Ronald W. Clark

Ronald William Clark (2 November 1916 – 1987) was a British author of biography, fiction and non-fiction.

Born in London, Clark was educated King's College School. In 1933, he embarked on a career as a journalist, and served as a war correspondent during the Second World War after being turned down for military service on medical grounds. As a war correspondent, Clark landed on Juno Beach with the Canadians on D-Day. He followed the war until the end, and remained in Germany to report on the major War Crimes trials.

After returning to Britain in 1948, Clark embarked on a career as an author. He wrote extensively on subjects ranging from mountain climbing (over a dozen titles), the atomic bomb, Balmoral Castle, and world explorers, as well as novels of alternate history. He also wrote a number of biographies of a diverse range of historical figures, including: Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Sigmund Freud, J.B.S. Haldane, V. I. Lenin, Bertrand Russell, Ernst Chain, and William F. Friedman.

Selected works

 * The Day the Rope Broke: The Story of the First Ascent of the Matterhorn (1965)
 * Queen Victoria's Bomb (science fiction, 1967)
 * JBS: The Life and Work of J.B.S. Haldane (1968) ISBN 0-340-04444-6
 * The Last Year of the Old World (US: The Bomb That Failed) (Alternate history, 1970) ISBN 0-224-61778-8
 * Einstein: The Life and Times (1972) ISBN 0-380-01159-X
 * Edison: The Man Who Made The Future (1977) ISBN 0-399-11952-3.
 * The Man Who Broke Purple: the Life of Colonel William F. Friedman, Who Deciphered the Japanese Code in World War II (1977).
 * The Greatest Power on Earth: The Story of Nuclear Fission (1980) ISBN 0-283-98715-4
 * Bertrand Russell and His World (1981) ISBN 0-500-13070-1
 * Balmoral, Queen Victoria's Highland Home (1981) ISBN 0-500-25078-2
 * The Survival of Charles Darwin (1984) ISBN 0-380-69991-5
 * Works of Man (1985) ISBN 0-670-80483-5, ISBN 9780670804832, 'A History of Invention and Engineering from the Pyramids to the Space Shuttle'. 

Some Additional Works

 * Lenin ISBN 0060916982
 * Benjamin Franklin ISBN 0756776139
 * The Huxleys ISBN 0434135801
 * Sir Mortimer Wheeler
 * The Rise of the Boffins
 * The Birth of the Bomb: The Untold Story of Britain's Part in the Weapon That Changed the World
 * Man Who Broke 'Purple': Life of the World's Greatest Cryptologist, William F. Friedman ISBN 0552109584
 * War Winners ISBN 0283985038
 * Sir Winston Churchill ISBN 978-0460069113
 * Sir John Cockcroft
 * Montgomery of Alamein
 * Battle for Britain: Sixteen weeks that changed the course of history
 * Sir Henry Tizard
 * Great Moments in Espionage
 * Ernst Chain: Penicillin and Beyond
 * The Role of the Bomber
 * Biography of the Nuffield Foundation
 * Sir Julian Huxley
 * The Royal Albert Hall
 * Sir Edward Appleton