Book Review: The Soldier From Independence
The Soldier from Independence: A Military Biography of Harry Truman, by D. M. Giangreco
After two previous stints in the National Guard, Harry Truman reenlisted in 1917. He was nearly blind in one eye and thirty-three years old.
Harry Truman’s military career doesn’t usually receive much attention. Instead, he has been criticized for hardly having any military experience.
Author D. M. Giangreco obviously disagrees. He has written a biography focusing entirely on Truman’s military career. The book relies heavily on research using oral histories and letters from Truman to his wife, Bess.
With such a narrow focus, the book concentrates on events that would be normally ignored when considering Truman’s whole life. I believe that the author did a great job researching this book, but I had trouble keeping my eyes open after the first several dozen pages. Without the longer timeline, none of the boring parts are left out.
While I didn’t find this book terribly interesting, by the end the author convinced me that Truman thoroughly understood the dangers that American soldiers faced.
You can also read an article called The Soldier from Independence: Harry S. Truman and the Great War, from a lecture given in 2002.
This book was published by Zenith Press. They have a large selection of military history books.
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