Lucius D. Clay: An American Life

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Clay (1898-1978) headed the military procurement effort in WW II, served as U.S. military governor in occupied Germany until his retirement from the Army in '49, and went on to careers in business and banking. He was also active in politics, playing a pivotal role in Eisenhower's '52 presidential campaign. Pragmatic, decisive and incorruptible, he was a type of American who, as Smith notes, ``seems less in evidence as the century winds down.'' The biography is based in part on interviews Smith, editor of The Papers of General Lucius D. Clay , conducted with Clay over a six-year period. Of particular interest are the general's detailed comments on his tenure as military governor of Germany and commander of U.S. forces in Europe, when he laid the foundation for a prosperous and stable Federal Republic of Germany and stood firm against the Soviets with the 1948-1949 Berlin airlift. Short on humor, not given to self-revelation or illustrative anecdote, Clay as depicted here remains a remote and two-dimensional figure. But his mighty deeds are well chronicled in this meticulously researched biography. Photos. (Aug.)

Library Journal

Smith (political science, Univ. of Toronto), editor of the Clay Papers, presents Clay as a distinguished member of that body of ``accomplished, dedicated, and incorruptible'' national leaders developed by the armed forces in the interwar period. Combining extensive personal interviews and comprehensive archival research, Smith shows how political contacts made in the Corps of Engineers facilitated Clay's appointment in 1942 to head the War Department's procurement effort. His success there paved the way for his post-1945 role in Germany's reconstruction. After retiring from the army, Clay made new careers as a corporate executive, investment banker, and advisor to both Republican and Democratic administrations. Decisive to the point of autocracy and correspondingly willing to accept responsibility, Clay emerges from this definitive biography as an archetype of the strengths and weaknesses fostered by the code of ``duty, honor, country.'' Recommended for most collections.-- Dennis E. Showalter, Colorado Coll., Colorado Springs

Booknews

An unaugmented reissue of the H. Holt edition of 1990. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)