Author Spotlight: David Rigby

by Colleen Joyce, Project Manager

One thing is certain when you sit down to talk with David Rigby: you will learn something. The man knows his history (especially of the World War II variety), he is passionate about it and he wants to share that passion. Fortunately, I’m a history buff so our interview ended up lasting longer than I planned—and it was time well spent.

Rigby holds a PhD in comparative history from Brandeis University. He teaches in the Boston area, works in educational publishing and is a published author. Rigby’s first book, Allied Master Strategists: The Combined Chiefs of Staff in World War II, won the 2012 John Lyman Book Award in US Naval History from the North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH). His second book, tentatively titled No Substitute for Victory: Successful American Military Strategies from the Revolutionary War to Present Day, is due out in October.

When Rigby and I sat down to chat, he had just returned from a trip to Washington, DC, where he gave several talks on Allied Master Strategists. I first asked Rigby if he could pinpoint where his passion for history began. He immediately credited his education, describing his upper-elementary and middle-school years as the “golden era of education in the 70s,” where teachers noticed his interest in history and fostered it. One teacher had a free period where students spent time reading books and, for extra credit, could conduct a “conference” on a book with the teacher and earn stars as a reward. Rigby loved reading and talking about history, so he held a conference with his teacher for nearly each book he read, all the while watching his line of stars outshine his classmates’. There was also a high-school teacher who helped make history come alive. Rigby also credits his father’s commission in the navy as an electronics officer and his uncle’s service in World War II with promoting his love of history. I have a feeling that even without that familial connection Rigby would have connected with and loved history.

Allied Master Strategists is about a subject clearly close to his heart. Originally the topic of his dissertation, Rigby wanted to bring the topic to the public. He heavily revised and expanded the original version to get it ready for publication. The book describes the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) during World War II and their contributions to the Allied victory. Rigby knew there was an abundance of information about the national leaders, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, and the field commanders, Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur, but barely anything about the group of American and British officers who stood between them. “My guys,” as he affectionately refers to them, were instrumental in holding together the American-British alliance and planning key military strategy for the war effort. Rigby contends that it was this relationship that enabled the Americans and British to work together so successfully, and ultimately win the war.

The story of how Rigby’s second book came into being is a textbook case of serendipity. An avid fly-fisher (wait for it), Rigby enjoys salmon fishing in eastern Canada where a legendary salmon guide named Richard Adams lives and works. Adams is the best of the best when it comes to finding the perfect spots for fly-fishing and has guided notables like President Jimmy Carter. Rigby came up with the idea of writing a fly-fishing memoir with Richard Adams at its center and began shopping the idea around to publishers. The president of one publisher replied that he didn’t feel there was a market for the book, but after learning about Rigby’s background said something akin to, “I want to get you more money for fishing trips, so instead we’d like to commission a book on American military strategy.” And Rigby got to work.

In Rigby’s new book, he focuses on five successful military strategies, among them the value of achieving unity of command, having clear war aims, and taking advantage of an enemy’s mistakes. He cites examples from American conflicts from the American Revolution through the Vietnam War. Rigby notes the process for writing his second book came a little more easily than the first—research went smoothly and writing came quickly.

Today Rigby is engaged in an amalgam of writing, teaching and editing. When I asked him which he prefers, he was hard-pressed to make a decision. Then he mentioned how much he enjoys teaching. If given the choice, his perfect schedule would be comprised of about 75 percent teaching and 25 percent writing and consulting projects for education. But he is also quick to note how much he enjoys the writing process and keeping up with education trends by working in the publishing industry.

One thing is certain—whether through college professorship, publishing consulting or book authorship—David Rigby will never stop teaching and learning.