Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip

On June 19, 1953, Harry Truman loaded up his Chrysler New Yorker, complete with chrome wire wheels; and he and his devoted wife Bess set out from Independence, Missouri for a cross country road trip that no ex-president had done before and no subsequent president would attempt either. Mr. Truman did all the driving while Bess acted as his "governor"-- one of her requirements for taking the trip was that Truman not drive over 55 miles an hour as he had a reputation for driving too fast-- and kept a running tally of their gasoline purchases. One of the reasons that the Trumans chose an automobile trip is that they were short on cash. For instance, President Truman answered all his personal mail after leaving the White House and paid for postage out of his own funds. The first year out of office his postage bill at three cents a stamp-- yes, Virginia, there was a three-cent stamp once upon a time in America-- was ten thousand dollars. Congress had not yet appropriated a pension for ex-presidents, and Mr. Truman had ony a military pension for his service as an officer in France during World War I of $111.96 a month after taxes for income. He had, however, been offered several money-making schemes, including a Truman bar of soap that he had summarily rejected.The Trumans had not a dull moment on their adventure, and there is not a dull page in Matthew Aleo's account of their trip either. He from 2006 to 2008 retraced the Trumans' journey across country with their final destination of New York City, visiting the towns they visited and staying in the same hotels and eating in the same restaurants as they did whenever possible. In Frostburg, Maryland, the Trumans had a delightful Sunday Special at the Princess Restaurant consisting of roast chicken with stuffing, lima beans, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, rice pudding and coffee for seventy cents. Mr. Algeo on his trip had the identical meal but the price was now $9.50, still a bargain, according to the writer. While the Trumans had hoped for a quiet, leisurely trip-- and some days they managed that, crossing all of the State of Ohio without being seen-- but often reporters and townspeople got wind of their itinerary and surrounded them when they arrived in the various towns, wanting autographs and photographs. The Trumans never once lost their patience and were gracious to all those who sought them out.Mr. Algeo also relates some of the history, both from Mr. Truman's life before and during his presidency. He was vice president only 82 days before the death or Roosevelt. We were obviously lucky in that President Roosevelt had chosen Mr. Truman for his running mate since most historians rank Truman as one of our best presidents. I wondered, when I read this scary fact if any journalist had dug up this item to tell the world when John McCain chose Sarah Palin to join him on the Republican ticket in 2008. Mr. Truman had the first television in the White House, was the first president to do a book signing (although not nearly as organized and fast as Jimmy Carter), the first president to take a domestic flight and the first to turn the ex-presidency into a bully pulpit.Then there are the personality quirks and the frankness of President Truman that endear him to us: When offered a private screening of "Gentleman Prefer Blondes," he quipped: " Real gentlemen prefer gray hair." He did not trust Lyndon Johnson and found him too ambitious as a senator and thought that Senator Kennedy "embodied the kind of elitist sense of entitlement" that Truman despised. On the other hand, being a loyal Democrat, he supported both men when they ran for President. President Truman moreover despised Senator Joseph McCarthy but despised most Richard Nixon.Altough President Truman allegedly used the "N" word when describing African Americans, he did as President, integrate the armed services. I was saddened to learn also that while he was famous for saying that "the buck stops here," he passed the buck near the end of his presidency when he had a chance to save the lives of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and chose to do nothing, letting the newly-in-office President Eisenhower refuse clemency for the Rosenbergs. President Truman's excuse was that the file was too large to read before he left the White House. This is particularly poignant since we now know that Ethel Rosenberg was innocent of the crime of espionage. Additionally President Truman was no big advocate for capital punishment.I cannot imagine anyone who likes to read who will not be much taken with Mr. Algeo's account of the Trumans' road trip.

Was interesting story and had not ever heard about it.

In Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip, Matthew Algeo, follows an oblique path to give the reader an interesting and informative view of former President Harry S. Truman. In 1945, after serving eighty-two days as Vice President during Franklin Delano Roosevelt's fourth term, Harry Truman became the 33rd President of the United States when FDR died. Later, he was elected as President in 1948 and could have run for the office again in 1952, but chose not to run. Instead, he proudly returned to being an ordinary citizen after Eisenhower took the oath of office in 1953. He had been one of two Presidents since 1869 that did not have a college degree. Perhaps that enabled him to identify with normal people better than some of the other presidents. In the summer of 1953, he did something that no other former president has ever done. He and his beloved wife, Bess, took a three-week road trip of about 2,500 miles from their home in Independence Missouri to Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City. Harry loved to drive and he drove his new Chrysler during the entire journey, with Bess keeping him on course and within the speed limit (he also loved to drive fast). In addition, they did not have any Secret Service protection, and they didn't want any. Although Truman tried to make the trip as a private citizen without any publicity, he was recognized wherever he went and the press and many ordinary people converged on him almost everywhere during the journey. Algeo focuses on that road trip and did remarkable research on it, including retracing the trip, staying in the same hotels and eating in the same restaurants (those that still exist). He talked to people who had seen and/or met the Trumans during their journey. Of course he also mined the published information about the trip. Algeo describes the journey in detail, including conversations that the former President had with ordinary people along the way and what those people (or their descendants) remembered about their (or their family members) encounter with the Trumans. He also provides photographs that were taken of Harry and Bess during the trip. Harry Truman also remained interested and involved in politics after his presidency and during the trip he met with former colleagues and spoke to Congress in Washington D.C. and to other groups in Philadelphia and New York City. Algeo provides at least partial transcripts of these public speeches. Algeo's portrait of Harry Truman is a very personal one that reveals him to have been a common man in many ways, i.e., a man with much common sense who liked to talk with almost anyone and treated people with kindness and respect. However, Algeo also revealed him to be an adept politician, although he was a straight talker and he did not always conceal his disagreements with, or dislike of, some people. He was also totally devoted to Bess, whom he had known since they were very young, but had not married until their late 30s. Algeo also uses the road trip as a stepping stone to enlighten the reader about many historical transitions in society, including the development of the U.S. highway system, the postwar American auto industry, McCarthyism, the decline of main streets, and others. Each of these detours is fairly brief, but long enough to be very interesting and informative. Other detours from the journey flowed throughout the book, e.g., the fact that former U.S. presidents did not receive any pension and many of them, including Harry Truman, struggled to cope with their expenses. Over the years, several bills had been introduced in Congress to grant pensions, to former presidents, but they had never passed until 1958 when the Former Presidents Act was passed making Truman eligible for a yearly pension of $25,000. Another continuing thread dealt with his relationships with other former presidents, including Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, and others. This book reveals President Truman to have been a remarkable person, whose popularity rose considerably after he left office. Algeo has created a unique, charming, very personal (almost intimate at times) book about Harry Truman, which is also very informative about the political climate of his time and his impact on that climate. I liked the book very much.

Looking forward to reading it!

The cliche about presidential candidates is "Would you like to have a beer with them?" In the case of Harry Truman, the answer would be yes. Truman truly loved people and hated pretense. The author traces the post-presidential road trip of Harry and Bess in 1953 from their home in Independence to Washington, New York and Philadelphia. No Secret Service, no aides, and obviously no GPS. Just a lovely Chrysler, sans AC (which Harry had no use for, despite the 100-degree heat), and two very nice older people, a map and visits to friends, familiar service stations, hotels and restaurants. Along the way, we see how many people reacted with surprise and then delight at seeing the ex-President, asking for autographs and pictures (which Harry always obliged), and greeting him warmly. Truman expressed genuine surprise at the warmth of this welcome, despite his very low approval rating on leaving office. Regular people - in particular, ex-GI families - loved him for ending the war in Japan. The author, who recreates the trip in 2008, does a terrific job of putting this story into historical context. He managed to find a number of people who met the Trumans in 1953, and visits families that then ran businesses they visited, along with hotels and diners. It's a time capsule for the old road trips, before the interstates and the cookie cutter motels took hold. You get the feeling that the author would be a pretty great tour guide himself. Highly recommended.

I just loved this book. It was a really fast read and very delightful. While the main story traces the road trip Harry Truman took with his wife just after leaving office, author Matthew Algeo includes so much more. There are all sorts of interesting tidbits, facts, and stories of American history thrown in. Ever since reading David McCullough's "Truman," I have developed an appreciation for Harry Truman and I enjoy reading about him. He was down to earth, a real people person. He wasn't perfect, but he was honest about who he was and he did what he thought was right. Perhaps we may not agree with some of his decisions, but he never backed down and he always believed he was doing the right thing. For that you have to give him respect.The Trumans were a sweet couple, and it is heartwarming to read about how loved and respected Harry Truman was throughout the country. And as the author points out, it is amazing to think that they were able to make this trip in the first place. And with no secret service men! Times have certainly changed! He wanted to be a regular citizen again, and seems he wasn't able to pull that off completely, but he definitely had fun and he was able to do what most Americans get to do...make a road trip! I would definitely recommend this book. It's quick, fun, and interesting reading.

Recommend it to any U.S. history buff. Enjoyable and endearing, but not "sappy". l learned a lot about living in that time frame as well. Glad that l bought it!

A marvellous book about the road trip of the former president from Independence, Missouri to New York and back. The author makes the same stops as Harry & Bess (motels, diners, people they met...). Between the lines of this dream away road trip in which you can still feel the heat of those June and July days when they took their car to ride along you can feel and hear the subtle dialog the author is keeping with the same places nowadays in those almost forgotten, all American places Europeans like me never heard of. Therefor, and for a lot of other things this book is a recommandable middle long never annoying read.