Townsend Walter Hoopes II (1922 – 2004) was an
American historian, who reached the height of his career as Under
Secretary of the Air Force from 1967 to 1969.
Dr. Douglas Brinkley is currently a Professor of
History at Rice University and a Fellow at the James Baker III
Institute of Public Policy. He completed his bachelor's degree at
Ohio State University and received his doctorate in U.S. Diplomatic
History from Georgetown University. Dr. Brinkley served as
Professor of History and Director of the Roosevelt Centre at Tulane
University in New Orleans. From 1994 until 2005 he was Stephen E.
Ambrose Professor of History and Director of the Eisenhower Centre
for American Studies at the University of New Orleans. On the
literary front, Dr. Brinkley has edited Jack Kerouac's diaries,
Hunter S. Thompson's letters and Theodore Dreiser's travelogue. His
work on civil rights includes Rosa Parks (2000) and the forthcoming
Portable Civil Rights Reader. He won Theodore and Franklin
Roosevelt Naval History Prize for Driven Patriot (1993).
The title accurately describes the controversial life of the nation's first secretary of defense. Former Forrestal aide Hoopes and Hofstra University historian Brinkley give a thorough account of Forrestal's Irish upbringing, Ivy League education, and successful business career. They delve into his involvement with government: as a special assistant in 1940 to President Roosevelt; as a crucial force in rebuilding the obsolescent U.S. Navy on the eve of World War II; as the architect of the national security state. Later years brought squabbles with the professional military, disputes with President Truman, and, finally, his tragic suicide in 1949. Using an impressive array of primary sources, including some previously restricted Forrestal papers and numerous oral interviews, along with current monographs, articles, and dissertations, the authors capture the essence of the man and his times. Well written, objective, and thorough, this volume supersedes Arnold Rognow's dated, out-of-print psychobiography Forrestal: A Study of Personality, Politics, and Policy (1963). It should serve as the standard biography for years.-- Charles C. Hay III, Eastern Kentucky Univ. Archives, Richmond
This first-rate biography examines the public career and dark private life of Forrestal, President Truman's Secretary of Defense. Photos. (Dec.)
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