Ernest May (historian)
Encyclopedia
Ernest Richard May was an American
historian
of international relations
whose 14 published books include analyses of American involvement in World War I
and the causes of the Fall of France
during World War II
. His 1997 book The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis became the primary sources of the 2000 film Thirteen Days
starring Kevin Costner
that viewed the Missile Crisis
from the perspective of American political leaders. He served on the 9/11 commission and highlighted the failures of the government intelligence agencies. May taught full time on the faculty of Harvard University
for 55 years, until his death. May was also a recipient of the 1988 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award
for Ideas Improving World Order, co-authored with Richard Neustadt.
and grew up as an only child. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles
, and was awarded a bachelor's degree in 1948 and received his Ph.D.
in 1951. After his graduation, he served during the Korean War
in the United States Navy
.
for two years starting in 1969, and served as chairman of the school's history department from 1976 to 1979. At the John F. Kennedy School of Government
, May also served on the faculty. May and historian Richard Neustadt
created a course that had students make choices for current political issues based on a thorough review of choices made over the course of history. Their work together became the basis for the 1986 book Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision-Makers, published by the Free Press
that has been widely used by students and professionals in the field.
with its George Louis Beer Prize, which recognizes the best work each year published on European international history. The book was included on a list of 1,780 books chosen to be included in the White House library.
Together with historian Philip D. Zelikow
, May edited the 1997 book The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis, published by Harvard University Press
. The book provided details based on taped recordings of conversations made in 1962 by President of the United States
John F. Kennedy
as he considered options to deal with the Cuban Missile Crisis
that included unilateral air strikes to destroy the Soviet missiles based in Cuba or the imposition of naval quarantine around the island to prevent further deliveries of new missiles and materials. The book offered a word-for-word transcription by May and Zelikow of the secret White House recordings made during the crisis. The book was used as the source for the 2000 film Thirteen Days
with Kevin Costner as presidential advisor Kenneth O'Donnell
and Bruce Greenwood
as President Kennedy.
Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of France, published by Hill and Wang
in 2000, tells the chain of events that led to the rapid fall of the French Army after the May 1940 blitzkrieg war. The book counters the perception that the French surrender was inevitable, and recounts the chain of events on the political and military fronts that led to the collapse. Reviewer David Stafford in The New York Times
records how May documents that French military had more and better-trained troops than the Germans, and had more tanks, bombers and fighters. The French general staff was competent and confident, while their German counterparts were cautious and leery of success. The fall began with intelligence failures by the French that led them to misjudge German plans such as their sweep through the Ardennes
around the Maginot Line
.
May's specialty of studying the effects of intelligence failures led to his role as a senior advisor on the 9/11 Commission
, in which he played a role in the preparation of the 604-page report it issued documenting the attacks and offering recommendations for the future.
His final essay addressed the rise of China
as a major world power, a situation that was a major foreign policy turning point for the United States, but May believed that war between the two was not inevitable as the decision by the Chinese government to focus on economic growth would allow it to remain at peace with its trading partners.
, May died at age 80 on June 1, 2009, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
in Boston
, due to complications resulting from cancer
surgery. He was survived by Susan Wood, his second wife. Nancy Caughey, his first wife, had died in 2000, and May was survived by their son and two daughters, as well as three grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
of international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
whose 14 published books include analyses of American involvement in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the causes of the Fall of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His 1997 book The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis became the primary sources of the 2000 film Thirteen Days
Thirteen Days (film)
Thirteen Days is a 2000 docudrama directed by Roger Donaldson about the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, seen from the perspective of the US political leadership. Kevin Costner stars, with Bruce Greenwood featured as John F. Kennedy....
starring Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
that viewed the Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
from the perspective of American political leaders. He served on the 9/11 commission and highlighted the failures of the government intelligence agencies. May taught full time on the faculty of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
for 55 years, until his death. May was also a recipient of the 1988 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award
Grawemeyer Award
The Grawemeyer Awards are five awards given annually by the University of Louisville in the state of Kentucky, United States. The prizes are presented to individuals in the fields of education, ideas improving world order, music composition, religion, and psychology...
for Ideas Improving World Order, co-authored with Richard Neustadt.
Early life and education
May was born on November 19, 1928, in Fort Worth, TexasFort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
and grew up as an only child. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, and was awarded a bachelor's degree in 1948 and received his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1951. After his graduation, he served during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
.
Harvard University
He joined the Harvard University faculty following the completion of his military service in 1954, and would remain there full-time until his death. May was named as associate professor of history in 1959 and as a full professor in the subject in 1963. He served as the dean of Harvard CollegeHarvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
for two years starting in 1969, and served as chairman of the school's history department from 1976 to 1979. At the John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
, May also served on the faculty. May and historian Richard Neustadt
Richard Neustadt
Richard Elliott Neustadt was an American political scientist specializing in the United States presidency. He also served as advisor to several presidents.-Biography:...
created a course that had students make choices for current political issues based on a thorough review of choices made over the course of history. Their work together became the basis for the 1986 book Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision-Makers, published by the Free Press
Free Press (publisher)
Free Press is a book publishing imprint of Simon and Schuster. It was founded by Jeremiah Kaplan and Charles Liebman in 1947 and was devoted to sociology and religion titles. It was headquartered in Glencoe, Illinois, where it was known as The Free Press of Glencoe...
that has been widely used by students and professionals in the field.
Books and essays
His first book, The World War and American Isolation 1914-17, published in 1959, was based on material seized by the Allies after the conclusion of World War II from German records. The book was selected by the American Historical AssociationAmerican Historical Association
The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...
with its George Louis Beer Prize, which recognizes the best work each year published on European international history. The book was included on a list of 1,780 books chosen to be included in the White House library.
Together with historian Philip D. Zelikow
Philip D. Zelikow
Philip D. Zelikow is an American diplomat, academic and author. He has worked as the executive director of the 9/11 Commission, director of the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, and Counselor of the United States Department of State...
, May edited the 1997 book The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis, published by Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
. The book provided details based on taped recordings of conversations made in 1962 by President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
as he considered options to deal with the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
that included unilateral air strikes to destroy the Soviet missiles based in Cuba or the imposition of naval quarantine around the island to prevent further deliveries of new missiles and materials. The book offered a word-for-word transcription by May and Zelikow of the secret White House recordings made during the crisis. The book was used as the source for the 2000 film Thirteen Days
Thirteen Days (film)
Thirteen Days is a 2000 docudrama directed by Roger Donaldson about the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, seen from the perspective of the US political leadership. Kevin Costner stars, with Bruce Greenwood featured as John F. Kennedy....
with Kevin Costner as presidential advisor Kenneth O'Donnell
Kenneth O'Donnell
Kenneth Patrick O'Donnell , known as Kenny, was a top aide to U.S. President John F. Kennedy and part of the group of Kennedys' close advisors called the "Irish Mafia"...
and Bruce Greenwood
Bruce Greenwood
Bruce Greenwood is a Canadian actor and musician. He is generally known for his roles as U.S. presidents in Thirteen Days and National Treasure: Book of Secrets and for his role as Captain Christopher Pike in the 2009 Star Trek film...
as President Kennedy.
Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of France, published by Hill and Wang
Hill and Wang
Hill & Wang is an American book publishing company focused on American history, world history, and politics. It is a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux....
in 2000, tells the chain of events that led to the rapid fall of the French Army after the May 1940 blitzkrieg war. The book counters the perception that the French surrender was inevitable, and recounts the chain of events on the political and military fronts that led to the collapse. Reviewer David Stafford in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
records how May documents that French military had more and better-trained troops than the Germans, and had more tanks, bombers and fighters. The French general staff was competent and confident, while their German counterparts were cautious and leery of success. The fall began with intelligence failures by the French that led them to misjudge German plans such as their sweep through the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
around the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
.
May's specialty of studying the effects of intelligence failures led to his role as a senior advisor on the 9/11 Commission
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks", including preparedness for and the immediate response to...
, in which he played a role in the preparation of the 604-page report it issued documenting the attacks and offering recommendations for the future.
His final essay addressed the rise of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
as a major world power, a situation that was a major foreign policy turning point for the United States, but May believed that war between the two was not inevitable as the decision by the Chinese government to focus on economic growth would allow it to remain at peace with its trading partners.
Personal
A resident of Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, May died at age 80 on June 1, 2009, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts is a major flagship teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital and New England Deaconess Hospital...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, due to complications resulting from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
surgery. He was survived by Susan Wood, his second wife. Nancy Caughey, his first wife, had died in 2000, and May was survived by their son and two daughters, as well as three grandchildren.