop atomic bombs on Japan--and Truman never got over the public's love of Dwight Eisenhower, but even so this "oral biography" of Harry Truman is sensational! I first read PLAIN SPEAKING while in college taking an English class over years ago, and it's still a book I think about often. Why? Well, like Theodore Roosevelt before him, Harry Truman was dead square, a President who you didn't have to guess where he stood--he'd let you know! Merle Miller is pretty interesting himself, and his insight as a midwesterner--"I moved away from Iowa to get away from people like him (Truman)" is funny and fascinating. Miller does a super job with details like describing Truman's childhood, and even discusses Truman's ideas about morality like "the things that ruin a man." And Miller doesn't shy away from asking Harry Truman about The Bomb, and even suggests at the end of one chapter that while Truman may not have done any major second guessing about The Bomb, he "had obviously given the matter a lot of thought." So what made Harry Truman special? CHARACTER!!! Merle Miller brings that out loud and clear! Truman wasn't fancy, but he got the job done, and without a lot of confusion about whether he was involved in covert operations overseas, bugging the White House, or soliciting sex from his female employees! (In fact, Miller suggests that Truman's knowledge of women was limited to his sisters, his wife, and his mother!) As you read PLAIN SPEAKING, Merle Miller gradually becomes a Harry Truman fan, and so will you! Chari Krishnan RESEARCHKING Tango2200@Hotmail.Com

A Historical Masterpeice

This was a very good book. This book outlines how a man of very humble beginnings became the President of the United States. One of the more interesting parts was Truman's rise from a machine politician to a national figure. Also,I found amazing some of the historical roads that Truman had a role in traveling. His shaping of the world after World Wat II through the Marshall Plan was very readable. His role with Israel was also very noteable. His firing of General Mcarthur was laid out in great detail. I also liked reading his feelings and opinions about various political figures that we have come to know. Before this book I didn't have an opinion about Truman. After I read this book I became mightily impressed with Harry Truman. An excellent book.

A One of a Kind Biography of a President!

Harry Truman late in life telling it like it was. Here is Harry Truman speaking his mind and speaking the truth about politics and history. Through a series of interviews conducting by Miller, we see the true and great Harry S. Truman, the last regular person to be President. I especially enjoyed Truman's views on the Chinese Nationalists (Chiang Kai-shek) and on MacArthur and Eisenhower. A Great book. If Harry Truman is not your favorite President after reading this book, you might be from another planet. A Great read!

A Great Read!

I admit that prior to this reading this informative and entertaining book, I was fairly ignorant about much of Truman's presidency and the events of his day. Truman's viewpoint is a unique and refreshing way to view him as a man and as the great president he was. Merle Miller, unlike so many other biographers, does not interject too much of himself. This is the unvarnished and best version of Truman who is, perhaps, the last human being to be president.

Plain Speaking

I found this book to be not only a wealth of information on Harry Truman the man, but also about twentieth century America. I think I enjoyed the book first of all because Truman reminds me so much of my grandfather. There were some things that I did not like however such as the fact that Merle Miller acts as more of a "yes man" than actually forming his own opinions. What I mean is he doesn't openly question any of Truman's decisions or thoughts. He just agrees with what Truman states and uses that answer to form his next question. However, the questions Miller poses are quite interesting and often complex. He ranges his questions from Truman's childhood to the assassination attempt on his life. I intend on teaching history, and I consider this book invaluable. I suggest it to anyone with an interest in history or just willing to increase their education because as Harry Truman says, "When you get an education, that is something nobody can take from you- money is only temporary- but what you have in your head, if you have the right kind of head, stays with you."