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Few US presidents have captured the imagination of the American people as has Harry S. Truman, "the man from Missouri". In this biography, Ferrell challenges the popular characterisation of Truman as a modest man who rarely sought the offices he received, revealing instead a quick-witted politician whose skill and honest commitment to service paved the road to the nation's highest office. Truman was ambitious in the best sense of the word. His powerful commitment to service was accompanied by a remarkable shrewdness and an exceptional ability to judge people. He regarded himself as a consummate politician, a designation of which he was proud. While in Washington, he never succumbed to the "Potomac fever" that swelled the heads of so many in that city. A generally honest man, Truman exhibited only one lapse when, at the beginning of 1941, he padded his Senate payroll by adding his wife and later his sister. From his early years on the family farm through his pivotal decision to use the atomic bomb in World War II, Truman's life was filled with fascinating episodes. Ferrell's research offers new perspectives on many key eposides in Truman's career, including his first Senate term and the circumstances surrounding the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. In addition, Ferrell taps many little-known sources to relate the story of the machinations by which Truman gained the vice presidential nomination in 1944, a position which put him a heartbeat away from the presidency.