"The Hidden White House" by Robert Klara (2013)

Harry Truman didn’t really believe in ghosts. But he needed some way to express his notice of; and concern for; the condition of the White House he had inherited upon the death of Franklin Roosevelt. It’s no secret that President Roosevelt; faced with 2 very critical events in his time in office; had chosen to neglect the residence during the Great Depression and the years of the Second World War. This was on top of the damage caused by an electrical fire in 1925 while Coolidge was President.

During Truman’s hectic first term in office, which he began upon President Roosevelt’s death in 1945, he first noticed what he termed “ghosts” when writing to his wife in Independence, Missouri where she spent most summers. The floors creaked, the walls seemed to moan; and most disturbingly, the floors seemed to sway beneath your feet.

When the President’s daughter Margaret almost fell through the floor; while practicing piano; it became apparent that some of the original beams were cracking under the weight of a White House which had been altered many times over the years to accommodate modern conveniences, with no regard for the structural integrity required to hold the place up.

The site chosen for the construction of the White House was selected at a time when the science of soil bearings was in its infancy. And the modern conveniences of running water and electric lights were only daydreams. By the time that Truman moved in the house was a literal fire trap.

During the campaign for election in his own right in 1948, the condition of the White House was a closely guarded secret. It was feared that the public would somehow blame it on 16 years of Democratic rule and cost Truman the election.

Mr. Klara documents the major changes in the White House, all of which contributed unintentionally to it’s falling apart by the time that Truman arrived. In 1833 Andrew Jackson added running water; in 1848 President Polk added gaslight; in 1850 President Fillmore added a heavy iron bathtub; in 1853 Franklin Pierce added a furnace for hot water; in 1866 a telegraph was added; in 1879 a telephone system; and in 1891 electric lights joined the parade.

While all of these changes seem minor, they were all done with no regard for the structural integrity of the house. Doors were cut beneath lintels supporting load bearing walls, and beams were hacked and shortened where convenient. During the 1902 reconstruction of the house, and during the addition of the West Wing, shortcuts were taken which left rotted wood in place. This was on top of the fact that some of the original beams, which were burnt when the British set fire to the White House in 1814, had never been replaced, just re-used. In short; the White House needed fixing.

Truman was unable to get anyone to take him seriously at first. The Congress authorized a small amount of money to investigate the stability of the house, but seemed unwilling to commit the resources to save it. At first there were even calls to raze the mansion and build something newer and more efficient in its place. This is where Harry Truman drew the line.

Not only would the White House be rebuilt, but it would be done in such a way that it would never need extensive repairs like these again. After much wrangling it was decided that the only way in which to accomplish this was to gut the entire structure, and then brace it from the inside with a skeleton of steel beams.

Through funding problems and delays, Mr. Klara takes the reader on a tour de force of one of the most fantastic building projects ever undertaken. When the election of 1948 is done, and Truman wins a term in his own right, he comes back to the White House in triumph, only to have to move out within a few days. He would spend most of his next term living at Blair House, where he was almost assassinated by Puerto Rican nationalists.

The book is filled with the stories of the contractors who rebuilt the White House. These men; some big businessmen, some small; all did their best to bring structural integrity to the old house which had served as home to all of our Presidents since John Adams. But for the stubbornness of Harry S. Truman; who stood up to the 80^th Congress; we might not have it today.

Mr. Klara has done a wonderful job in telling the story of how the White House was preserved. Along the way he introduces the reader to many colorful characters and some long forgotten history. Incidentally, the souvenir kits which were offered for sale to the public at the time; for as little as 25 cents for an acrylic paperweight containing a nail and some plaster from the old White House; seem to be all gone. I went looking on e-bay for a photograph to post and found none at all. There were only 5,000 or so made and imagine most have been long forgotten, or thrown away.

Some of the old White House mantels are still in use today and the author has done a superb job of chronicling the fate of all 24 mantels which came from the house. Of those 24, only 6 went back in.

This book is a natural follow up to author Robert Klara’s “FDR Funeral Train” which I reviewed here in April of 2010. That review can be viewed here;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2010/04/fdrs-funeral-train-by-robert-klara.html

And here is the best monument to Harry Truman; the White House as viewed from inside the fence in the 1990's.  Ask me how I took that picture sometime; I might tell you.

"Why We Fight" - Frank Capra (1942)

During the first months of the Second World War Hollywood Director Frank Capra; who had just released the film "It's a Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart: was serving in the Armed Forces when he received an unusual order. He was to be tasked with making films, which would explain to the American Public, just why we were at war and how we got there.

These were propaganda films, plain and simple. But the one difference between our films and those of our enemies was this; our films were made in reaction to the atrocities being committed in Europe and the Pacific. They were, in that respect, educational films. The Nazi's had been using film to vilify specific ethnic groups such as the Gypsies and the Jews, in order to facilitate political policies engineered for the destruction of those groups.

Some of our films, particularly the cartoons of the era, did depict the Japanese as savages. Although this was "painting with a broad brush", so to speak, again it was in response to an action undertaken by that group to begin with, and not a vilification for political or territorial gain, other than to redress the wrongful action of that group. The proof of this is in the treatment of our enemies after the war had ended.

While the other group was using propaganda in order to subjugate the entire world, we were using it as a motivation to stop that effort. Some may not see a big difference, but I do.

Today is Veteran's Day, a holiday which was originally called "Armistice Day" and created to honor those who fell in the First World War, which was billed as the "war to end all wars." All it really accomplished was to set the stage for the Second World War, which set the stage for Korea, Vietnam and the list goes on and on.

Take a little time today to talk with a Veteran about their service. Most are only too happy to share their experiences. Even if you; or even they; have not always been in agreement with what we have fought for, the men and women who have served, have all served with the best of intentions on your behalf. And, that may be the most noble service of all.

For the story of my Grandfather William Shone Williams and his time in the trenches during World War One, use this link;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2012/05/memorial-day-william-shone-williams.html 

"Roosevelt's Centurions" by Joseph E. Persico (2013)

Of all the biographical compilations I have ever read, this one is the most personable and informative. Combining history with the biographies of the men who made it, author Joseph Persico creates a clear and vivid portrait of the group of extraordinary men who literally saved the world for Democracy.

At the same time he delivers an accurate and lively history of the war itself, introducing each character as they enter they enter the narrative and then giving you the back story on each. And what stories they are!

Filled with anecdotes, interlaced with the actual events, many of these stories have been ignored by other authors who were focusing more on the history of the war, rather than the personalities of the men who waged it. Looking at history in this manner is a breath of fresh air. I love history in any form, but when it is presented in this way, that history springs to life.

From the affable “Hap” Arnold, who was quite a pioneer in his own way; to the gruff Admiral King, the highly organized General Eisenhower, the extremely competent General Marshall; and President Roosevelt; along with Winston Churchill; the author displays each in all their glory.

Winston Churchill is particularly interesting. The man drank like a fish, and his brief relationship with White House Butler Alonzo Fields, just days after Pearl Harbor, will make you laugh out loud. Churchill was quite a character.

Roosevelt is portrayed as highly intelligent and in command at all times, in spite of his illness. His ability to switch gears from the stress of the war and still retain his composure was astonishing. He had definite ideas about how the war should be prosecuted, but was wise enough to back down when necessary. The insights into his illness and his strategy are of paramount interest to anyone interested in the full story of the war.

The decision to concentrate on a policy of “Europe First” didn’t sit too well with the American public, who were still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor. That outrage gave way to the Doolittle Raids.

The planning of the first strikes on Japan with the Doolittle Raids is a fascinating story all on its own. In order to let our pilots fly in the Chinese Air Force as the Flying Tigers, the pilots had to resign their American commissions and then be employed as Mercenaries at $600 per month plus $500 for each Japanese plane destroyed. Major Chennault was in charge. This was a bit of a stretch for the United States, which at the time, was still neutral.

The preparations for the Normandy Invasion, including the wrangling between the British and the Americans about which was the more important task; invading North Africa, or rushing the Invasion at Normandy, are explored extensively. The thinking and rationale for the landings is laid bare, making the reader feel like part of the decision making process.

The major events in all the Theaters of Operations; as well as the men who planned and executed them; are extensively covered with some surprising facts of which most readers will be previously unaware. I know I was.

The “dance” with Russia and Molotov’s visit to the White House; with the Soviet representatives locking their rooms and sleeping with pistols beneath their pillows; will have you wondering just what the Secret Service was thinking by allowing the weapons to be openly carried in the White House.

How Eisenhower became the war’s architect is also of interest. He was primarily the best logistical commander in history, using his will and knowledge of history to make the most of all the assets available to him and our Allies to achieve victory.

From the days leading up to Pearl Harbor, to the peace which followed the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and the beginnings of the Cold War; you will find no better account of the men; and some remarkable women; who were able to lead our nation, and the world, through one of the darkest times in our collective histories.

Director Tom Hooper, who made the epic mini-series from David McCullough’s book on John Adams, should take note of this book. Filled with the many rich and varied characters who played such a part in winning the war, this could just be another blockbuster.

"Shockwave - Countdown to Hiroshima" by Stephen Walker (2005)

Leo Szilard, a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant, sat stopped at a London traffic signal one day in 1933. It was there, as the light changed, that he first conceived of the idea for a nuclear bomb. He was horrified by the thought of the destruction it could cause to life as we know it.

  

That thought, just as with an atomic explosion, had a chain reaction which, by 1939, would have Germany trying to build an atomic weapon of her own, and Mr. Szilard lobbying the United States to build one first. After all, there was no doubt that Hitler would use it should he attain it first; while we could always make one and choose not to. At least, that was the plan.

This whole extraordinary set of events were the beginnings of what eventually became the Cold War, with its policy of Mutually Assured Destruction, which would last for decades. The shadow of that policy; along with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980’s; has been that there are now more nuclear weapons in the hands of more governments than could possibly be deemed “healthy” for the world’s future survival. But all that came later. First came “Trinity”; the test of the first atomic bomb; in the desert of New Mexico on July 16, 1945.

It seemed of little consequence at the time that the weapon designed for use against the Nazi’s in Europe, would now be used to end the war in the Pacific, which began, for the United States, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The Japanese had been at war in the Pacific since 1933 and the invasion of China and the Rape of Nanking, while the Germans had been taking over countries in Europe beginning in 1938. It was only after they invaded Poland in September of 1939 that the English went to war with her. We would not join in that effort until after the Pearl Harbor attack.

This is the most informative book I have ever read on the first atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima on August 5, 1945. Where other books have focused either on the effects of the bomb on the ground; such as “Hiroshima” by John Hersey; or the myriad of books which talk of the morality of the event; and even the workings of the Manhattan Project; this book delves into the beginnings of the search for the technology to build the bomb, as well as the training of the men who would drop it. 

The book also covers the negotiations which the Japanese were seeking to hold with Russia as a way of suing for peace and an end to the war. The stalling by the Soviets, while pretending that they had no knowledge of the bomb’s existence, would be instrumental in the success of the Americans to end the war in the Pacific. It would also trigger a nuclear arms race which would color our lives forever after

.

The author also explores the origins of the 509^th Bomber Group and their unusual makeup, which included a few felons with false names. They were given their criminal files and a match after the mission was over.

For all of the planning of the bomb’s construction and use, nobody was quite sure if it would work. On the other hand, there were some among the group of scientists, including Leo Szilard, who saw the possibility of igniting the entire atmosphere of the planet, killing us all. Up until the very last moment these men would lobby the President to discontinue the plan to use the bomb. The story of how their message was delayed, before it was relayed, will raise questions in your own mind as to the purpose of using the bomb at all. There was still the fear that the Germans would get one first.

Ironically, the Germans had all but given up on the development of a nuclear bomb by the close of the war. And the Russians had no interest in one unless we proved one could be made to work. And of course, both the United States and the Soviets would benefit greatly from the acquisition of the German rocket scientists at the close of the war with Germany in May 1945. At that point we were too close to finishing work on the Manhattan Project to stop.

The author has spared no subject in this comprehensive history of the final countdown to the actual dropping of the bomb, and an examination of the effects of that mission in the first 24 hours after it was accomplished. The book also examines the lives of the men who first conceived of, and then made happen, the single most important event which would change the nature of warfare in general, and the geo-politics that surround it.

With the countdown towards the final assembly and shipment of the bomb, part of which encompasses the story of the USS Indianapolis on its voyage to Tinian, the book also recounts the Japanese effort to start peace talks through the Soviets. At the same time as she was talking peace, Japan was also preparing to turn Japan into a veritable fortress which would cost almost a million American lives to invade. This was the same duplicitous process which she had used to buy time for the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. However, by this point, there was no turning back on the plan to use the bomb.

As a result of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there has not been a declared war since the end of World War Two. It’s almost as if declared wars, rather than police actions, could possibly escalate into full blown nuclear confrontation between “super-powers.” This was exactly what happened in Vietnam; the United States and the Soviet Union fought a war by proxy; using the Vietnamese as pawns in a game which can only have one ending; with both sides looking to avoid a direct confrontation with the other.

If you think you have learned all that you need to know about the history of the world’s first atomic bomb, then this book will quickly disabuse you of that notion, while providing the reader a ringside seat to one of the most important developments of the 20^th century. 

"Enemies" by Tim Weiner (2012)

From the author of “Legacy of Ashes”, a book which crashed onto the scene in 2007; an extensive history of the Central Intelligence Organization which won the National Book Award; comes this fairly written, and highly researched book about the history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The book begins, as any such book must, with an examination of its longtime director, J. Edgar Hoover. From there the authors goes on to chronicle the Palmer Raids and the beginnings of the violent era of labor unrest that swept the nation, beginning with the Black Tom explosion on New York’s busy wartime waterfront during the early years of the First World War, then moving on through the 1920’s and the explosion on Wall Street of a dynamite laden cart at the height of rush hour.

With the 1930’s, and end of Prohibition, came new challenges, particularly on the left, where the Communist infiltration was both feared, and yet, to some extent overrated. As the Depression drew to a close, the agencies attentions, still under the watchful eyes of J. Edgar, were called upon to aid in the war against America’s so-called “fifth columnists”, people who would subvert the cause of freedom from within. Wiretaps, without authorization, were the “norm”, as was opening personal mail in a way which went beyond ordinary censorship, in which your envelope has obviously been opened, and then stamped by the individual who read it. Instead, the agency learned the art of opening select messages on the sly, an art which would later be employed during both the McCarthy Era, as well as the Anti-War days of Vietnam.

The end of World War Two brought even more to the Bureau’s table, as the nation began its painful growth period coming to terms with the Civil Rights movement. The author successfully records the tension between the Bureau and the President over the Freedom Rides, as well as their subsequent failure in the Kennedy Assassination; becoming, to a certain extent; a tool of the CIA for the first time. This would prove telling both during, and after Watergate, as the CIA helped to bring down the President, with the FBI standing helplessly by.

The author takes the reader on a step by step journey through the internal power struggles which ensued upon the death of J. Edgar Hoover, who had been granted Federal Authority to reign for life.

Through the Union busting days of the 1980’s and even on into the 21^st Century and the attacks in New York and Washington, the author traces the role of the Bureau in America today. Fully researched, with a complete section of notes and sources, listed chapter by chapter, this is a good book. Though it offers no great new insights, it does serve as an excellent chronicle of what we do know.

"A Measureless Peril" by Richard Snow

This book kind of ties in with the last one. I read them concurrently and was surprised at how many of the principals of the Second World War had played a large part in the First World War.

After the stunning German Naval Victory at Jutland in 1916, the German Navy did very little. It remained bottled up and neglected, until the point where crews were staging mutinies to avoid going back to sea. As a common soldier, Hitler detested the Navy, and as a Submariner so did German Admiral Donetz. He considered the U-boats to be independent of the Navy. When Hitler made him Admiral,he concentrated on the U-boats to the exclusion of the surface ships.In doing so, he effectively cut the German supply line to the outside world. That they made this mistake two wars in a row, and only 20 years apart, by neglecting their navy is astonishing.

The book chronicles the war in the Atlantic from January 1942 through 1944. Much of the action takes place off Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York where I grew up. No doubt this added to the allure of the book for me. I grew up on stories of ships exploding within sight of the beach and the U-boats that sank them. These stories, no doubt, fueled my desire to go to sea later in life.

It is also the story of the 5 individual U-boats that were doing all this damage 5 miles from our shore. The deprivation, the close quarters, all are written of here in detail, but with a writer's flair for the colorful thrown in. In addition the author manages to encompass the oft untold tale of the more than 40,000 Merchant Mariners who gave their lives transporting the goods of war to the European theater of operations. Without them we could not have won the war.

At the same time, the author is able to give us the history of the Lend lease Act and tell us how President Roosevelt, on the advice of Admiral Stark, met with Churchill and worked it all out. We would begin supplying the British, reducing our status as a "neutral" nation. As a consequence of this, the Germans would henceforth start sinking American merchant vessels. The last one before Pearl Harbor was the Rubeun James, in November of 1941. Woody Guthrie, a merchant seaman himself, wrote the famous song about the sinking, titled "Sinking of the Ruben James."

As if all this is not enough, the book is also about the birth of the modern anti-submarine technology that helped America win the Cold War over 40 years later. New weapons and ships needed to be designed, and built quickly in order for us to not lose control of the Atlantic for the re-supply of our troops. To do so would have brought the war to our shores, with longstanding consequences.

As a former member of the US Navy, and as a licensed Merchant Mariner, I can heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in either the sea, or history. It is obvious that I enjoyed this book.