Harold William "Bill" Rood (August 19, 1922 – October 6, 2011) was a political scientist and author of ''Kingdoms of the Blind''. He was Professor Emeritus at

Claremont McKenna College Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It has a curricular emphasis on government, economics, public affairs, finance, and internat ...

and taught

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

and national security affairs beginning in 1962. Rood was also a fellow at the Claremont Institute and published articles in the ''

Claremont Review of Books The ''Claremont Review of Books'' (''CRB'') is a quarterly review of politics and statesmanship published by the conservative Claremont Institute. A typical issue consists of several book reviews and a selection of essays on topics of conservatis ...

''. He received the Claremont Institute's Salvatori Prize in the American Founding in 2007 and taught in the Claremont Institute's Publius Fellows Program since 1979.

Early life and education

Rood was an infantryman in

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

's Third Army in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and took part in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns. After the war, Rood attended graduate school at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, where he received his PhD in political science. Prior to completing his graduate degree, Rood studied engineering at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Kingdoms of the Blind

Published in 1980, ''Kingdoms of the Blind'' examines war, the Soviet crackdown in Czechoslovakia in 1968, the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

, and other European models to explain how great democracies have resumed the follies that so nearly cost them their life.

Commentary on work and teaching

Describing the work of Professor Rood,

Harry V. Jaffa Harry Victor Jaffa (October 7, 1918 – January 10, 2015) was an American political philosopher, historian, columnist, and professor. He was a professor emeritus at Claremont McKenna College and Claremont Graduate University, and a distinguish ...

said, "Professor Rood is something of a painter of the strategic scene. The combination of what at first appears to be insignificant details, the discovery of a harmonious relationship among seemingly discrete events, is accomplished by him in a manner that would have delighted Churchill the painter no less than Churchill the strategist."

Peter W. Schramm Peter W. Schramm (December 23, 1946 – August 16, 2015) was an American academic and political scientist. He was a professor of political science at Ashland University and the former executive director of the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs ...

, a former student, described Rood as a "great teacher" who "didn't simply grab the truth as it revealed itself in front of him. Rather, he talked and the story came out about how men wanted to live rather than die, and what they may then do, and why that is always so."

Published works

*''Kingdoms of the Blind'' *''Distant Rampart.'' United States Naval Institute Proceedings 93:3 (March 1967)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rood, Harold W. 1922 births 2011 deaths American political scientists Claremont McKenna College faculty United States Army personnel of World War II