The Life and Times of Henry Bellmon: Farmer, Governor, Statesman

Bellmon's candid and action-filled autobiography records his career as a dedicated public servant who rose through the ranks of Oklahoma's Republican Party; after being named its chairman in 1960, he in effect reorganized the state party. Only two years later, the ex-marine and ``dumb farmer'' 's folksy but astute ``no new taxes'' campaign won him the first of two terms as governor of a five-to-one Democratic Oklahoma, with the second term beginning in 1986. Elected in the interim to the U.S. Senate in 1968, he describes his 12-year tenure there as ``filled with frustration,'' in contrast to being ``his own boss'' as farmer and governor. Despite his party loyalty and staunch support of Nixon, Bellmon maintained his independence as an advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment, school integration and busing, as well as ratification of the controversial Panama Canal Treaty. Bellmon's daughter Pat, a former Washington Post writer, served as his coauthor. Photos not seen by PW. (Dec.)