Gregory A. Fossedal

5794. Our Finest Hour WILL CLAYTON, the Marshall Plan, and the Triumph of Democracy, by Gregory A. Fossedal (read 22 Jun 2022) This book, published in 1993, is a carefully-researched biography of Will Clayton, who was born 7 Feb 1880, and died in 1966. He was a big figure in cotton and made a fortune in dealing in such. I well remember when he was nominated by FDR in December 1944 to be in the State Department and was opposed by some liberals as too conservative. He was confirmed, though, and played a leading role in the work which in 1948 resulted in the Marshall plan. In fact, it appears he had more to do with conceiving the plans for such did Marshall himself. The book is very laudatory of Clayton--and rightly so. His wife was urging him to leave his government job and he did, but nevertheless, she divorced him--but they soon remarried and were together till she died. The book is informative and full of good data, but I did not find it too exciting.… (more)