Margaret Truman said writing this book was the hardest thing she had ever done. Trying to step out of the role of daughter and examine her mother from a different viewpoint. Margaret Truman did an excellent job researching for this book. She says she spend days at the Truman Presidential Library going through thousands of letter and other documents about Bess. The author notes that Bess burned most of her letters to Harry but he kept all of his. Margaret states they went to Sunday school, public school from the fifth grade through high school together and graduated in the same class. They were married right after Harry returned from World War I on June 28, 1919.The book provides an inside view of the Truman presidency and of the marriage. It is clear from the book that Bess did not want to be First Lady. Who would want to follow after Eleanor Roosevelt? The author details the importance that communication played in the family and tells the story of Bess joining Harry in his upstairs study each night for a long quite discussion of the issues, the problems and the personalities he faced that day. As First Lady Bess reinstated the formal White House social season that had been put on hold during the Depression and World War II. The author states that Bess was interested in White House history. When asked what was her favorite period in the White House history she replied it was the Monroe White House and Elizabeth Monroe.In the book Bess comes across as a strong, independent woman who was largely misunderstood and dismissed by the public. Margaret describes her mother as a warm hearted, kind lady, with a sense of humor, a merry, twinkling wit and a tremendous capacity for enjoying life. I was most impressed with Bess’s one liners in the book. They are hilarious. When they were apart the Truman’s wrote each other every day. I observed they both carried on regular letter writing with friends. I have also noted in other biographies I have read that people wrote lots of letters. Seem people no longer write letters, no wonder the Post Office is in trouble. Letter writing is becoming a lost art. I had no idea the love and commitment the Truman’s had for each other or how long they had waited to get married. One item I noted was they liked to set and read books together in the evening. It was their favorite pastime.I found the book well-written and research and I learned a great deal about both Bess and Harry Truman and the times they lived it. The book was 535 pages published in 1986. I read this on my Kindle app for my iPad.
