The Essence of Security; Reflections in Office

New York: Harper & Row, 1968. Presumed First Paperback Edition, First printing. Trade paperback. Good. xii, 176, [4] pages. Appendix I and II (including sources). Index. Cover has some wear and soiling. Robert Strange McNamara (June 9, 1916 - July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He played a major role in escalating the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. McNamara was responsible for the institution of systems analysis in public policy, which developed into the discipline known today as policy analysis. He graduated from UC Berkeley and Harvard Business School and served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Henry Ford II hired McNamara and a group of other Army Air Force veterans to work for Ford Motor Company. These "Whiz Kids" helped reform Ford with modern planning, organization, and management control systems. After briefly serving as Ford's president, McNamara accepted appointment as Secretary of Defense. Derived from a Kirkus review: The former Secretary of Defense is determined not to be trapped by history--even history of his own making. His book, a collection of policy statements made during his seven years as director of the Defense establishment, presents a coherent framework of long-range principles and programs. The introduction and epilogue, written during his last days in office, provide an impressive overview. He was concerned with the managerial and marketing aspects of Defense. He enumerates shifts in the distribution and numbers of missiles and manpower as though they were a series of fortuitous sales figures on a corporate profit chart. McNamara aimed to augment nuclear retaliatory power, to reemphasize non-nuclear weapons, and to bring high-powered modern management techniques to Defense. In his view, he succeeded.