The Truman Years is a concise yet thorough examination of the critical postwar years in the United States. Byrnes argues that the major trends and themes of the American history have their origins during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. He synthesizes the recent Truman literature, and explains the links between domestic U.S. political and social trends and cold war foreign policy.
Chapter 1 Introduction: The United States in 1945; Part 1 Years of Uncertainty. 1945-46; Chapter 2 The Decision to Drop The Atomic Bomb; Chapter 3 From Co-Operation to Confrontation; Chapter 4 The Trials of Reconversion; Chapter 5 Conservative Resurgence; Part 2 Retrenchment and Vindication, 1947-1948; Chapter 6 The BiPart Isan Moment in Foreign Policy; Chapter 7 The National Security State and the Red Scare; Chapter 8 The 1948 Campaign; Part 3 Growing Opposition, 1949-50; Chapter 9 The Failure of the Fair Deal; Chapter 10 The Collapse of BiPart Isanship; Part 4 Under-Siege, 1950-53; Chapter 11 The Korean War and the Militarization of the Cold War; Chapter 12 'K1C2: Korea, Communism and Corruption'; Chapter 13 Conclusion; Part 5 Docements;
