Promise and Power

Book excerpt: This is the first major biography, & only complete history, of this enigmatic man who has been a towering figure of the 20th century. Here is the dramatic story of a brilliant but flawed leader who struggled endlessly to reconcile his Berkeley-bred social conscience with his raw drive for power. From his position as the wunderkind president of the Ford Motor Co., to his reign as secretary of defense during the Vietnam War, through his efforts as the president of the World Bank, Deborah Shapley paints an electric portrait of Robert Strange McNamara. "A definitive portrait of a symbol of the American Century." Photos.