Wednesday, November 06, 2013
[Book Review] Growing Up with My Grandfather by Clifton Truman Daniel
Marilyn reviews GROWING UP WITH MY GRANDFATHER: MEMORIES OF HARRY S. TRUMAN by Clifton Truman Daniel (Carol Pub. Group, 1995)
Growing Up with My Grandfather is a powerful biography of Clifton Truman Daniel, who lived his young childhood in the shadow of his grandparents, President Harry S. Truman and Bessie Truman. Clifton Truman Daniel tells several family stories of his visits with the Trumans. His grandparents' house was the scene of many childhood adventures and wonderful memories.
My favorite is the story is one about Clifton and marbles. When Clifton was three or four, he discovered marbles that Bessie Truman had hidden in the dining room. He created his own game at the Truman house in Independence, Missouri. At the house was an ancient heating system. The entrance hall heating duct was the target of the game. The game was to take a hand full of marbles from the dining room, go around the corner to the entrance hall heating duct, and let them fall into the heating system. Clifton had a wonderful time listening to the marbles clang against the tin wall of the duct until he had to stop.
I enjoyed the family stories and also found the book a very interesting read on President Truman's family and the effects of fame and power on a family. Clifton Truman Daniel's book also allows the reader to feel what life is like in the shadow of a prominent famous person. I gained some insight from this book into the lives of children of the politically famous.
Marilyn Umfress, Central Library
Labels: Biography, Nonfiction, Reviews by Marilyn Umfress
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