Grenville Clark, Public Citizen

Grenville Clark (1882-1967) was an aristocrat of the New York bar in the tradition of Elihu Root and Henry Stimson. Although he never held public office, he exerted great influence as an organizer of elite groups, e.g., to promote preparedness during World War I and intervention in World War II. A philosophical conservative, he was a powerful liberal voice in defense of individual rights and is best remembered for his classic 1958 book, World Peace Through World Law. This concise and very well-written biography, based on the Clark papers at Dartmouth, is a scholarly work of admiration.