Give em hell Harry

Harry S Truman was the 33rd President of the United States.  Truman by David McCullough is the fantastic story of this very ordinary man who in very extra-ordinary times became the President of the most powerful country in the world.

This biography of Truman by David McCullough won him a Pulitzer prize and it is not hard to see why. McCullough provides a bystander's picture of Truman's ancestors and their migration to the frontier in Missouri,  his unremarkable childhood and youth, the coming of age during the first world war, into politics, the presidency and the tumultuous years hence. The story is unbiased and based on detailed analysis including the innumerable letters that Truman the prolific writer wrote to his family, friends and connections.

Truman is descended from Scottish-Irish immigrants who carve out a life for themselves out of the westward migration and life on the frontier. These chapters are full of the hardy life of these pioneers who carved a nation out of the western wilderness. After a pretty average childhood and youth growing up in Independence, MIssouri Truman in his thirties discovers his capabilities for leadership when leading aa artillery battery with the 35th division in the Ardennes during World War I.  He gains valuable insights into his own character, lessons in leadership and builds lasting friendships that stand him in good stead.

McCullough deals honestly and in detail with Harry's relationship and backing from the Penderghast political machine in Kansas City. With their support and becoming a judge, Harry proves to be a uniquely straight and incorruptible politician focused on building roads and balancing the budget of his county. This is but the start of a political career where Harry is the epitome of a scrupulous, incorruptible man with a firm belief in serving the people who elected him instead of enriching himself. By twists and turns of fate, Harry wins the senate seat for Missouri.

Derisively called the "Senator from Penderghast", Harry fights to even gain basic respect in a senate populated by elitist politicians with the "right breeding", from political families or educated in a top University (Harry could not go to college since he couldn't afford to). Here we have a picture of a very ordinary man in the top political circles of the country. The country is in the third Roosevelt presidential term and in the midst of the "New Deal" attempting to bring the country out of the great depression. Harry can hardly get the ear of the whitehouse or the President and does not participate in any major legislation. He gains recognition when he gets to lead the "Truman committee" which is investigating defense spending during the chaotic first years of the second world war.

Running for reelection for a second term, Harry has no support from the white house or major politicians. He shows his innate American grit and determination when he goes on a hectic tour of his state meeting with farmers and city folk saying "I wanted to meet with you so you can see I dont have horns". Written off by pretty much everyone, Harry wins the election for a second term. This is a recurrent theme of his life where nobody gives him any chance of success, including many times himself. Harry however digs deep within himself and like America itself finds it in himself to be successful.

 David McCullough does a fantastic job recounting the lead up to the Democratic party convention for Roosevelt's fourth term where Harry finally gets nominated for the vice presidency. We feel like we are watching the scenes unfold on CNN when he takes us into the smoke filled rooms where the movers and shakers of the party maneuver and make decisions.

When the Roosevelt - Truman ticket is elected, Roosevelt is a very sick man. The allies are winning the war against Hitler's Germany and the empire of Japan. The post war big three conferences such as Yalta are designed to establish spheres of influence, sharing of power and establishing institutions to govern the peace. When Roosevelt dies and Truman is sworn in as President, he is viewed by everyone in Washington and around the country as effete and incapable of stepping into Roosevelt's shoes. Truman himself has self doubts and throughout his presidency comes across as a man who truly does not want the job.

The first term is one of tremendous changes around the world and tumultuous events that no other President has faced before or ever since. Truman, the ordinary man in an extraordinary situation is faced with

• Russian intimidation and Stalin's aggressive ambitions to control post war Europe and possibly the world
• The political and moral decision to drop the A-bomb on Japan to end the war
• Setting up the United Nations
• The Big 3 Potsdam conference and facing down Stalin
• Facing down massive strikes by organized labor, traditionally a democrat base
• Establishing the National Security Act of 1947 and the post war national security architecture
• Establishing a Dept. of Defense to establish firm civilian control over the armed forces
• Launching the "Fair Deal" his version of the New Deal
• Recognition of Israel to much opposition from Britain and other allies
• The start of the cold war
• The Berlin airlift - when Stalin cuts off access to Berlin
• Cutting back on runaway defense spending so social programs and job creation programs can be launched

This list is enough to take anyone's breath away. A Roosevelt, experienced with three Presidential terms under his belt and coming from an elite background might have found these challenges tough to face, leave alone an ordinary man from an ordinary Missouri farming family. Yet Truman comes out in flying colors earning the respect of friends and foes alike.

With labor and economic troubles, Truman faces the 1948 election campaign again facing much sceptisism and  derision from politicians and journalists alike. Yet with dogged frontier American determination Truman launches an aggressive whistle stop tour across the country to win the election against the Republican Dewey. His strategy was to "Give em hell" and not spare his Republican detractors. The crowds loved it at every stop shouting " Give em hell Harry".

Newspapers had already written him off as witnessed by a premature newspaper headline "Dewey beats Truman" that Truman enjoyed showing people from his train.

His second term is almost as eventful as the first with the Cold War in full swing. The second Truman presidential term included

• The launching of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
• The red scare, MacCarthyism and even attacks against Truman himself
• The Korean war
• The firing of MacArthur and establishing the supremacy of civilian leadership over the military
• Trouble in Indo-China (which would later lead to the Vietnam war)
• Renovation of a White House that was literally falling down

After his second term, Truman decides not to run for a third term even though he could have, saying who would want this job any way. Returning home to Independence, Missouri Truman never forgot who he was or where he came from (in his own words). He never enriched himself during all his years as a politician and was close to broke returning to Missouri. Later, Congress granted retired Presidents a modest pension and with some proceeds from his book writing, Truman is able to make ends meet.

Truman is a true American story of a very humble, straightforward, simple and unassuming man of whom much was asked and much was delivered and David McCullough's narrative is outstanding and inspiring. In today's atmosphere of gridlock and partisan bickering in Washington DC, the politicians, current and future occupants of the white house can gain some valuable insights from this great American's story.

The Crimean War: A History

Recounting the major events of the last two hundred years of human history, the Crimean war often merits a minor mention. Most people remember the "lady of the lamp", Florence Nightingale and Lord Tennyson's immortal poem "The charge of the light brigade".

To retell a few lines of that great poem

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'

Was there a man dismay'd ?

Not tho' the soldier knew

Some one had blunder'd:

Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do & die,

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

Volley'd & thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred. 

Read the full poem The Charge of the Light Brigade. These words symbolized in many ways the character of the Crimean war.

Lasting from 1854 to 1856, the Crimean War was not just big power rivalry but was also a result of religious conflict, personal egos of the leaders, much bravery on the part of the soldiers and completely ineffective leadership. It was also a war where modern technologies like the telegraph, new rifles, trench warfare and railways were the harbinger of much worse to come in World War I, just 58 years later. The seeds of that horrible war were laid down in the Crimea during these fateful years. This is the thesis of the magnificent book "The Crimean War: A History" by historian Orlando Figes.

In the late 18th century and leading into the 19th century, the steady decline of the Ottoman Empire gave it the moniker the "Sick man of Europe". Once stretching into the Balkans and Southeastern Europe, enveloping the Black Sea, Asia minor, Palestine, much of the present day Arab middle east, Egypt and north Africa, the Ottoman empire steadily devolved into a series of satrapies lead by local viceroys and "Beys" who became more independent of the emperor and Caliph in Istanbul. European rebellions among the Christian slavic nations and the Greeks whittled away at Ottoman power. Leading up to the Crimean war, the major powers in Europe that maintained some level of equilibrium were the British under Queen Victoria, France under Napolean III, Austria under the Habsburgs and Russia under Nicholas I. All of these powers sought to share in the spoils from the impending demise of the Ottoman empire without strengthening any of the others. The stage is set for war as follows:

RUSSIA has been steadily expanding its southern and Asian borders since Empress Catherine the Great. She now sees herself as the leader of the Orthodox churches (Russian, Byzantine, Greek and Slavic) that stretch in a wide arc from the border of Austria Hungary into the holy lands. The Russian Czar Nicholas I assumes the self defined role of guarantor of the rights of millions of Orthodox Christians within the boundaries of the Ottoman empire ranging from the Christian nations under the Ottoman heel in Europe to the holy land itself. Geographically, the Russians have been seeking to expand their influence around all of the Black Sea and control the Bosporus and Dardanelles thereby securing their entry and trade routes into the Mediterranean sea. Nicholas I therefore covets Constantinople, the historic seat of the Orthodox church. Leading up to war, he seeks Austrian neutrality to secure his western flanks. The Russians are also basking in the aftermath of their famous defeat of Napolean's Grande Armee in 1812 which ultimately lead to his defeat at Waterloo. Nicholas I believes that Russia and his armies are unstoppable.

AUSTRIA or the Habsburg empire of Austria - Hungary is uneasy about possible rebellion within its polyglot empire that rules over modern day Austria, Hungary, parts of Poland, Balkan nations and northern Italy. This is an empire of multiple ethnic groups held together by the Habsburg monarchy. With a teenage emperor Franz Joseph on the throne, Austria fears its large and aggressive neighbor Russia and eventually joins Britain and France during the war. Czar Nicholas I feels that he has been stabbed in the back.

FRANCE after Napolean Bonaparte has been a republic for some years and is now again a monarchy under Napolean III (who was also a president of the French republic). Napolean is under pressure to deliver glory and fame to his people and cement his position as their emperor a position he has attained by an army backed coup d'etat. France's historically close ties to the Roman Catholic church and its strong role in the crusades and Christian affairs in the Holy land brings it into conflict with the Orthodox church and its Russian backers. Figes talks about the riots between the Orthodox and Catholic priests in the running of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem with vivid detail.

BRITAIN has successfully come out of the Napoleanic wars with major gains and has been enjoying an expansion of empire, trade and power. The British are worried about the expansion of the Russian empire in Southern Europe towards Istanbul, Iran and the threat to their Indian empire. They also seek to establish a political and economic protectorate over the declining Ottoman empire and contend that Russia must be stopped at all costs.

Orlando Figes draws a well narrated picture of the lead up to war and the commencement of hostilities on the Danube front when Russian troops move south along the western (Bessarabian) coast of the Black sea. Once Austria enters the war on the side of the allies, the focus of war shifts to the Crimea. Despite it being the Crimean war, this is truly a war of global proportion with naval action in the Baltic, fighting in the Caucasus and along the Pacific coast of the Russian empire.

The famous historical battles of Alba, Balaclava, Inkerman and the seige of Sevastopol are ably recounted by Figes at the human level. The stories are told not just through the eyes of the generals but also the infantrymen, hussars and the junior officers. The technological superiority of the Franco-British forces is very apparent starting with their Minie rifles. This rifle fires a streamlined Minie bullet accurate to ranges up to 1000 yards while the Russian muskets barely reach 200 yards. The British and French soon learn to not charge the Russians but stand and fire from a distance killing Russians in the hundreds much before the Russian muskets have any effect. The telegraph makes it possible for news to reach home capitals in hours - both official dispatches as well as newspaper accounts. The public in France and Britain get detailed accounts of victories, defeats and the horrible living conditions of their troops with journalists freely roaming the front lines with pens and cameras.

Orlando Figes does a great job explaining the incredible bravery of troops on both sides under extremely poor generalship. Lord Raglan, the British commander is shown as a bumbling and ineffective commander who comes by his role only because he is an aristocrat. A confusing order from him leads to the famous and futile charge of the light brigade into the mouth of the Russian guns. The light brigade known as the finest cavalry in the world charges into the field of fire of multiple Russian gun batteries and suffers 278 casualties and 335 horses killed (and an unspecified number taken prisoner) and achieving nothing. This is but one battle among many such futile battles with no clear outcomes or strategic reasons. The French generals are too cautious though they take better care of their men with field kitchens, better tents, winter uniforms and field hospitals - all areas where the British were poor or plainly lacked. The Russian serf army fights incredibly bravely dying in their thousands defending their Rodina (the motherland) under criminally negligent generals. Nothing exemplifies it better than the siege of Sevastopol where the Russians stood firm bombed, shelled and battered by hundreds of allied cannon and thousands of Franco - British soldiers that outnumbered them. This is reminiscent of the Russian soldier many decades hence at Stalingrad, Leningrad and many an other bloody battlefield.

Casualties numbered 20,000 for the British (out of 100,000), more than 100,000 for the French (out of a force of 300,000) and almost a million Russian troops. Battle, disease and harsh winter were equally contributing factors for these deaths not to mention wounded casualties which were more numerous. Inadequate medical care (which is where Florence Nightingale played a role), lead to many deaths that were otherwise preventable.

Orlando Figes ends with a good telling of the impacts of the war and its consequences over the next many decades. Major reformations in the British army (including officer commissions that had to be earned and couldn't be purchased), care for the fighting man, the Victoria cross (first medal for the humble soldier) and accountability for politicians and leaders in the course and outcomes of a conflict were just some of the social outcomes. Though Russia was thwarted on its southern front for now, it was a Pyrrhic victory for the allies. Just a couple of decades hence, Russia would go to war again with Turkey and make major gains.

More importantly, this war sowed the seeds of discord in Europe and the Balkans which would then lead to World War I where millions would die using weapons and tactics evolved from the Crimean War. Overall, "The Crimean War: A History" by Orlando Figes is a fantastic read for anybody with a deep interest in history, geo-politics and war.