This is John Batchelor, conversation with William Talbot, Professor William Talbot of Amherst College.

His new book with his brother Philip Talbman, McNamara at war, tells the story of Robert McNamara,

extremely controversial and talented once defense secretary for John F. Kennedy's administration and then Lyndon Johnson's

administration later to President of the World Bank, but recognized as a very, very bright and

quick learning student his whole life. Here's the moment when he moves from being a professor,

a young professor at Harvard Business School to making decisions for

the 8th Air Force and then eventually for the Air Force that bombed Japan. Here's the explanation for

how he got on the beginning of the career path to famous Vietnam's defense secretary,

famous World Bank leader, famous apologizer for the mistakes of the Vietnam War.

Much more of this tonight and tomorrow night.

William Talbett, Professor William Talbman, on McNamara's picked by the Pentagon following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

They rushed next door to see their neighbors and to talk about where this would lead.

What kind of war would this be?

What would his role be?

And he wanted very much to take part in this war.

And the war came to him at Harvard. He was an instructor there, and he was teaching away.

And a man named Tex Thornton, who was at the Pentagon, came up from Washington to try to set up a school

for officers at Harvard in which they would learn statistical control. And McNamara was one of the

first to agree to do this. And Tex Thornton almost immediately recommended or realized that McNamara was the

pick of the litter at Harvard. He was the smartest guy around. He was the one who would fit perfectly

into Thornton's mission of attracting brilliant Harvard professors to teach statistical control to American officers.

And that's what he did.

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