I had a hard time getting through this book. The first half was pretty dull, and throughout the book the writing is workman-like, but not inspiring. As for the author's integrity, I would say the book is written fair-mindedly and with adequate research having been done.

This is one of the better biographies of a US President I have ever read. Hamby avoids the hero worship which plagues other authors and, instead, takes a frank look at the man and how he discharged his duties, public and private, throughout his life. I found this book invaluable resource for understanding the cold war and American politics in the middle of the 20th century.

David Mccullough's book on Truman is great. It is well written, full of great information, and though many people think too pro-Truman it does show why he was a Great Man. Unfortuantely many professors and especially those with Revisionist Tendancies don't feel Mccullough's book is scholary. They see it as Pop History. I think this is academic snobbery, and also stubborness upon the part of the revionists to admit Truman was a great President. However, a good way to silence the revisonists and to read another great book on Truman is to read Hamby's Man of the People. Though a little more critical than Mccollough, Hamby again paints a great portrait of a great man. For whatever reasons, Hamby is considered more scholary and his book more scholary. Whatever makes our Professors happy. But regardless, this is a great book. Though long like Mccollough, it tells a great story. Hamby is a fine historian who was also on c-spans look at Truman for its President's series. So in short, a more "academic" but just as great book on Truman.

I found this book to be a fair minded explaination of how liberalism moved onto the center stage of American thinking in the '30s and still holds sway with a large but shrinking population in the '90s.

The use of biography shows the reader that there really is no vast left wing conspiracy out to turn the US into a nanny state. There are only individual people who have idea about how to solve problems. Sometimes those ideas are good, other times they are not so good.

Liberalism and its challengers is a thorough and balanced look at recent American History. Dr. Hamby goes through many of the recent Presidencies giving an open minded and fair evaluation of recent American History. Not clouded by the misinformation of the revionist historians movement this book is very fair. A good and informative read.