Review by Booklist Review
A few months after leaving the presidency in 1953, Harry Truman and his wife, Bess, drove themselves from Missouri to New York City and back, a road trip that it was Algeo's excellent idea to retrace. His account of how the hostelries and restaurants they patronized appear today (or in many cases, have disappeared) reflects not only the change in highway travel since then but also the change in the ex-presidency. Such a trip would be inconceivable today, but the Trumans merely backed out the driveway and headed east on US 24. Without police outriders or a Secret Service detail, nobody knew where they were until they paused at an ice-cream stand in Hannibal, Missouri, at a motel (now a prison) in Decatur, Illinois, and at numerous diners and gas stations. Recognized immediately in most places, Truman posed for grinning photos that illustrate Algeo's wry retracing of the three-week journey. Enlivened by Algeo's endeavors to see the places where Truman stopped, this is an engaging historical sidebar.--Taylor, Gilbert Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Public radio reporter Algeo (Last Team Standing) brings the 1950s into focus with a fascinating reconstruction of Harry and Bess Truman's postpresidential 2,500-mile road trip. "I like to take trips-any kind of trip," Truman wrote. "They are about the only recreation I have besides reading." Between 2006 and 2008, Algeo retraced their journey with stopovers at some of the same diners and hotels the couple visited. When Truman left the White House in 1953, he returned to Independence, Mo., rejecting lucrative offers he felt would "commercialize" the presidency. His only income was a small army pension. Acquiring a 1953 Chrysler, the Trumans set out with no fanfare and a curious notion of "traveling incognito." However, reporters and newsreel cameras soon turned their vehicular vacation into an ongoing media event. The book benefits from extensive research through oral history interviews and papers at the Harry S. Truman Library, and Algeo's own interviews with eyewitnesses. With deliberate detours, this book is a portal into the past with layers of details providing unusual authenticity and a portrait of the president as an ordinary man. 20 b&w photos, 1 map. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
A nonfiction book about a 2,500-mile road trip between Independence, MO, and Philadelphia, PA, that took place 70 years ago might not sound particularly exciting. But this road trip was special. The driver was recently retired 69-year-old President Harry S. Truman, who was accompanied by his wife, Bess. The two set out in their Chrysler New Yorker with no fanfare and no Secret Service agents or assistants in sight. They hoped to travel incognito, but this naive desire was dashed from the outset. Algeo (The President Is a Sick Man) details the couple's remarkable journey, including visits to small towns and big cities, their anniversary (dinner and a Broadway show), and the many people they met and interacted with along the way. Algeo's meticulous research combines with narrator Lesa Lockford's engaging and pleasant performance to make the people and places come alive in a unique glimpse of small-town life in 1953. VERDICT Algeo's thoroughly engaging account of a former president's unique summer road trip is chock-full of fascinating details and interesting people. Highly recommended for those interested in Americana and social and political history.--Scott DiMarco
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