Franklin D. Mitchell has written an extensive portrayal of the pugnacious relationship between President Harry Truman and the news media. Truman liked the media, especially when it provided the public with images that displayed his down-to-earth personality. But the president often lost his temper when the media became critical of his family, friends, and his domestic policies.

Mitchell recounts how the media played an important role during the Truman years between 1945-1953. He provides the reader with a chronological narrative in history. Mitchell reviews the 1948 election that resulted in the greatest presidential miscall in journalistic history. He also touches base with the rise of women and minorities in the media, and how the newsreel and photojournalism contributed to the Truman presidency.

The book is interesting and extensively detailed. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Harry Truman or political/presidential studies.

This reviewer has read many books about Franklin Roosevelt, but not many recently because they are too repetitious. What did I find out here that I didn't read before?- Roosevelt's last evening on earth seemed to be somewhat pleasant. Although he looked tired, after a drink he spoke with animation about his forthcoming trip to the San Francisco United Nations Conference. The following afternoon, April 12th, his next to last words were "I have a terrific pain in the back of my head." His last words as he was carried to his room were "Be careful." A statement on page 51 about the religions could be interpreted as biased or prejudiced. However, he appointed men of all major religions to high office. So in this case actions spoke louder than words.

A subject which is not so commonly explored in the history of WWII is the struggle to decide the future of Germany in order to avoid yet another war. This is thr subject of historian Michael Beschloss's latest work. The title is a little misleading in that it does not focus solely or even primarily on Roosevelt and Truman. Rather Beschloss, in a manner similar to David Halberstam and Stephen Ambrose takes a narrative, expositional and non-scholarly linear approach to the subject. One character who plays a major role in this book is Henry Morgenthau, Roosevelt's Jewish Treasury secretary. Sickened by what he learns of German atrocities, Morgenthau is convinved to promote a plan that calls for Germany to be turned into a series of agricultural cantons with all its industry destroyed. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Secretary of War Henry Stimson are opposed to the plan and work to undermine it. Roosevelt is seen as an increasingly distant figure. His method of playing one aid off another while keeping his true thoughts to himself ultimately undermines his successor Truman, who upon taking office knows nothing of Roosevelt's thinking and is forced to improvise, Churchill is reduced to irrelevance, his ideas largely ignored by FDR. I do not fully agree with Beschloss's thesis. As far as I can see, no comprehensive plan for the fate of Germany was ever agreed upon. During the earlier years of the war, through June 1944, Roosevelt was overly concerned with keeping Stalin happy for important reasons. He was afraid Stalin would make a separate peace with Hitler. He failed to foresee the break down of the alliance and the need to check the Soviets. As it turned out, none of the plans worked out as well as the reality. No one foresaw the permanent division of Germany or that Conrad Adenaur would turn West Germany firmly towards the orbit of the United States and away from reunion with the East,thereby destroying forever the old style German nationalism. Beschloss spends a lot of time chronicling the various plans that were proposed and not enough on why none of those plans ever came to pass. The book makes for easy reading and you do not have to know much history of this era to enjoy it. I learned a lot about some figures such as Morgenthau of whom I knew little. I would recommend it but do not take it as gospel.

World War II has been one of the most popular subjects in book publishing in the last few years. But much of those books like Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation series and the late Stephen Ambrose's books focused on the average foot soldier's experiences. Presidential historian Michael Beschloss' The Conquerors looks at the men at the highest ranking of power, most notably Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mr. Beschloss is an obvious devotee to FDR and he considers him the most important world leader of the 20th century, but the book is even-handed in its assessment of FDR's handling of the war and post war Germany. Most notable is FDR's take on the Holocaust and his Treasury secretary Henry Morgenthau's efforts to convince FDR to take a more active role in stopping the concentration camps. The fact that FDR was reflecting the views of day toward Judaism is not an excuse in Mr. Beschloss' mind for his passive attitude towards dealing with that most harrowing of situations. Though much of the subject matter has been recounted in far too many other books to note, Mr. Beschloss' writing style is more entertaining than most. While he deals with high-minded subject matter, he presents it in an intelligent, yet ease to digest manner.

I felt like I had entered the twilight zone. A fawning tale about the highest ranking foreign spy in American history that fails to even deal with the now universally accepted truth that Hopkins was a Soviet Agent. How this book could have been published subsequent to the release of the Venona documentation is a mystery that can only be explained by the fact that the publisher is The Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute Series on Diplomatic and Economic History. Your grandfather was a traitor, Ms. Hopkins deal with it.

I'm writing this "review" to bring some clarity to the previous reviews. Supposedly, according to the book the "Verona Secrets," Harry Hopkins was a spy. However, please note that this declaration seems to be the opinion of the far right. (Note the reviews on Amazon.com for the "Verona Papers" as well as the conservative internet zine NewsMax.com .) On the other hand, any knee-jerk hero worship is equally suspect. So draw your own view! But not from this book - its emphasis is pre- New Deal!

The reader from PA is a quack. There is no evidence, Venoma included, that proves Hopkins a Soviet spy! There were many in the Roosevelt Administration, especially in the Treasury Department, but among those closest to FDR Hopkins was not a spy.

Hopkins' book is excellent and should be read in conjunction with the works by McJimsey, Tuttle, and Sherwood.