A Book Review of Harry S. Truman's, "Years of Trial and Hope"
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Date Published: October 6, 2025
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President Harry S. Truman thought that he had a tumultuous few years after the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This was seriously challenged by those worldwide issues that arose after the end of World War II and his election as President in his own right: 1946 to 1952. These events are covered in his second memoir:
- The Worldwide Expansion of Nuclear Energy
- Implementation of The Marshall Plan
- The Rise of the Iron Curtain and The Berlin Airlift
- Zionism and Palestine
- The Founding of the United Nations
- The Korean War and Removal of General Douglas MacArthur
- Turning over the Presidency to General Dwight D. Eisenhower
A Review of “Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope”
- Reviews of the Day: 1956
- Selected Insights from “Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope”
- This Author’s Thoughts on “Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope”
Reviews of the Day: 1956
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On March 18, 1956, The Courier-Journal of Louisville, published a review of the second volume of Harry Truman’s Memoirs entitled, “Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope.” Webster Schott using the column title of “Truman’s Memoirs: Part II” wrote the following—in part, in his review:
“The second volume of Harry S. Truman’s memoirs is a far more important book than the first. … He writes about: controlling the atom, the failure of his national compulsory health-insurance plan, the Taft-Hartley Act, the unification of the armed forces, the loss of China, the Truman Doctrine and the saving of Greece and Turkey, the Marshall Plan and the recovery of Europe, the Berlin blockade, the birth of Israel, N.A.T.O., the decision to build the H-bomb, the Korean attack, the MacArthur affair, the steel seizure, and the 1952 campaign which included his effort to make a smooth transition to Dwight D. Eisenhower. “But there is something profoundly disturbing about this book. … It’s the wonder at how Mr. Truman can reasonably hope to discuss internal security in the U.S. without once referring to Alger Hiss or Harry Dexter White. … The former President ignores the furor that rushed Louis Johnson out of the Defense Department while forgetting the recurrent explosions that blew his friends out of the Justice Department. … He neglects the alleged fall of Bill Boyle and Harry Vaughan to favor seekers and deep-freeze purveyors. … His silence is equivalent to agreement with his critics. … “The errors of omission will weigh heavily against him and his book.” |
A picture of the front dust cover of “Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope.”
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“Truman’s Memoirs: Part II,” Webster Schott, 1956
On March 04, 1956, The Harford Courant, published a review of the second volume of Harry Truman’s Memoirs entitled, “Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope.” Thomas E. J. Keena using the column title of “Historical Record” wrote—in part, the following in his review:
President Harry S. Truman at a dinner held in his honor.
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“The second and concluding volume of the memoirs of the ex-President, has … drawn counter-fire from many of the personalities mentioned in its pages. … Truman does not hide some of his spiteful reactions against people with whom he disagreed. … But then, dignity was never a word that people used often with respect to Harry Truman. He was a fighter, held strong views, and is plain spoken. …
“The China defeat will always rank as one of the great catastrophes of the Truman era. Some of the scandals unearthed in the internal revenue bureaus—some dug out by newspapers favorable on the whole to the administration, are dismissed by him as “mere flyspecks” on the government. He cannot wish these things away. … “Partisan opponents may be unable to read this book without biting on a bullet, but it is a useful contribution to history.” “Historical Record,” Thomas E. J. Keena, 1956
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On March 04, 1956, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, published a review of the second volume of Harry Truman’s Memoirs entitled, “Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope.” James Saxon Childers using the column title of “Truman Struts, Enjoys Role in Volume Two of Memoirs” wrote—in part, the following in his review:
“Somewhere between publication of the first and second volume of his memoirs, Mr. Truman became an author. … Volume II is arranged as it should be, by subject—health program, budget, Marshall Plan, Korean War—and the book is informative, provocative, and frequently valuable as current history.
“Harry S. Truman struts a bit, talks a lot, calls some names and enjoys himself in general. … A part of what he tells and thinks is debatable, a good bit downright irritating; but always interesting. He is ridiculously unfair to newspapermen, for instance, and is constantly rubbing salt into his own, open and carefully nurtured wound regarding the press. …
“Regardless of one’s personal feelings about the former president, either strong in support or violent in opposition, a reader will find the book worth their while.”
“Somewhere between publication of the first and second volume of his memoirs, Mr. Truman became an author. … Volume II is arranged as it should be, by subject—health program, budget, Marshall Plan, Korean War—and the book is informative, provocative, and frequently valuable as current history.
“Harry S. Truman struts a bit, talks a lot, calls some names and enjoys himself in general. … A part of what he tells and thinks is debatable, a good bit downright irritating; but always interesting. He is ridiculously unfair to newspapermen, for instance, and is constantly rubbing salt into his own, open and carefully nurtured wound regarding the press. …
“Regardless of one’s personal feelings about the former president, either strong in support or violent in opposition, a reader will find the book worth their while.”
“Truman Struts,” James Saxon Childers, 1956
Selected Insights from “Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope”
- Harry S. Truman on Secretary of State Marshall and “The Marshall Plan”
“Never before in history has one nation faced so vast an undertaking as that confronting the United States of repairing and salvaging the victors as well as the vanquished. The complete surrender of the Axis powers did not bring any relaxation or rest for our people of the United States. … Nations, if not continents, had to be raised from the wreckage. Unless the economic life of these nations could be restored, peace in the world could not be re-established.
“For the first time in the history of the world a victor was willing to restore the vanquished as well as to help its allies. This was the attitude of the United States. But one of our allies took the conqueror’s approach to victory: Russia. …
“General Marshall is one of the most astute and profound men I have ever known. Whenever any problem was brought before him, be seemed to be able to put his finger at once on the very basic approach that later would usually be proposed by the staff as the best solution. … What Marshall perceived in the plans which his State Department staff laid before him was the importance of the economic unity of Europe. If the nations of Europe could be induced to develop their own solution of Europe’s economic problems, viewed as a whole and tackled cooperatively rather than as separate national problems, United States aid would be more effective and the strength of a recovered Europe would be better sustained. …
“This was our proposal: that the countries of Europe agree on a cooperative plan in order to utilize the full productive resources of the continent, supported by whatever material assistance we could render to make the plan successful. …
“The Marshall Plan will go down in history as one of America’s greatest contributions to the peace of the world. I think the world now realizes that without the Marshall Plan it would have been difficult for western Europe to remain free from the tyranny of Communism.”
“For the first time in the history of the world a victor was willing to restore the vanquished as well as to help its allies. This was the attitude of the United States. But one of our allies took the conqueror’s approach to victory: Russia. …
“General Marshall is one of the most astute and profound men I have ever known. Whenever any problem was brought before him, be seemed to be able to put his finger at once on the very basic approach that later would usually be proposed by the staff as the best solution. … What Marshall perceived in the plans which his State Department staff laid before him was the importance of the economic unity of Europe. If the nations of Europe could be induced to develop their own solution of Europe’s economic problems, viewed as a whole and tackled cooperatively rather than as separate national problems, United States aid would be more effective and the strength of a recovered Europe would be better sustained. …
“This was our proposal: that the countries of Europe agree on a cooperative plan in order to utilize the full productive resources of the continent, supported by whatever material assistance we could render to make the plan successful. …
“The Marshall Plan will go down in history as one of America’s greatest contributions to the peace of the world. I think the world now realizes that without the Marshall Plan it would have been difficult for western Europe to remain free from the tyranny of Communism.”
Harry S. Truman, Years of Trial and Hope, 1956
- The “Truman Doctrine” as Expressed by President Truman
Former President Harry S. Truman wrote in his memoir:
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“This declaration of policy soon began to be referred to as the ‘Truman Doctrine:’ In my address I had said that every nation was now faced with a choice between alternative ways of life:
“ ‘One way of life,’ I said, ‘is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. “ ‘The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and suppression of personal freedoms. … “ ‘The seeds of totalitarian regimes,’ I said in closing, ‘are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died. We must keep that hope alive. The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms. “ ‘If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world—and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation.’ ” |
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Harry S. Truman, Years of Trial and Hope, 1956
This Author’s Thoughts on “Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope”
No matter how our former President Harry S. Truman tries to make it sound like he succeeded in almost everything he did in office, the fact remains that the number of individuals living under fascist, anarchic, authoritarian, or communistic regimes grew to ever larger numbers during his presidency.
Western Europe was a success, but the rest of the world? Not so much!
This most notable fact and insidious growth—for example in Eastern Europe, required my service in U.S. Army in Germany from 1971 through 1974 to stand against the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall. It is a fact that made me ask myself as I was reading: “Was Harry S. Truman truly a successful leader of the United States—and the Free World, during his time in office?”
I think maybe not as successful as he portraits himself. Maybe this resultant thought of mine “softens” the volumes of data, the endless meetings, the constant press releases that Truman presents in his memoirs stating his successes … and ignoring some obvious failures.
He may not have failed in many respects, but I am sure he was not an unqualified success either.
There were no mentions of any failures or shortcomings in this book of his policies.
He just omitted them from his version of Presidential history.
Western Europe was a success, but the rest of the world? Not so much!
This most notable fact and insidious growth—for example in Eastern Europe, required my service in U.S. Army in Germany from 1971 through 1974 to stand against the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall. It is a fact that made me ask myself as I was reading: “Was Harry S. Truman truly a successful leader of the United States—and the Free World, during his time in office?”
I think maybe not as successful as he portraits himself. Maybe this resultant thought of mine “softens” the volumes of data, the endless meetings, the constant press releases that Truman presents in his memoirs stating his successes … and ignoring some obvious failures.
He may not have failed in many respects, but I am sure he was not an unqualified success either.
There were no mentions of any failures or shortcomings in this book of his policies.
He just omitted them from his version of Presidential history.
- Truman Seemed to Think that “Politics Was Too Hard or Noble for ‘Non-Politicians’ ”
President Truman wrote the following of the military profession—as a whole:
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“Until 1952, [with the election of General Eisenhower], we had never elevated to the White House any man whose entire life had been dedicated to the military. …
"One reason that we have been so careful to keep the military within its own preserve is that the very nature of the service hierarchy gives military commanders little if any opportunity to learn the humility that is needed for good public service. [See sidebar John Gunther on Eisenhower’s Character]. “The elected official will never forget—unless he is a fool—that others as well or better qualified might have been chosen. … Any man who has come up through the process of political selection, as it functions in our country, knows that success is a mixture of principles steadfastly maintained and adjustments made at the proper time and place-adjustments to conditions, not adjustment of principles. “These are things a military officer is not likely to learn in the course of his profession. The words that dominate his thinking are “command” and “obedience,” and the military definitions of these words are not definitions for use in a republic.” |
Quotes on the character of General Eisenhower from John Gunther’s 1952 book: “Eisenhower: The Man and the Symbol.”
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My comment on the above observation is that only a fool thinks that the best of leadership traits are limited to a single profession—especially if that profession is politics. The best-of-the best whether in business, politics or the military exhibit similar characteristics.
This prejudice of Truman’s carries over to business leaders, press editors and publicists.
This prejudice of Truman’s carries over to business leaders, press editors and publicists.
- Truman Seemed To … Subconsciously … “Always” Overstate His Case
Truman’s writing exhibits an over usage of the extremes called “adverbs of frequency.” Such words imply either 100% or 0%. These are words like “always,” “every,” and “never.”
The following are a few examples from his memoir:
The following are a few examples from his memoir:
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The front cover of the book “Years of Trial and Hope.”
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Even more subconciously, he leaves out an implied “all” in many of his generalized statements concerning individual professions such as: union leaders are …, business executives are …, military officers are …, politicians are …, and press editors/publicists are … .
It is hard to study this book because, even though the “all” might not be physically present on the written page, it is implied in a not so subtle manner; but as one reviewer writes above, Volume II is much better in its storytelling than Volume I. It is a period of history I wanted to read about.
In the series, start with the Volume II memoir but understanding the limitations of one-individual’s perspective. Even though that individual was a former President of the United States … because even from atop an ivory tower, sometimes the view is limited.
Time to read Eisenhower’s memoirs!
Cheers,
- Peter E.
It is hard to study this book because, even though the “all” might not be physically present on the written page, it is implied in a not so subtle manner; but as one reviewer writes above, Volume II is much better in its storytelling than Volume I. It is a period of history I wanted to read about.
In the series, start with the Volume II memoir but understanding the limitations of one-individual’s perspective. Even though that individual was a former President of the United States … because even from atop an ivory tower, sometimes the view is limited.
Time to read Eisenhower’s memoirs!
Cheers,
- Peter E.
Select to read a review of John Gunther’s 1952 book: “Eisenhower: The Man and the Symbol.”