After postgraduate work at Indiana University in the late 1960s, Pickett was a professor of history at Rose-Hulman for 35 years. He was a Fulbright Scholar at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan in 1989–90, lecturing on American history,[8] and taught American history on U.S. military bases in Korea as a visiting professor for the University of Maryland.[9] He was an educational consultant to the American University of Kyrgyzstan (now called American University of Central Asia) in 2002.[10] In 1992–93, he served as president of the Indiana Association of Historians.[11] In 2006, he co-founded the Web History Center, a hub for archiving and preserving early Internet history, with branches in Indiana at Rose-Hulman and at California's Computer History Museum.[12][13] Two of his lectures about Eisenhower were featured on C-SPAN's Book TV series in 2000[14] and 2002.[15] Since 2016, he has been a member of the historical advisory panel for the Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, D.C.[16] Pickett retired from teaching in 2007 but continues to write.
Published worksedit
Over the course of his career, Pickett produced a number of books, journal articles, reviews, and oral histories.
Pickett wrote his doctoral thesis on Indiana Sen. Homer Capehart, and his 1990 book Homer E. Capehart: A Senator's Life was the first scholarly biography of the politician.[17]Homer E. Capehart won an Award of Merit from the Ohio Museums Association in 1990.[18]
Pickett's work on Eisenhower included two full-length books. Reviewer Lawrence S. Conner called 1995's Dwight David Eisenhower and American Power a "concise and readable" work that helped to revise previous historians' "harsh assessments of Eisenhower."[19] Writing in Presidential Studies Quarterly, Herbert Parmet called the book a "gracefully written," more contemporary view of Eisenhower as a politician who "understood and moved with the rhythms of history."[20] Pickett's 2000 book Eisenhower Decides to Run was one of the first scholarly looks at the 1952 presidential campaign,[21] and focused particularly on Eisenhower's political reputation.[22] Writing for Michigan State University's H-Net forum, Steven Wagner called the book "required reading for Eisenhower specialists" that helped to overturn the older consensus that Eisenhower was only a passive player in his own political career, and made the case that long-simmering political ambitions led to his consciously seeking the presidency in order to block the ambitions of Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft.[23] Reviewer Thomas R. Maddux wrote that Pickett's book challenged the "standard view advanced by Stephen Ambrose and others" that Eisenhower was a reluctant candidate, positing instead that Eisenhower was cautious after witnessing the controversial political rise of his military rival Douglas MacArthur, and was a more skilled behind-the-scenes leader than generally acknowledged.[24]
Pickett also conducted several collections of oral interviews on Capehart[25] and the histories of Terre Haute and surrounding Vigo County[26] and Rose-Hulman.[27]
Selected publicationsedit
External videos
Pickett discusses Eisenhower Decides to Run at the Eisenhower Presidential Library, October 26, 2000, C-SPAN
Pickett speaks on the topic "Eisenhower as a Historical Figure" at Gettysburg College, October 26, 2002, C-SPAN
Booksedit
Pickett, William B. (2000). Eisenhower Decides To Run: Presidential Politics and Cold War Strategy. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee. ISBN 1-56-663787-2. OCLC 43953970.
Pickett, William B. (1999). To Be the Best: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 1974-1999. Louisville: Four Colour Imports. ISBN 0-91-441401-1. OCLC 42520799.
Pickett, William B. (1990). Homer E. Capehart: A Senator's Life, 1897-1979. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. ISBN 0-87-195054-5. OCLC 22182601.
Pickett, William B. (1984). Vigo County Interim Report: Indiana Historical Sites and Structures Inventory. Indianapolis: Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.
Pickett, William B., ed. (1977). Technology at the Turning Point. San Francisco: San Francisco Press. ISBN 0-91-130236-0. OCLC 5133913.
Journal articles and short worksedit
Pickett, William B. (2007). "Eisenhower, Khrushchev, and the U-2 Affair: A Forty-six Year Retrospective". In Clifford, J. Garry; Wilson, Theodore A. (eds.). Presidents, Diplomats, and Other Mortals: Essays Honoring Robert H. Ferrell. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press. pp. 137–153. ISBN 978-0-8262-1747-9.
Pickett, William B. (2006). "Dwight D. Eisenhower: His Legacy in World Affairs". In Dean, Virgil W. (ed.). John Brown to Bob Dole: Movers and Shakers in Kansas History. Lawrence, Kans.: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-1429-X.
Pickett, William B. "New Look or Containment? George F. Kennan and the Making of Republican National Security Strategy" (September 2005). George F. Kennan Papers 1861-2014 (mostly 1950-2000), Box: Box 172, Folder 6. Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University.
Pickett, William B. (September 2004). "The Firebombing of the Terre Haute Holocaust Museum: A Hoosier Community Responds to an Assault on Collective Memory". Indiana Magazine of History. 100 (3): 243–257. JSTOR 27792557.
Pickett, William B. (2003). "General Andrew Jackson Goodpaster: Managing National Security". In Anderson, David L. (ed.). The Human Tradition in America Since 1945. Wilmington, Del.: SR Books. pp. 25–46. ISBN 978-0842029438.
Pickett, William B. (June 2002). "Liberal Education: Its Goals and Methods". Bulletin of the American University of Kyrgyzstan: 5–7. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
Pickett, William B. (January 2000). "Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1890–1969)". In Chambers, John Whiteclay (ed.). The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195071986.
Pickett, William B. (1999). "Homer Earl Capehart". In Garraty, John A.; Carnes, Mark C. (eds.). American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0700585.
Pickett, William B. (Fall 1992). "The Historiography of American Foreign Policy". Organization of American Historians. OAH Magazine of History. 7 (2). Oxford University Press: 13–15. doi:10.1093/maghis/7.2.13. JSTOR 25162869.
Pickett, William B. (1992). "Vietnam, 1964-1973: An American Dilemma". The Journal of Military History. 56 (1): 113. doi:10.2307/1985713. JSTOR 1985713.
Pickett, William B. (June 1985). "The Eisenhower Solarium Notes". The SHAFR Newsletter. 16. Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations: 1–10.
Oral historiesedit
Pickett, William B. Biography: Homer E. Capehart, 1969-1973. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Center for Documentary Research and Practice, Indiana University Center for History and Memory. ohrc015.
Pickett, William B. (chairman). Vigo County Oral History Program (1980-81). Terre Haute, Indiana: Collections: Politics and Government, Vigo County Public Library. 820128A.
Pickett, William B. (1997–1998). "Oral History Interviews". Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Archives & Special Collections.
Referencesedit
^Pickett, William B. (1974). Homer E. Capehart: The Making of a Hoosier Senator (Thesis). Indiana University. OCLC 2715420.
^McMahon, Robert J. (June 1997). "Book Review: Dwight David Eisenhower and American Power by William B. Pickett and Eisenhower's New-Look National Security Policy, 1953–61 by Saki Dockrill". Journal of American History. 84 (1): 304–306. doi:10.2307/2952874. JSTOR 2952874.
^Richards, David R. (2000-11-18). "Eisenhower's Decision To Run". Indianapolis Star.
^Neal, Steve (2000-09-11). "Ike Didn't Have To Be Drafted". Chicago Sun-Times.
^Osgood, Kenneth A. (September 2002). "Book Review: Eisenhower Decides to Run: Presidential Politics and Cold War Strategy by William B. Pickett and Eisenhower at Columbia by Travis Beal Jacobs". Journal of American History. 89 (2): 709–711. doi:10.2307/3092303. JSTOR 3092303.
^William B. Pickett papers, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Indianapolis: Indiana State Library.
^"Dr. William B. Pickett". Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 6 April 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
^"Directory of American Fulbright Scholars 1989-90" (PDF). Fulbright Scholar Grantee Directories. University of Arkansas Special Collections. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
^"Contributors". The SHAFR Newsletter. 22–24. Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations: 51. 1991.
^Pickett, William B. (June 2002). "Liberal Education: Its Goals and Methods". Bulletin of the American University of Kyrgyzstan: 5–7. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
^"Presidents of the Indiana Association of Historians". Indiana Association of Historians. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
^"Avoiding a Digital 'Dark Age'". The Chronicle of Higher Education. May 21, 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
^"William Pickett: Tech professor and web historian launch web-history center". historynewsnetwork.org. History News Network. January 2, 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
^Pickett, William B. (October 26, 2000). "Eisenhower Decides to Run". Book TV. C-SPAN. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
^Pickett, William B. (October 26, 2002). "Eisenhower as a Historical Figure". Book TV. C-SPAN. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
^"Dispatches From The Eisenhower Memorial Commission" (PDF) (Press release). Washington, D.C.: Eisenhower Memorial Commission. October 23, 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
^Schapsmeier, Edward L. (1991). "Homer E. Capehart: A Senator's Life, 1897-1979 by William B. Pickett (review)". The Annals of Iowa. 51: 102–104. doi:10.17077/0003-4827.9567.
^"Rose-Hulman Professor's Book Wins Award". Rose Thorn Archive. 26 (22). April 12, 1991. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
^Conner, Lawrence S. (1996-02-24). "Assessing the Career of Eisenhower". Indianapolis Star. p. A11.
^Parmet, Herbert S. (Summer 1995). "Book Review: William B. Pickett, Dwight David Eisenhower and American Power". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 25 (3): 576–577. JSTOR 27551474.
^Reichard, Gary W. (2017). "American Politics at Mid-Century". In Pach, Chester J. (ed.). A Companion to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Wiley. p. 136. ISBN 9781119027331.
^"Review: Eisenhower Decides to Run". Library Journal. September 1, 2000.
^Wagner, Steven (May 2001). "Review of Pickett, William B., Eisenhower Decides to Run: Presidential Politics and Cold War Strategy". H-Pol, H-Net Reviews. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
^Maddux, Thomas R. (Spring 2002). "Book Review: Eisenhower Decides to Run: Presidential Politics and Cold War Strategy". Journal of Cold War Studies. 4 (2): 139–141. doi:10.1162/jcws.2002.4.2.139. S2CID 153698589. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
^Biography: Homer E. Capehart, 1969-1973. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Center for Documentary Research and Practice, Indiana University Center for History and Memory. ohrc015. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
^Vigo County Oral History Program. Terre Haute, Indiana: Collections: Politics and Government, Vigo County Public Library. 820128A. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
^Pickett, William B. (1997–1998). "Oral History Interviews". Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Archives & Special Collections. Retrieved May 29, 2018.