This is possibly my new favorite book of all time. Miller’s “Plain Speaking” isn’t the most organized book, and it doesn’t have the most beautiful prose. But I think it’s the most authentic view of a former President in existence.

In his own words and those of his closest friends, family members, and colleagues, Truman’s life is comprehensively described in rich detail. One exchange that highlights the perspective that Miller captures in the book is Truman’s explanation as to why he fired General Douglas MacArthur: “I fired him because he wouldn't respect the authority of the
President. That's the answer to that. I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals.”

More generally, “Plain Speaking” provides countless examples of Truman’s compassion and talent as a leader. For example, Truman explained how he learned about the influence that the President has over people even in minor engagements. He describes how FDR treated him like an “office boy,” having him stopped on his drive home back to Independence to break a tie in the Senate. “But the whole thing taught me a lesson. People are always very nervous when they meet the President of the United States, and they can be…. they can have their feelings hurt if he is less than kind to them. And courteous. Courtesy is the cheapest thing in the world, and it's a wonder to me that people aren't that way more of the time.”

When explaining the value of humility, Truman explains: “I never had the notion that I was anything special at all; even when I got that job in the White House, I didn't. And I never had the notion that there weren't a lot of people who couldn't do whatever it was better than I could. But that never worried me. All that ever concerned me was that I wanted to do it as best I could. So I guess I’d have to say to that, to your question, that I always tried to be satisfied with what I was and what I was doing.”

In sum, “Plain Speaking” perfectly encapsulated everything I wanted to get out of a book about Truman. Anyone who wants to learn about the most under-appreciated President in American history would do well by reading it.