Books Books Books
Two more books to write about. Both of them historical non-fiction.
First, Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Like just about everyone, I find Abraham Lincoln to be a fascinating American president. As the stories go, he came from practically nothing to be one of the greatest US presidents in our history. After reading this book, I have a renewed respect for the man… clearly the greatest president in our history.
He was a gifted dealmaker, with the ability to unruffle even the most ruffled feathers on his arrogant peers. His methods for keeping the “team” (his cabinet) together and working effectively through such a perilous time in our history were quite intriguing and interesting. As expected, very good book.
Second, American Prometheus:The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. This one wasn’t available on Audible, so I waited 6+ months on the Seattle Public Library reserve list to get it. This biography was thorougly engaging. I must admit, I knew almost nothing about Oppenheimer before reading this book. I also knew almost nothing about the nuclear weapons development work and underlying theoretical physics work done through the 30s and 40s. Worse still, I knew almost nothing about the horrors of the anti-communism campaigns of the 50s.
This book exposed me to all three of these topics, and I found it to be a very engaging read (since it was from the library I was pretty time-rushed to get through all 700+ pages before it had to be returned, but I did it… much because it was such an interesting book!)
I realize the book was just recently written, so it’s no surprise there are some transparent allusions to the misdeeds of the current administration. But reading about some of the horrible things Truman and his administration did brings it home.
I spent a little time reading up on Truman and his administration (yet another area where I was lacking any knowledge prior to this book). History looks favorably on him, it seems.. United Nations, Marshall Plan, Israel, Berlin Airlift, desegregation of the military. All good. Now here comes my revisionist historical interpretation: But he dropped two bombs on Japan to “end” the war (cough, to send a message to Russia) and he was complicit in the anti-communist hype (loyalty boards). I came away from the book thinking Truman was just an awful president. Perhaps he’s considered a great president because he was able to temper his awful decisions with some good ones that have equally long-lasting impact (a bit like LBJ — Vietnam War vs Great Society/Civil Rights advances).
In any case, I’d recently read some commentary about how GWB considers himself a present-day Harry Truman. Maybe so. Depends on your opinion of Truman, maybe. And only history will really tell how this comparison is borne out.
Interesting fact: both Harry Truman and Gerald Ford died on December 26th.
