In the first large-scale assessment of his tenure as University president, a book set for release next month portrays Lawrence H. Summers as an autocratic leader whose pervasive influence has jarred the Harvard campus.

The book, Harvard Rules, by Richard Bradley, takes a harshly critical view of Summers’ first three years at the University’s helm, casting new light on several major issues facing his administration—from his stance on affirmative action to the curricular review—and adding new details about his most public spats with Harvard professors.

Piecing together an insider’s narrative with largely unnamed sources, Bradley depicts a campus jarred by Summers’ heavy-handed leadership style and embarrassed by a series of gaffes at the beginning of his tenure.

The book’s release, set for March 1, comes as Summers continues to reel from criticism of his remarks last month on women in science. And while that latest flap does not make the pages of Harvard Rules, it will likely draw increased attention to the book and its criticisms of the beleaguered Harvard president.

The Crimson examined an uncorrected proof of Harvard Rules and relayed a litany of its claims to Summers’ spokeswoman, Lucie McNeil, on Monday night. “We’re not going to dignify that kind of sensationalist gossip with comment,” she said yesterday.

Mass. Hall did not cooperate with the book and Summers denied repeated interview requests, Bradley said.

FACULTY DISCORD

Bradley’s book revives several issues which dogged Summers in his first years at the University, including his stance on affirmative action and his dealings with professors in the department of African and African American studies.

In his first month on the job in 2001, according to the book, Summers told African-American faculty and staff members that he was unsure of his position on affirmative action.

“That’s one of the things that I need to think about,” Summers is reported to have said. “I need to look at all the relevant data and decide what position Harvard will take, and that is something I plan to do in time.”

When Summers finally declared his support for affirmative action, Bradley writes, he had “adjusted his public position” while remaining privately skeptical. Defending the policy “had more to do with affirming Harvard’s independence” from the government, according to unnamed sources in the book.

Bradley also writes that Hanna H. Gray, former president of the University of Chicago and one of seven fellows on Harvard’s highest governing board, is an ardent opponent of affirmative action.

“You know, the University of Chicago has only one percent black students,” she is said to have told a friend. “We make no accommodation to anything.”

Through McNeil yesterday, Gray called the account “absolutely untrue.”

Informed of that and other rebuttals, Bradley said yesterday he stood by his reporting, which consisted of hundreds of interviews, including discussions with administrators and members of Harvard’s top governing boards.