The Awesome Power; Harry S. Truman as Commander in Chief
Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1974. 1974 Printing [Stated] [presumed first printing]. Hardcover. 24 cm. vii, [1], 359, [1] pages. Notes. List of Sources. Index. DJ worn, faded, and edge tears, front DJ flap price clipped. DJ is taped over the boards. Born on January 29, 1935 in Boston, MA, Richard Haynes lived in Louisiana most of his life. He served in the Navy during the Korean War. After obtaining his Ph.D. at LSU, he taught history at Northeast Louisiana University. He later served as chairman of the department of history and government. He is best known for his scholarly book on Harry Truman as Commander in Chief entitled The Awesome Power. This work is an Analysis of Truman's decision-making process in terms of the information available to him, the existing pressures, and the relationship of his decisions to his own concepts of how a commander-in-chief would function. This work contains substantial discussion of the Atomic bomb and atomic energy. Since World War II the importance of the military command function of the American presidency has increased dramatically. U.S. chief executives have emerged virtually unchecked as wielders of enormous military power. The Awesome Power, the first comprehensive study of Harry S. Truman as commander in chief, is an important and highly relevant book, especially in view of the growing concern over the president's ability to wage war without the consent of either the Congress or the American people. A selective chronicle of the events in which Truman's decisions were of historic significance, the book analyzes his decision-making process in terms of the information available to him, the existing pressures, and the relationship of his decisions to his own well-defined concepts of how a commander in chief should function. The author gives a detailed account of the events and circumstances leading up to Truman's most significant decision — to use the atomic bomb against Japan. He also examines Truman's decisions on postwar civilian control of atomic energy, his intervention in Korea, his leadership in the Cold War, and his conflict with General Douglas MacArthur, whose opposition to the president's limited-war policies endangered the very basis of the civil-military relationship. Based in part on research in classified documents previously untapped by nongovernmental researchers, The Awesome Power is a thorough treatment of a subject of great contemporary significance, with one of the most fascinating characters in American political history as its central figure. Condition: Good / Good.
Keywords: WWII, Atomic Bomb, Harry S. Truman, Douglas MacArthur, Korean War, George C. Marshall, NATO, United Nations, Acheson
ISBN: 0807100544
[Book #33204]
Price: $50.00