This Time, This Place: My Life in War, the White House, and Hollywood is a sweeping memoir tracing one remarkable life across three arenas of power: the battlefield, national politics, and the film industry.
As a young B-25 bomber pilot in the 12th Air Force during the Second World War, the author flew fifty-one combat missions over Italy and saw firsthand the terror and cost of war. Two decades later, he was in the Dallas motorcade in 1963, then at the heart of the Johnson administration as a special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson during the turbulent years of Vietnam and social upheaval.
From there, he became the public face of Hollywood for nearly four decades as head of the Motion Picture Association of America, helping to guide the movie industry through revolutionary changes in culture, technology, and global influence. Along the way he worked with presidents, studio heads, and stars ranging from the Kennedy family to Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, Julia Roberts, and Bill Clinton.
Blending vivid personal stories with candid reflections on power, ambition, and responsibility, this memoir offers both an intimate coming-of-age journey from a tough Houston neighbourhood and a broad historical record of twentieth-century America.
Highlights
- Firsthand perspective on WWII air combat in Italy
- Insider account of the Johnson White House and 1960s politics
- Behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood’s evolution
- Rich portraits of political leaders and screen legends
