International Journal of Naval History

From the Editors:

Clark Reynolds, colleague, scholar, and gentleman.

The Editors of the IJNH wish to identify with the comments make by Professor Andrew Lambert of Kings College in the concluding paragraphs of his review of the last book by Clark Reynolds, who passed away recently. He will be missed. The review in question appears in the present issue of the IJNH. We could not have put it better. . .

This book about a larger than life admiral [Jocko Clark] was written by a larger than life historian. Clark Reynolds pioneered the study of American naval aviation back in the 1960s. After completing his Ph.D. which became The Fast Carriers he did duty as co-author of Jocko’s memoirs! The connection was his uncle, who had been Jocko’s Flag Lieutenant.  Clark Reynolds brought a lifetime of learning to the task of giving this great officer his due, while gently deflating the bombastic pose that Jocko liked to strike. Sadly it was also Clark Reynold’s last book - he died suddenly earlier this year [2006]. Clark left a rich legacy. In this book and its precursor Admiral John H. Towers: The Struggle for Naval Air Supremacy he examined the key themes of naval airpower from inception to the early 1950s linking the men with their role in the process. Towers was a pioneer and planner, Clark an organiser and a warrior. I opened this book hoping it would match the eloquence, insight, and expertise of its precursor. I need not have worried. Two very different men have received their due, and our understanding of how navies develop, think, organise and fight has been immeasurably enhanced. A great book, well worthy of its author, and its rumbustious subject.