World War II was roaring to a climax. Harry Truman was meeting with the speaker of the House of Representatives and his old friend Sam Raybur when he was called to the White House: Franklin Roosevelt was dead. Truman was now faced with more problems and decisions than any other leader in U.S. history. While American, British, and Russian armies were smashing into the heart of Nazi Germany and American troops were fighting a ferocious battle with the Japanese in the Pacific, Harry Truman took the oath of office, swearing to "protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Suddenly -- in the middle of a global war -- he had become president of the most powerful nation in the world.