COLLEGE STATION, March 21, 2011— “Rudder: From Leader to Legend,” the first comprehensive biography of one of World War II’s foremost heroes who later put Texas A&M University on its path to prominence — Gen. James Earl Rudder — will be formally unveiled during campus ceremonies here Thursday (March 24).
The 5 p.m. ceremonies, expected to be attended by the book’s author, Thomas M. Hatfield, and a host of dignitaries, will be held in front of a larger-than-life statue of the late Gen. Rudder. The statue, in turn, is adjacent to the landmark 11-story office building and theater-exhibit hall complex named in his honor.
Gen. Rudder’s legend began when, as a lieutenant colonel, he led the Army’s 2nd Ranger Battalion up the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc on France’s Normandy Beach on D-Day during World War II in a fierce battle with German defenders.
“Tracking Rudder from Texas to Britain, across France, and into Germany was high adventure,” said Hatfield. “To uncover the truth, I walked the ground in every place that was significant in his entire life in Europe and this country, and I read virtually every related document I could find.”
Rudder, a native Texan and 1932 Texas A&M graduate, went on to serve as head of the Texas Land Office, and then became president of his alma mater, and of The Texas A&M University System, from 1959 until his death in 1970 at age 59.
He is credited with laying the groundwork that transformed Texas A&M from a small all-male predominately military college to the comprehensive teaching, research and service university that it is today — with almost 50,000 students, a 2,800-member faculty and an annual research budget exceeding $630 million.
The roll-out of “Rudder: From Leader to Legend” will be among the most extensive ever for the book’s publisher, Texas A&M University Press, a scholarly publishing house that has more than 1,250 titles to its credit, noted Charles Backus, the Edward R. Campbell ’39 Press Director. In the process of publishing that array of books, Texas A&M Press has become one of the leading public university presses in the nation since its establishment in 1974.
“Tom Hatfield brings the perfect combination of experiences, skills and sensibilities to the writing of this book,” said Backus. He noted that Hatfield — now an internationally-recognized military historian whose work has focused especially on D-Day and the winning of World War II — spent several formative summers in College Station, worked while a student at the Texas Land Office while Rudder was commissioner and later served in an Army Reserve unit commanded by Rudder.
Some observers may find irony in the fact that the 528-page book about the man who personifies Texas A&M to most Texans, and especially to Aggies, is written by the director of the Military History Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, the institution widely considered Texas A&M’s foremost rival. Gen. Rudder’s career, however, shows that he worked effectively with people from all over the state and nation to accomplish great things, Backus pointed out, and Hatfield devoted nearly a decade to researching and writing the book.
Although the book has not yet been formally released, review copies have already generated high praise. For example, Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of PBS NewsHour and who previously practiced journalism in Texas, said: “This is the extraordinary story of Earl Rudder, a man who came from nowhere to everywhere — from small town Texas to the greatest and deadliest battlefields of World War II, back to Texas state politics and government, and finally, to the mission of turning Texas A&M into a great university. Tom Hatfield tells the story superbly with the detail and compassion required to assure that Earl Rudder and this book about him will never be forgotten.”
This first public celebration of the Rudder book comes almost a month ahead of the date of its actual release, April 21. Another pre-publication event is scheduled at Fort Myer, near Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, April 10 and will be attended by a host of Texas A&M graduates living and working in the Washington, D. C. area, along with representatives of the West Point Society, Naval Academy Association and the Ranger Association.
Contact: Lane Stephenson, News & Information Services, at (979) 845-4662
Tags: EArl Rudder, Rudder Book, Thomas M. Hatfield
Published by Texas A&M University Press. All Aggies receive a 20% discount by using the code AG at checkout. Find the book at http://www.tamupress.com/product/Rudder,6471.aspx.