The long, intense workdays that Robert McNamara logged as John F. Kennedy’s Secretary of Defense, and the immense pressure he put on himself to excel, were coupled with a very active social life that often, but not always, included his wife.
For a man known around the Pentagon as a relentless, humorless taskmaster, McNamara seemed virtually unrecognizable on the party circuit, mingling casually with journalists, fellow government officials, and vivacious Georgetown hostesses. His appearance in Washington newspaper gossip and social columns must have astounded his Pentagon colleagues.
