Description:
Drawing on the resources of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum--which include millions of pages of documents, more than 100,000 photographs, and many thousands of books, audiotapes, and film reels--this slender book is far more than a keepsake for visitors to that institution. Instead, it offers a thoroughly illustrated, thoughtful, and sometimes even critical overview of the late president's life and political accomplishments. Though born into a vast fortune, John Kennedy, notes historian Charles Kenney, had to overcome a great deal of difficulty (including frequent illness and a pronounced lack of direction) before arriving at the confident sense of purpose that characterized his public image. (Kennedy, the author notes, was also given to vanity, and he worked extraordinarily hard "to remain slender, well-groomed, and carefully tailored," while shunning the ostentation of an earlier generation of powerbrokers and politicians.) Charting Kennedy's evolution from playboy to war hero and scholar, and thence to a leader buffeted by one crisis after another, the book makes generous use of the president's own words--and, especially, of once top-secret correspondence and memoranda. An audio CD, containing recorded addresses, speeches, telephone conversations, and dictations, accompanies the book. The publication coincides with the 37th anniversary of the president's assassination--which, notes historian Michael Beschloss, 80 percent of Americans polled believe was the result of a conspiracy, not a lone gunman--and with the 2000 presidential election, the conduct of which may make some readers more nostalgic than ever for the comparatively pure vision of Kennedy's Camelot. --Gregory McNamee
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