Middendorf, John William 1924- (J. William Middendorf, II)

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Middendorf, John William 1924- (J. William Middendorf, II)

PERSONAL:

Born September 22, 1924, in Baltimore, MD; married; wife's name Isabelle; children: Frances. Education: Holy Cross College, bachelor of naval science, 1945; Harvard University, B.A., 1947; New York University Graduate School of Business Administration, M.B.A., 1954.

CAREER:

Diplomat and government official. Republican National Committee, treasurer, 1965-69; U.S. ambassador to Netherlands, 1967-73; secretary of Navy, 1974-77; Financial General Bankshares, president and chief executive officer, 1977-81; Organization of American States, Washington, DC, U.S. ambassador, 1981-85; European Community, U.S. ambassador, 1985-87. Military service: U.S. Navy, 1944-46, served in the Pacific.

MEMBER:

Defense Forum Foundation (chair, 1988—), Heritage Foundation (trustee), International Republican Institute (board member), International Graduate University of Washington, DC (board of governors).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Marine Corps Marathon Hall of Fame, 2000; Maritime Security Lifetime Excellence Award, 2002.

WRITINGS:

A Free Market Prescription for Third World Debt, Heritage Foundation (Washington, DC), 1986.

A Glorious Disaster: Barry Goldwater's Presidential Campaign and the Origins of the Conservative Movement, Basic Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

After returning from wartime service with the U.S. Navy in 1946, John William Middendorf completed degrees in naval science and business administration and went on to work for the 1964 presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater. Goldwater was defeated by Lyndon Baines Johnson, but Middendorf was asked to continue his duties as treasurer with the Republican National Committee. Other career highlights included serving as Secretary of the Navy and as ambassador to the Netherlands, to the Organization of American States, and to the European Community.

More than forty years after Goldwater's failed bid for the presidency, Middendorf published A Glorious Disaster: Barry Goldwater's Presidential Campaign and the Origins of the Conservative Movement. The book details Middendorf's involvement with the campaign and the longer-term consequences of Goldwater's work in laying the foundations for modern-day conservatism. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews described A Glorious Disaster as "an interesting insider's account of that election and its aftermath" and "always informed." "Bracing and informative" and "eminently readable" was how a National Review contributor described the book. Los Angeles Times reviewer Tim Rutten wrote: "As memoir, it's a fascinating period piece, rich in the kind of detail on which historians and old political writers dote." In a review posted on the Heritage Foundation Web site, a contributor commented: "No one knows the real inside story better, and A Glorious Disaster tells that story in all its rollicking, agonizing, and never-before-published detail."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2006, review of A Glorious Disaster: Barry Goldwater's Presidential Campaign and the Origins of the Conservative Movement, p. 941.

Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2006, Tim Rutten, review of A Glorious Disaster.

National Review, December 4, 2006, review of A Glorious Disaster, p. 53.