In Charles River Editors' History for Kids series, your children can learn about history's most important people and events in an easy, entertaining, and educational way. The concise but comprehensive book will keep your kid's attention all the way to the end.

Among America's presidents, Harry Truman's presidency produced some of the nation's most crucial decisions and left one of the nation's most unique legacies. When President Franklin Roosevelt died in April 1945, Vice President Truman, somewhat unprepared for the Presidency, now had to fill some of the biggest shoes in American history. Incredibly, Truman had not been informed of the country's secret attempt to build atomic bombs, confiding in his diary after learning about it, "We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark."

The new president had to usher America through victory in Europe in his first month and decide to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few months later, but the end of World War II produced only the first of many consequential decisions Truman would face during his nearly eight years in office. As president, Truman would lay the groundwork for the next 50 years of American foreign policy, as the architect of Cold War containment, the man who signed off on the Marshall Plan, and the commander-in-chief during much of the Korean War. He would also be the president who finally integrated the military, a crucial step on the way to full civil rights for the country's minorities.

These accomplishments have earned Truman admiration and praise from most historians today, but the Korean War in particular made him especially unpopular during much of his presidency. To this day, his most memorable picture was a byproduct of his upset victory over Dewey in the 1948 election, with Truman holding up a Chicago Tribune newspaper incorrectly asserting, "Dewey Defeats Truman." While Americans today mostly remember that iconic picture and fondly recall "Give 'Em Hell Harry" and his memorable quotes, Truman would actually finish his presidency with historically low approval ratings.

History for Kids: An Illustrated Biography of Harry Truman for Children chronicles the amazing life and career of a Midwesterner with humble roots who rose through party politics to become one of the most important presidents of the 20th century. Your kids will learn about Harry Truman like never before.