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Summary
Summary
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
History called on Harry Truman to unite the Western world against Soviet communism, but first he had to rally Republicans and Democrats behind America's most dramatic foreign policy shift since George Washington delivered his farewell address. How did one of the least prepared presidents to walk into the Oval Office become one of its most successful?
The year was 1947. The Soviet Union had moved from being America's uneasy ally in the Second World War to its most feared enemy. With Joseph Stalin's ambitions pushing westward, Turkey was pressured from the east while communist revolutionaries overran Greece. The British Empire was battered from its war with Hitler and suddenly teetering on the brink of financial ruin. Only America could afford to defend freedom in the West, and the effort was spearheaded by a president who hadn't even been elected to that office. But Truman would wage a domestic political battle that carried with it the highest of stakes, inspiring friends and foes alike to join in his crusade to defend democracy across the globe.
In Saving Freedom, Joe Scarborough recounts the historic forces that moved Truman toward his country's long twilight struggle against Soviet communism, and how this untested president acted decisively to build a lasting coalition that would influence America's foreign policy for generations to come. On March 12, 1947, Truman delivered an address before a joint session of Congress announcing a policy of containment that would soon become known as the Truman Doctrine. That doctrine pledged that the United States would "support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." The untested president's policy was a radical shift from 150 years of isolationism, but it would prove to be the pivotal moment that guaranteed Western Europe's freedom, the American Century's rise, and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union.
Truman's triumph over the personal and political struggles that confronted him following his ascension to the presidency is an inspiring tale of American leadership, fierce determination, bipartisan unity, and courage in the face of the rising Soviet threat. Saving Freedom explores one of the most pivotal moments of the twentieth century, a turning point when patriotic Americans of both political parties worked together to defeat tyranny.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
MSNBC host Scarborough (Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day) delivers a brisk and informative look at the development of the Truman Doctrine. In 1947, Great Britain, which had been economically devastated by WWII, informed the Truman administration that it couldn't provide much-needed financial aid to Greece and Turkey. Secretary of State George Marshall and his top deputy, Dean Acheson, recognized the importance of providing humanitarian assistance to the two countries, which the Soviet Union wanted to add to its sphere of influence. If that happened, Marshall and Acheson argued, other countries in the Middle East and Western Europe might soon follow. The broader rationale behind their recommendation for U.S. intervention was accepted by President Truman, even though it meant transforming "America's conception of itself and its role in the world" and becoming "an active participant in the political affairs of other nations." Though that role is now commonly accepted, Scarborough expertly details the behind-the-scenes politicking that made it happen, paying special attention to the role of Republican senator Arthur Vandenburg, who charted a new, internationalist direction for his party. Though it breaks little new ground, Scarborough's vivid account will appeal to readers who long for a new era of bipartisanship in American politics. (Nov.)
Kirkus Review
The story of the aid program that helped launch the Cold War. MSNBC host and former congressman Scarborough reminds readers that 1947 began with Americans basking in peace after the end of World War II less than 18 months earlier, and the budgets for the armed forces were slashed drastically. This was the scene in February when the British Foreign Office delivered two notes described as "shockers" by undersecretary of state Dean Acheson. They summarized events in Greece, which was impoverished and reeling under a communist-led civil war, and Turkey, threatened by Soviet expansion. Britain had long provided their support, but, bankrupt after the war, it could do so no longer. Tactfully, British leadership suggested that America step in to prevent those nations from falling to the communists. Acheson showed the notes to Harry Truman, who agreed that the circumstances required action. Scarborough delivers a lively blow-by-blow account of Truman's consultations with advisers and meetings with congressional leaders, including Sen. Arthur Vandenberg (whom the author clearly admires), formerly a hidebound Republican isolationist but a convert to internationalism who won over many of his colleagues. There followed Truman's famous March 12, 1947, address before Congress urging aid to Greece and Turkey; the president proclaimed that America "must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way." Isolationist Republicans were opposed, as were liberal democrats, who urged that the matter be turned over to the U.N. and pointed out that Greeks were not "free" but ruled by an unpleasant autocrat. In the end, with Vandenberg's backing, the aid passed, and the Truman Doctrine was born. Defeating Greek communist rebels turned out to require several years, during which Truman returned America to world leadership with actions such as the Marshall Plan, the founding of NATO, and the defense of South Korea from the North's invasion. Solid American history and another feather in the cap of Truman, whose presidential reputation is rising steadily. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Morning Joe host Scarborough, a former member of the House of Representatives, here examines President Harry Truman's first year in office. Truman might have been intent on "saving freedom," but he surely faced challenges: many parts of the world were still climbing out of the rubble, and the Cold War loomed. With a 200,000-copy first printing.
Table of Contents
| Introduction: A Strange Little Man | p. xiii |
| Chapter 1 America Alone | p. 1 |
| Chapter 2 Greek Fire | p. 10 |
| Chapter 3 Affairs of State | p. 22 |
| Chapter 4 Met at Armageddon | p. 28 |
| Chapter 5 The Man from Missouri | p. 36 |
| Chapter 6 Gnawing Away at Greece | p. 44 |
| Chapter 7 Steer Clear of the Foreign World | p. 52 |
| Chapter 8 Passing the Torch | p. 60 |
| Chapter 9 A Baptism of Fire | p. 71 |
| Chapter 10 A New World Order | p. 84 |
| Chapter 11 In This Fateful Hour | p. 95 |
| Chapter 12 Moving Beyond Monroe | p. 105 |
| Chapter 13 A House Divided | p. 144 |
| Chapter 14 Personnel Is Policy | p. 160 |
| Chapter 15 "You Must Kill All Americans" | p. 168 |
| Chapter 16 Eleven Minutes | p. 179 |
| Chapter 17 Cold War Dawn | p. 189 |
| Chapter 18 An American Triumph | p. 195 |
| Chapter 19 Aftermath | p. 201 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 219 |
| Appendix: Position and Recommendations of the Department of State Regarding Immediate and Substantial Aid to Greece and Turkey | p. 221 |
| A Note on Sources | p. 239 |
| Index | p. 243 |