... with William P. Clark, who was a Senior Aide to President Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s and whose life is the subject of The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand (Ignatius Press, 2007), written by Dr. Paul
Kengor and Patricia Clark Doerner. "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo" airs at 8:00 p.m. (EST) and re-airs on Saturday (1:00 a.m.), Sunday (4:00 p.m.) and Monday (10:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.).
• William P. Clark: The Quiet Catholic Who Changed the World | An interview with Paul Kengor
• The Mission: The Introduction to The Judge: William P. Clark,
Ronald Reagan's Top Hand | Paul Kengor and Patricia Clark Doerner
About the book:
The most important biographical record of the Reagan years—from the Reagan governorship to the 40th President’s period in the White House—had not been written, until now: it is the story of Ronald Reagan’s indispensable man, confidant, and single most important advisor: William P. Clark, known to many as simply The Judge.
With his record, resumé, and the respect he earned from so many quarters, why did Bill Clark never pen an autobiography? Why did he never write memoirs, even while less influential advisors advanced their stories in the 1980s, proclaiming theirs to be the authoritative “insider’s account” of the Reagan presidency? Why did Clark not write that story as everyone—from top Reagan officials such as Cap Weinberger to authoritative Reagan biographers such as Lou Cannon—urged him to do?
Bill Clark’s reluctance to promote himself stopped him from picking up pen and paper. Instead, at long last, he acquiesced to the writing of this biography. Paul Kengor did the convincing, and Pat Clark Doerner worked with Clark painstakingly to review the manuscript. Kengor and Doerner together wrote this fascinating account of one man’s life, from a ranch house to the White House and then, again, back to the ranch—to what Ronald Reagan called the “sunset of life”.
Reagan biographers such as Edmund Morris and major publications like the New York Times Magazine and Time all agree: Bill Clark was Ronald Reagan’s single most trusted aide, perhaps the most powerful national security advisor in American history. His close relationship with Reagan allows special insight into the President as well as other close friends from the earliest Reagan years: Lyn Nofziger, Cap Weinberger and Bill Casey. Also featured are the exquisite Clare Boothe Luce; the elegant Nancy Reagan; the mercurial Alexander Haig; Britain’s “Iron Lady”, Margaret Thatcher; France’s wily François Mitterrand, the saintly Pope John Paul II, and an anxious Saddam Hussein, among others.
With Reagan, Clark accomplished many things, but none more profound
than the track they laid to undermine Soviet communism, to win the Cold
War. As this book shows, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clark, two ranchers, a
President and his top hand, truly changed history. At long last, over
two decades after that significant accomplishment, Bill Clark shares
the details of that extraordinary effort, many of which—as readers of
this book will learn—have never before been reported.
Includes 32 pages of photos, in black and white and color.
The Judge is not a piece of political partisanship but the biography of a great Catholic man who played an important role in politics. Motivated by his Catholic faith, William Clark served the U.S. well during a very challenging time. After his time in Washinton, he continued to advise presidents and he has continued to live out his Catholic faith.
Posted by: Mark Brumley | Saturday, September 05, 2009 at 08:46 AM