Introduction

Many years ago I had my first encounter with Harry S. Truman. It was the summer of 1964. I was writing my Master's thesis in economics, which covered the President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) under President Truman, as well as under other Presidents. On a whim, I decided to visit the Truman Library and Museum. At the time, I did not know that Truman spent much of his post-Presidential years at the Library. The stacks in the Library were open for researchers to browse. While browsing, Mr Truman came racing through the stacks, stopped and asked what I was looking for. He was 80 years old, but had the energy and speed of a much younger person. Later, I would read about his apparent tirelessness and quickness. It was legendary. When I mentioned the CEA, he began to pull books and documents off the shelves. They seemed to fly off the shelves. But what impressed me the most was the kindness and humbleness of the man…