One Brief Shining Moment: Remembering Kennedy

Rating:
Summary: A great writer turns JFK into a modern King Arthur
Review: Make no mistake, William Manchester (1922-), who knew John F. Kennedy personally, can be a great writer at times. His two-volume biography of Winston Churchill (sadly, never to be completed now that Manchester is aging and ill) is superb, and so is "The Glory and the Dream", his history of the GI generation from 1932-1972. But when it comes to the Kennedys, Manchester's objectivity and tendency to hero-worship simply fails him, and has led to plenty of criticism and controversy over the years. In my opinion, "One Brief Shining Moment" is easily one of the worst books ever written about President Kennedy, and is an embarrassment to Manchester's otherwise brilliant career. Manchester doesn't just praise JFK in this book, he almost fawns over him, and it's obvious that he sees JFK as a modern King Arthur presiding over a (White House) Camelot. His chapter titles for this book tell it all - "There thou layest" is his final chapter in which he specifically links Kennedy to the Arthurian legends, and indulges in plenty of purple prose. As in his other Kennedy books, Manchester loathes Lyndon Johnson, and in this work he more clearly links LBJ with Mordred - Arthur's (JFK's) great enemy and the villain of the Camelot (Kennedy) legend - than in his previous Kennedy books. In Manchester's prose, LBJ is little more than a redneck boor, a country hick whose crude habits, such as deer hunting, "horrified" the urbane, elegant, and intellectual JFK. In Manchester's view Lyndon Johnson was the "anti-Kennedy" - this despite the view held by many modern (and far more objective) historians that it was Johnson, and not JFK, who was the critical force behind the great Civil Rights and anti-poverty legislation passed in the mid-sixties. This book repeats virtually every legend and myth about JFK as fact - that the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 wasn't really JFK's fault, but the CIA's, President Eisenhower's, etc. Kennedy's womanizing wasn't anything that his predecessors (and successors) haven't done, so what's the big deal? And, of course, if JFK had only lived none of the massive problems of the later sixties would have happened. According to Manchester, Kennedy would "definitely" have pulled out of Vietnam - hence no Vietnam War, no dead American soldiers or riots on college campuses, etc. If JFK had only lived the civil rights mess - such as the race riots in the mid-to-late sixties - would never have happened, as blacks somehow "trusted" JFK more than they did Lyndon Johnson, and would therefore have listened to JFK's urgings not to riot in the streets. Of course, Manchester offers virtually no evidence to support these claims - he simply writes them as if they were "facts" accepted by everyone. In Manchester's rosy view, Kennedy is simply perfect, with almost no flaws or warts (and those few that exist only "prove his humanity"). If you still believe the Camelot legends of John F. Kennedy's Presidency and still have a romantic view of the man, then you'll LOVE this book, as it takes the Camelot myth and runs wild with it. But if you're looking for a more balanced and fair-minded work about JFK, then this is probably the LAST book you'll want to read. I've read many books about the Kennedys - some favorable and some critical - but this book is easily the least objective and balanced pro-Kennedy account that I've ever read. If you do choose to read this book, I would suggest you then read several other, more balanced Kennedy books. Richard Reeve's "President Kennedy: Profile of Power" is excellent, as is Herbert Parmet's "Jack: The Struggles of John F. Kennedy".

Rating:
Summary: Without Getting Historically Political
Review: This book is not meant to be a historical recollection of scholarly aptitude about the presidency and politics of the late Mr. Kennedy. In the first few sentences of the introduction, Mr. Manchester made that completely clear. His aim, I believe, was to offer an intimate view of the president from the perspective of an intimate friend. President Kennedy had been dead for 21 years before I was born and 41 years would pass after his assassination until I took great interest in his life and presidency this year. In reading this book, I fell in love with every aspect of him: his personality, family, politics, and overall warmth, and though Kennedy's persona is enigmatic in itself, I don't think that I would have admired him as strongly as I do without the masterful yet intimate writing of this book. It doesn't offer an objective or scholarly approach to Kennedy's life. It offers an intimate one. I laughed, cried, and fumed while reading this book, trapped in the illusion that I was actually there with the senator in his race for the presidency, during his presidency, and even in his personal life back in the 50s and 60s, even though the reality was that I was born 21 years after his assassination. I am not too strongly politically inclined; I recommend this book strongly to anyone who just wants to know who the late former president was as a man, son, father, husband, and president. It is a great book. And the fact that it is loaded with pictures is a plus as well.

Rating:
Summary: Without Getting Historically Political
Review: This book is not meant to be a historical recollection of scholarly aptitude about the presidency and politics of the late Mr. Kennedy. In the first few sentences of the introduction, Mr. Manchester made that completely clear. His aim, I believe, was to offer an intimate view of the president from the perspective of an intimate friend. President Kennedy had been dead for 21 years before I was born and 41 years would pass after his assassination until I took great interest in his life and presidency this year. In reading this book, I fell in love with every aspect of him: his personality, family, politics, and overall warmth, and though Kennedy's persona is enigmatic in itself, I don't think that I would have admired him as strongly as I do without the masterful yet intimate writing of this book. It doesn't offer an objective or scholarly approach to Kennedy's life. It offers an intimate one. I laughed, cried, and fumed while reading this book, trapped in the illusion that I was actually there with the senator in his race for the presidency, during his presidency, and even in his personal life back in the 50s and 60s, even though the reality was that I was born 21 years after his assassination. I am not too strongly politically inclined; I recommend this book strongly to anyone who just wants to know who the late former president was as a man, son, father, husband, and president. It is a great book. And the fact that it is loaded with pictures is a plus as well.