Synopses & Reviews
On June 19, 1953, Harry Truman got up early, packed the trunk of his Chrysler New Yorker, and did something no other former president has done before or since: he hit the road. No Secret Service protection. No traveling press. Just Harry and his childhood sweetheart Bess, off to visit old friends, take in a Broadway play, celebrate their wedding anniversary in the Big Apple, and blow a bit of the money hed just received to write his memoirs. Hopefully incognito.
In this lively history, author Matthew Algeo meticulously details how Trumans plan to blend in went wonderfully awry. Fellow diners, bellhops, cabbies, squealing teenagers at a Future Homemakers of America convention, and one very by-the-book Pennsylvania state trooper all unknowingly conspired to blow his cover. Algeo revisits the Trumans route, staying at the same hotels and eating at the same diners, and takes readers on brief detours into topics such as the postwar American auto industry, McCarthyism, the nations highway system, and the decline of Main Street America. By the end of the 2,500-mile journey, you will have a new and heartfelt appreciation for Americas last citizen-president.
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"One of the Best Books of the Year." —Washington Post
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“Matthew Algeos ‘Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was Americas Favorite Spectator Sport (Chicago Review) is one of those books which open up a forgotten world so fully that at first the reader wonders, just a little, if his leg is being pulled.” —The New Yorker
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“Algeo brings to life an inspiring and fascinating account of human endurance from athletes centuries ahead of their time.” —Rory Coleman, International Performance Coach, ULTRA-marathoner and Guinness World Record holder
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"An entertaining biography, step by step, of a diversion in the earliest days of todays sports industry." —Kirkus Reviews
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“This book offers a fascinating take on what was once ‘Americas favorite spectator sport...The overall writing style is captivating and treats its obscure subject matter with zest. Readers interested in lesser-known aspects of American history and tradition will be fascinated with the stories of the major players of this oft-forgotten pastime.” —Library Journal
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“Algeo’s mastery of the time period and his approachable writing style turn an obscure pocket of sports history into an interesting weekend read.” —Chicago Book Review
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"An engaging account . . . Well-researched." Wall Street Journal
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Now, this is whats called a road trip.” --In Transit, New York Times travel blog
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"Matthew Algeo recalls [my grandparents'] memorable trip beautifully and with the sense of humor it deserves." Clifton Truman Daniel, grandson of Harry S. Truman
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"Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure resonates Aaron Copeland's 'Fanfare for the Common Man'brassy, bright, energetic, brief and declaratively American." Washington Times
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"Enlivened by Algeo"s endeavors to see the places where Truman stopped, this is an engaging historical sidebar." Booklist Online
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Algeo chronicles this unlikely excursion in great and wonderful detail. . . . [An] enchanting glimpse into a much simpler age.” --Library Journal
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An absolutely wonderful book.” Virginian-Pilot
Synopsis
From Missouri to New York and back again, this recounting of an amazing journey chronicles the road trip of a former president and his wife and their amusing, failed attempts to keep a low profile. Diners, bellhops, and cabbies shouted out Hiya, Harry!” whenever they recognized the former president, and, out for his daily constitutional on the streets of New York, Harry even stumbled into the sidewalk shot of the newly launched Today show. Along the way there are brief detours into relevant topics, such as the postwar American auto industry, McCarthyism, the development of the nation’s highway system, and the decline of Main Street America. By the end of the 2,500-mile journey, readers will have a new and heartfelt appreciation for America’s last citizen-president. This edition also includes a new afterword from the author, who has now located Truman's long-lost Chrysler New Yorker.
Synopsis
On June 19, 1953, Harry Truman got up early, packed the trunk of his Chrysler New Yorker, and did something no other former president has done before or since: he hit the road. No Secret Service protection. No traveling press. Just Harry and his childhood sweetheart Bess, off to visit old friends, take in a Broadway play, celebrate their wedding anniversary in the Big Apple, and blow a bit of the money he d just received to write his memoirs. Hopefully
incognito.
In this lively history, author Matthew Algeo meticulously details how Truman s plan to blend in went wonderfully awry. Fellow diners, bellhops, cabbies, squealing teenagers at a Future Homemakers of America convention, and one very by-the-book Pennsylvania state trooper all unknowingly conspired to blow his cover. Algeo revisits the Trumans route, staying at the same hotels and eating at the same diners, and takes readers on brief detours into topics such as the postwar American auto industry, McCarthyism, the nation s highway system, and the decline of Main Street America. By the end of the 2,500-mile journey, you will have a new and heartfelt appreciation for America s last citizen-president.
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About the Author
Matthew Algeo is an award-winning journalist who has reported from three continents for public radios All Things Considered, Marketplace, and Morning Edition. He is the author of The President Is a Sick Man and Last Team Standing.