Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman

New York: Berkley Publishing Corp. 1974. Book Club Edition [?]. Hardcover. 448 pages. Footnotes. Index, some soiling to fore-edge, binding somewhat shaken, DJ foxed & worn: small tears, small pieces missing. Plain Speaking is based on conversations between Miller and the President Truman, as well as others who knew Truman over the years. Robert A. Aurthur said, "No one will ever study or write about the time of Truman again without a bow of gratitude to Merle Miller. Never has a President of the United States, or any head of state for that matter, been so totally revealed, so completely documented...." Merle Dale Miller (May 17, 1919 – June 10, 1986) was an American author who is perhaps best remembered for his best-selling biography of Harry S. Truman, and as a pioneer in the gay rights movement. He was editor of both Harper and Time magazines. He also worked as a book reviewer for The Saturday Review of Literature and as a contributing editor for The Nation. His work appeared frequently in the New York Times Magazine. His works of nonfiction include We Dropped the A-Bomb (1946), a book he wrote in collaboration with Abe Spitzer, a radioman who was on the bomber The Great Artiste, one of the B-29s that dropped the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Miller came out of the closet in an article in the New York Times Magazine on January 17, 1971, "What It Means to Be a Homosexual." The response of over 2,000 letters to the article, more than ever received by that newspaper, led to a book publication that year. The book was reprinted by Penguin Classics in 2012, with a new foreword by Dan Savage and a new afterword by Charles Kaiser. There is no price mark on the front DJ flap, but is not marked as a Book Club edition. In 1962, Miller was hired by producer Robert Alan Aurthur as part of a team to interview and write the script for a proposed series on ex-President Harry Truman. He spent hundreds of hours with Truman both at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, and at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City, but all three of the major networks were not interested in the series and turned it down. Miller felt that perhaps the time was not right, that many people were not aware of the greatness of the man, and that it was possible that the country was not ready to look back at the Truman years. He also felt one of the reasons it was never shown on television, even as late as 1962, was that he had been a blacklisted writer. Miller did not know what to do with the interviews, some on tape and some taking up four full-sized file cabinets. He wanted to write a book about Truman, but he did not want it to be a biography. Truman died in 1972, and Miller was asked to appear on television and tell some Truman stories, some of which he had been entertaining friends with over the years. Someone at the station suggested that he should write a book that made use of some of the stories. He still had the tapes and the mountains of notes he had made after each conversation, and so he went home and put together a thirty-page proposal. It was turned down by at least eight publishers before it was picked up by G. P. Putnam's Sons. Plain Speaking is a book based on conversations between Miller and the 33rd president of the United States, as well as others who knew Truman over the years. Robert A. Aurthur said, "No one will ever study or write about the time of Truman again without a bow of gratitude to Merle Miller. Never has a President of the United States, or any head of state for that matter, been so totally revealed, so completely documented...." In October 1974, on a stop in Independence, Missouri, promoting the book, Miller was presented the key to the city by Mayor Richard King, who stated: "You captured the spirit of Harry S. Truman, and President Truman represents the spirit of Independence." While there Miller was interviewed by the editor of a local newspaper and asked if he had received any serious criticism of his treatment of the Truman tapes. "Only minor criticism," Miller replied. "One of the controversial points was Mr. Truman's interpretation of the meeting with MacArthur at Wake Island. I'm satisfied that the account Mr. Truman gave me is correct." The book received generally positive reviews. Within a short time of publication, Plain Speaking was listed as number one on the New York Times best-selling list where it remained for over a year. Plain Speaking was adapted for television in 1976 by the Public Broadcasting Service, for which Ed Flanders received an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Truman. Condition: Good / Fair.

Keywords: Harry Truman, U.S. Presidents, Oral History, Depression, New Deal, Cold War, Israel, Franklin Roosevelt, Zionism, Edgar Hoover, Douglas MacArthur, Korean War, CIA, Margaret Daniel, George C. Marshall, Marshall Plan, United Nations, Battery B, 2nd Mis

ISBN: 0399112618

[Book #15993]

Price: $45.00