Wednesday, January 27, 2027
Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure by Matthew Algeo
Discover the entertaining true story of a great American road trip.
“On June 19, 1953, Harry Truman got up early, packed the trunk of his Chrysler New Yorker, and did something no other former president has ever done before or since: he hit the road. No Secret Service protection. No traveling press. Just Harry and his childhood sweetheart Bess, off to visit old friends, take in a Broadway play, celebrate their wedding anniversary in the Big Apple, and blow a bit of the money he’d just received to write his memoirs. Hopefully incognito.”
“In this lively history, author Matthew Algeo meticulously details how Truman’s plan to blend in went wonderfully awry. Fellow diners, bellhops, cabbies, squealing teenagers at a Furture Homemakers of America convention, and one very by-the-book Pennsylvania state trooper all unknowingly conspired to blow his cover. Algeo revisits the Truman’s route, staying at the same hotels and eating at the same diners, and takes readers on brief detours into topics such as the postwar America auto industry, McCarthyism, the nation’s highway system, and the decline of Main Street America. By the end of the 2,500-mile journey, readers will have a new and heartfelt appreciation for America’s last citizen-president.”
About the author:
Matthew Algeo is an award-winning journalist and author. He is also the host of Kansas Public Radio’s Morning Edition.
Algeo has reported from four continents for NPR News and written for major publications including the Atlantic, New York Times, and Washington Post. He is the author of eight books, including Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip, which Christopher Buckley called “utterly likable,” and the Washington Post named one of the best books of the year.
In addition to reporting and writing, Algeo has held jobs as a convenience store clerk, a gas station attendant, a Halloween costume salesman, and a proofreader. He also worked in a traveling circus as a hot dog vendor. He holds a degree in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife, Allyson, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer, and their daughter, Zaya.
Come hear the author talk about the book as he brings these stories to life and buy a signed copy after the presentation!
Wednesday, January 27, 2027
On the lawn of the beautiful Harry S. Truman Little White House located at 111 Front St.
Gates open at 5:30pm
Presentation begins at 6:00pm. Book signing after the event.
All seating is general admission.
Tickets: Members ($20) Non-Members ($35)
If you’re unsure about your membership status, feel free to reach out to Stacey at [email protected] or call 305-294-9911 Ext.4.
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The Key West Harry S. Truman Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 that serves to preserve the Harry S. Truman Little White House, Florida’s only presidential museum, and programming that supports civic engagement, education and the historical and cultural influences of the Truman era. EIN# 75-2979668.
