AMERICAN GUNFIGHT The Plot to Kill Harry Truman and the Shoot-Out That Stopped It

The gunfight lasted less than 40 seconds. It saved President Truman's life but claimed those of a would-be assassin and a White House policeman. John Mayer's narration sounds like a cable television documentary. His measured pace and precise enunciation evoke black-and-white images and virtuous television-viewing habits. Unfortunately, that pace and enunciation come across as studied rather than involved. One wonders whether, should Mayer be interrupted, he would be able to tell you what he just said. In Mayer's voice, the authors' exhaustive research into the cause of Puerto Rican nationalism and the lives of the gunmen and their families fails to engage unless one is particularly interested in the subject. R.L.L. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 07]