Clay Shaw and Theodore Brent

Some readers of my biography of Clay Shaw, Man of a Million Fragments: The True Story of Clay Shaw, have asked about Theodore Brent and his relationship with Clay Shaw.

There is much about Brent in the book, including his very active role as first President of the International Trade Mart from its inception into mid-1953. Brent came from a modest background, but in the rail and shipping industries, became a millionaire back when that meant being very wealthy. His estate in 1953 was valued at over $2 million.

It is unclear exactly how he and Shaw first met, but it was around 1930 or 1931, probably through Shaw's employment at Western Union (my speculation). It is also unclear how much of a mentor he was to Shaw, but he was clearly an important figure in Shaw's life. He left Shaw about $2,000 in his will (much less than Jim Garrison and others apparently thought), but he left other individuals much more. For instance, Shaw's assistant, J.B. Dauenhauer, received $5,000.

Brent is largely forgotten today in New Orleans, but he was widely respected in the NOLA business world for most of the first half of last century.

Man Of A Million Fragments: The True Story Of Clay Shaw, A Biography Of Clay Shaw, Doing Quite Well

Man of a Million Fragments: The True Story of Clay Shaw, my full-length biography of Clay Shaw, is doing very well. It has been clawing its way up from ground zero, and March was one of its best month since the e-book first appeared in late May 2013. The print edition came out in late July, 2014, and added a new dimension to its availability.

It generated some new favorable reviews this year, and continues to generate excellent reviews from those who really know anything about Clay Shaw and his era, the city of New Orleans and the international trade effort there in the 1940s through the 1970s.

Of course, it tends to generate negative buzz from those who object to some of its contents, even tiny portions of the book, and its overall conclusions, such as they are, but that is fair as well. No one who undertakes a project dealing with Clay Shaw can ever expect to have 100% positive response. but overall, it continues to find its audience, with a minimum of publicity and a maximum of good word of mouth.

Clay Shaw Biography Continuing To Pick Up Steam

Man of a Million Fragments: The True Story of Clay Shaw, the full-length biography of Clay Shaw, was released in 2013 as an e-book, and as a print edition in 2014. It has continued to sell steadily and garner good reviews from those who know anything about the subject matter. Publicity will step up during 2015. The book fills a very important gap in history dealing with gay life, the JFK assassination, and New Orleans.

Updated Smashwords Edition of Man Of A Million Fragments; The True Story of Clay Shaw, is released

An updated Smashwords edition of Man of a Million Fragments: The True Story of Clay Shaw, a full-length biography of Clay Shaw, has been released. This edition incorporates the changes made during the publication of the print edition, and places the updated editions on all major e-reader platforms, aside from the Amazon KIndle (the updated version is already available on Kindle).

The changes were almost all cosmetic, mostly addressing inconsistencies in capitalization of titles held by the numerous individuals mentioned in the book.

The updated version is available at smashwords.com, or at Apple's bookstore, Sony's bookstore, Barnes and Noble, and wherever e-books are sold.

Man Of A Million Fragments: The True Story Of Clay Shaw, A Biography Of Clay Shaw, Now Available At Maple Street Book Shop In New Orleans

My full biography of Clay Shaw, entitled Man of a Million Fragments: The True Story of Clay Shaw, is now available at Maple Street Book Shop, 7529 Maple Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70118, (504) 866-4916. It is also available at all online book stores.