Born in Lexington, Virginia on May 1, 1925, Clay Drewry Blair Jr. was an American journalist and military historian. After naval service in World War II, he studied at Columbia University and built a long career at Time-Life (from 1949), later becoming editor-in-chief of the Curtis Publishing Company. A prolific author of some twenty books, he collaborated with A. Scott Crossfield for Always Another Dawn (1960), General Omar Bradley for A General's Life, and Senator Robert Kennedy for The Search for JFK. His other major works include Silent Victory (1975) and Hitler's U-Boat War (1996–1998). He died on December 16, 1998, in Washington Island, Wisconsin.