Clay Blair

Clay Blair

Clay Blair, Jr. (May 1, 1925  – December 16, 1998) was an American historian, best known for his books on military history. He served on the fleet submarine Guardfish (SS-217) in World War II and later wrote for Time and Life magazines before becoming editor-in-chief of The Saturday Evening Post. He assisted General Omar Bradley in the writing of his autobiography, A General's Life (1983), published after the general's death. Blair wrote two dozen history books and hundreds of magazine articles that reached a popular audience. His last book was Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted, 1942–1945 (1998), which followed Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters, 1939–1942 (1996).

Blair's history of the Korean War The Forgotten War: America in Korea, 1950–1953 (1987) is considered one of the definitive historical works on the war. His work was notable for his criticism of senior American political and military leaders. Blair criticizes President Harry S. Truman and his Secretary of Defense, Louis A. Johnson, for failing to maintain the military's readiness in the years immediately following World War II. His history, while comprehensive, primarily employs a top-down perspective, with less emphasis on individual soldiers than on larger operational issues and the perspectives of general and field-grade officers. He has also been criticized by some historians for not making sufficient use of Communist sources.[1]

Blair also wrote extensively on the submarine war of World War II, notably in the bestselling Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan (1975), considered the definitive work on the Pacific submarine war.[2][3][4][5]

Blair was born in Lexington, Virginia.[6] He was for many years married to Joan Blair, who co-wrote some of his books. Prior to that marriage he was married to Agnes Kemp Devereux Blair, with whom he had seven children: Marie Louise, Clay III, Sibyl, Joseph (deceased), Kemp, Robert and Christopher.

Books by Clay Blair

  • "Atomic Submarine and Admiral Rickover" 1954 Henry Holt and Co, Inc
  • "Silent Victory: The US Submarine War Against Japan" 1975 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
  • "Survive!" 1976 Berkley Pub Group
  • "MacArthur: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero" 1977 Pocket
  • "Combat Patrol" 1978 Bantam Books
  • "Return from The River Kwai" 1979 Simon & Schuster
  • "Mission Tokyo Bay" 1980 Bantam
  • "Swordray's First Three Patrols" 1980 Bantam Books
  • "Beyond Courage: Escape Tales of Airmen in the Korean War" 1983 Ballantine Books
  • "A General's Life: An Autobiography by General of the Army, Omar N Bradley" 1983 Simon & Schuster
  • "Ridgeway's Paratroopers: The American Airborne in World War II" 1985 Dial Press
  • "The Forgotten War: America in Korea, 1950-1953" 1987 Crown
  • "Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters, 1939-1942" 1996 Modern Library
  • "Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted, 1942-1945" 1998 Modern Library

References

  1. ^ Gifford, 224–228.
  2. ^ Dunnigan, James F. (2005). The World War II Bookshelf: Fifty Must-Read Books. Citadel Press. p. 164. ISBN 0806526491. http://books.google.com/books?id=0QYT3XO2DLQC&pg=PA164. "Clay Blair Jr.'s book is considered the definitive account of American submarine operations in the Pacific during World War II." 
  3. ^ Van der Vat, Dan (1992). Pacific Campaign: The U.S.–Japanese Naval War 1941–1945. Simon and Schuster. p. 161. ISBN 0671792172. http://books.google.com/books?id=V32TqZ3Fy00C&pg=PA161. "...Clay Blair, author of the definitive and exhaustive history, Silent Victory." 
  4. ^ Dower, John W. (1986). War without mercy: race and power in the Pacific war. Random House. p. 357. ISBN 0394751728. "The definitive study of the submarine war is Clay Blair, Jr., Silent Victory: The US Submarine War Against Japan." 
  5. ^ Spector, Ronald H. (1988). Listening to the enemy: key documents on the role of communications intelligence in the war with Japan. Scholarly Resources. p. x. ISBN 0842022759. "Clay Blair's definitive study of submarine operations." 
  6. ^ University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. Inventory of the Clay Blair Papers. Retrieved on July 26, 2009.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Clay County, Illinois — Location in the state of Illinois …   Wikipedia

  • Blair (disambiguation) — Blair is both a surname and given name. Blair may also refer to:PlacesIn the Andaman and Nicobar Islands * Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar IslandsIn Australia: * Division of Blair, an electoral district in the Australian House… …   Wikipedia

  • Clay City Township, Clay County, Illinois — Clay City Township   Township   Location in Clay County …   Wikipedia

  • Blair Township — may refer to the following places in the United States:* Blair Township, Clay County, Illinois * Blair Township, Michigan * Blair Township, Pennsylvania …   Wikipedia

  • Clay's Way — is the debut novel of American writer Blair Mastbaum. Released in 2004 by Alyson Books, the novel, which won the Lambda Literary Award for debut fiction[1], follows 15 year old gay skateboarder Sam and the object of his affection, conflicted… …   Wikipedia

  • Blair Mastbaum — is American writer and a former model who lives in Portland, Oregon.His first novel, Clay s Way was released in 2004. The novel won a Lambda Literary Award. His second novel, Us Ones In Between, was published by Running Press, released on May 8,… …   Wikipedia

  • Blair Township, Clay County, Illinois — Geobox Township name = Blair Township native name = other name = other name1 = category = Township image size = image caption = flag size = symbol = symbol size = country = United States state = Illinois region = Clay region type = County… …   Wikipedia

  • Clay City, Illinois — Coordinates: 38°41′13″N 88°21′11″W / 38.68694°N 88.35306°W / 38.68694; 88.35306 …   Wikipedia

  • Clay Matthews, Jr. — This article is about Clay Matthews Jr. For his son, who plays for the Green Bay Packers, see Clay Matthews III. Clay Matthews, Jr. Clay Matthews (right) with his brother Bruce in the mid 1980s No. 57      …   Wikipedia

  • Clay County (Illinois) — Verwaltung US Bundesstaat: Illinois Verwaltungssitz: Louisville Adresse des Verwaltungssitzes: County Courthouse P.O. Box 160 Louisville, IL 62858 0160 Gründung: 1824 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”