Truman in Retirement: A Former President Views the Nation and the World

Sand's scholarly study recreates Truman's activities from January 1953, when he left the White House, to his death in December 1972. Readers expecting a homey account of the former president's daily doings in Independence will be disappointed. Sand reviews Truman's efforts to preserve his presidential papers, his work as memoirist and lecturer, his role as elder spokesman for the Democratic Party and his occasional contributions as presidential adviser. Drawn partly from unpublished letters and memos, the study covers Truman's trips to Europe in his retirement years and his success as a ``goodwill ambassador.'' Sand also includes Truman's definition of the six major presidential duties: to ensure that laws are faithfully executed, to oversee the nation's foreign relations, to serve as commander-in-chief, to exercise such duties as are required in the legislative field and to perform ceremonial duties as head of state. Sand is a social sciences professor at East Central College in Missouri. (Sept.)