Friends in High Places: The Rise and Fall of Clark Clifford

Born in St. Louis in 1906, Clifford ended up working at the White House during WWII as a naval aide and soon came to the attention of fellow Missourian Harry Truman. Though he started out by organizing the President's poker games, he was soon in the middle of major decision-making: implementation of the Truman Doctrine; recognition of the State of Israel; formation of the plan behind Truman's close reelection in 1948, which, the authors contend, was the brainchild not of Clifford but of political aide James Rowe. A relentless self-promoter, Clifford went into private practice in 1950, piously claiming, ``I have no influence,'' but he soon garnered as clients the likes of Howard Hughes, Phillips Petroleum, RCA, Revlon, DuPont and JFK, whom he defended against columnist Drew Pearson's charges of plagiarizing in Profiles in Courage. His ``tumultuous tenure'' as LBJ's peacenik secretary of defense during the Vietnam War is closely chronicled along with, finally, the First American/Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) scandal, for which he was indicted and later acquitted in 1993. A juicy, eye-opening look at the fascinating life of the ultimate Washington insider. Photos not seen by PW. (Aug.)