Modern History - Personalities

Encyclopedia Britannica entry on Robert McNamara. Biography of life and career. This is the more detailed version of the Encyclopedia that the College subscribes to. Therefore you must be logged in to Pymble to view this entry.

Biography from the US Office of the Secretary of Defense

Resources on McNamara collated by the The Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive (Texas Tech University).

Article from The Guardian. Opinion piece on McNamara.

Article from the Smithsonian Magazine. The ‘architect of the Vietnam war’ never formally apologized, but struggled with its consequences for the rest of his life.

A conversation with Robert McNamara, businessman, U.S. secretary of defense (1961-1968), and president of the World Bank (1968-1981). Interviewed by Professors of Political Science Ole Holsti and Timothy Lomperis, and James Leutze, Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, October 16, 1986, in Durham.

Robert S. McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (1916-2009) was appointed secretary of defense in 1960 by President John F. Kennedy. The FBI conducted a background checks or “special inquiries” on McNamara in 1960 and 1964. The file covers FBI investigations between 1960 and 1975.

San Francisco, September 18, 1967

A commentary piece on the career and decisions of McNamara.

An analysis of McNamara by James G. Blight and Janet M. Lang.

Article by James G. Blight and Janet M. Lang.

Article by J. Peter Scoblic.