t3003

On April 17, 1961, Allen Dulles sat in his office at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, at 6:14 a.m., reading the first cables from Cuba. For three years, he had kept a secret from the American people. He had trained 1,400 Cuban exiles to invade their homeland and overthrow Fidel Castro. He had withheld essential … Read more

On January 20, 1953, the winter air in Washington, D.C., was freezing, but the hatred felt colder. As Dwight D. Eisenhower's inaugural parade began, a suffocating silence descended on Union Station. Harry S. Truman, clutching the handle of his suitcase, walked away from the presidency without a backward glance. There was no fanfare for the … Read more

At 2:17 a.m. Moscow time on November 23, 1963, Vladimir Semichastny, head of Soviet intelligence, sat in his office at the Lubyanka headquarters reading a translated cable from the Washington station. The message was urgent. The American president had been shot. Lee Harvey Oswald had been arrested — a former U.S. Marine, a defector to … Read more

On July 5, 1945, Harry Truman sat in the Oval Office reading a letter that made his jaw tighten. Henry Morgenthau Jr., Franklin Roosevelt's Treasury Secretary for the past 11 years, had just delivered an ultimatum. Morgenthau insisted on attending the Potsdam conference with the Allied leaders. If Truman refused to include him, Morgenthau would … Read more

Margaret Truman was the only child of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States. She drew public fascination not only during her father's presidency but throughout her own accomplished life as an author, singer, and media personality. Despite living under constant public scrutiny, Margaret carved her own path. That path sometimes led … Read more