Reading

Lately I have been knitting like crazy. I have finished a few books. This is one of them. Being a child of the 50's and 60's and a history buff since 7th grade I love to read historical books. They can be biographies, true history or historical novels. While my mother was in rehab I picked this book up to read to her. Unfortunately we never got to finish it together but I did finish reading it. My mother was a big fan of Harry Truman. Even though I think she was a Rebublican, we did not talk politics too much but I do know she hated FDR, I think she loved Truman because he was from Missouri as we were.

Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure by Matthew Algeo is an excellent book. One reason I picked it up was for the catchy title. It is a very easy and entertaining read. In 1953, one of my favorite years, Harry and Bess Truman decided to drive to New York City from Independence, Missouri. A road trip, by themselves. Can you imagine the headaches if a former president even considered this idea today. This is a very enlightening look at how life used to be. Not only the way people acted, their manners, but how as a culture we have changed. A politeness we have seemed to all but lost flows through the book. The ex-president just being kind to the average person, talking with them, having a Coke, tolerating the press, most of the time with a smile. This book is a step back sixty years. It is well worth a read not just by the average person but there are some politicans out there who need to read it also.