Truman and the Bomb: The Untold Story

Giangreco (Hell to Pay), former editor of the U.S. Army’s Military Review, attempts in this concise account to debunk “myths” about the circumstances leading to President Harry S. Truman’s use of the atomic bomb. Giangreco walks readers through the evidence (most of which is appended in full after the brief narrative), starting with a transcript of a 1943 phone conversation that then-Senator Truman had with Secretary of War Stimson about the Manhattan Project; according to Giangreco, this conversation disproves Truman’s assertion in his memoirs that he knew nothing about the project before assuming the presidency. And while some historians have claimed that there was no plausible analysis suggesting massive American casualties from a land invasion of Japan, and that such figures were exaggerated after the fact to justify the use of the bomb, Giangreco cites a May 1945 memorandum from former president Herbert Hoover, whom Truman tapped to independently assess what the death toll would be; Hoover wrote that “the invasion of Japan could cost between five hundred thousand and one million American lives.” Giangreco’s close analysis of these documents is thought-provoking, and makes a strong case that Truman believed dropping the bomb would save lives. Readers will come away with new insights into a world-changing event. (Aug.)