Book Description

Young John F. Kennedywas a mischief maker, but he also had a serious side. He cared about people's problems and, with his words, could easily persuade others to go along with his ideas. As he grew up, Kennedy's family decided that he was meant for great things -- the presidency of the United States.

Customer Reviews (2)

Time For Kids Books
I purchased several of the Time Life For Kids books and they are great. I have 9-year-old twin boys who are in 4th grade, and they love them! I would strongly suggest these books for any children who are interested in learning more about a specific legend or if learning about a specific legend is required for class work, book reports, etc.
Great price too!

neat book
This book is all about the life of John F Kennedy.It told about when he was born, his marriage and his death. Here are some interesting facts I learned of John F. Kennedy.He was a member of the Peace Corps.He wrote 2 books.He met with Martian Luther King.In back is a helpful time line of events.

The book was not too long and not too short.It contained the right amount of information for kids.

I would recommend this book to kids who are learning about the presidents.I learned a lot from reading this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

PUBLISHER'S GROTESQUE ACADEMIC IRRESPONSIBILITYCUTTING FOOTNOTES
This great biography was written by an academic historian who gathers and compares several sources, yet the publisher to cut costs cuts the footnotes, which are of essential and greatest interest. In our era of intellectual property and knowledge as commodity, the publisher did not wish to provide the reader with specific indications for further study through the footnotes. With the collapse of the Internet we may never know what amplifications and insights the author may have included in these footnotes, which were no doubt as exhaustive as the work itself. How could the once great St. Martin's have been so academically irresponsible for commercial purposes? It is as inexplicable as our once great nation's journey from the intelligent JFK to the solipsistic W.

Not as memorable as the man
I read this book after reading the Caro series on Lyndon Johnson and this book fell short of my expectations.I felt that too many facts and stories where thrown together without a supporting theme or purpose. Also, I thought a disproportionate amount of time was spent on Kennedy's private life.

Very good, lengthy book on JFK
Michael O'Brien is to be commended for writing a lengthy, well-written tome at this late juncture on the late, great JFK, especially post-Robert Dallek's masterful "An Unfinished Life", a VERY hard act to follow, indeed. O'Brien's book is a worthy companionn to Dallek's and, while it treads a lot of familiar ground, it is worthwhile for all Kennedy fans. Get this!

Necessary Antidote
Michael O'Brien's magisterial book offers a necessary rejoinder to the "Dark Side of Camelot" school of thought.While still criticizing Kennedy's reckless behavior, O'Brien presents Kennedy as a thoughtful and engaged politician with tangible accomplishments including arms control, civil rights, and tax policy.O'Brien explains how political realities limited Kennedy's ability to implement more liberal policies.

O'Brien aims for a comprehensive understanding of Kennedy and his political work, which includes addressing past writers.Consequently his length is understandable.Non-academic readers will appreciate that the book is not cluttered by footnotes, but scholars may find them on a website.

An exhaustive and reasonably objective look at Kennedy
The very thought astonishes: Almost 42 years have now passed since President John F. Kennedy was slain at age 46 by an assassin's bullet on that freeway entrance ramp in Dallas. To those of a certain age, it seems like only yesterday.

Is 42 years enough historical distance to allow an unbiased account of his life and his presidency? Michael O'Brien, a retired history professor from the University of Wisconsin and biographer of several other political figures from the recent past (Philip Hart, Theodore Hesburgh, Joseph McCarthy) has made the effort in this massive (905-page) account of Kennedy's life. It is detailed almost to the point of overwhelming the reader with data; it will probably --- perhaps this is a validation of O'Brien's effort at impartiality -- both please and outrage just about everyone, whether friend or foe of his subject.

O'Brien stresses Kennedy's insatiable thirst for information about every problem that came his way, his willingness to listen to everyone whose advice he thought might be worth hearing, and his decisiveness once his mind was made up. He also emphasizes Kennedy's tendency to allow political considerations to color important decisions and the wide gulf that often separated what really went on in his administration from what the public was deliberately led to believe.

One of the author's tactics is to assemble a motley chorus of historians, politicians, journalists and acquaintances whose on-the-record public comments tend to back up his own interpretations. Most of the time he will summarize all sides of an important question and then, in cases where controversy still persists, allow Kennedy the benefit of the doubt. For example, O'Brien concludes that Kennedy's Pulitzer-winning book PROFILES IN COURAGE was not entirely ghost-written, as his detractors have claimed, though it did benefit from the work of several other wordsmiths and researchers.

Questions of relative emphasis arise as one reads. Kennedy's lifelong history of serious illness is traced in great detail, as is also the influence on him of his imperious father and his ambitious brother Bobby, both important threads in Kennedy's story. But O'Brien gives equal if not greater weight to an exhaustive account of Kennedy's voracious sexual appetite, devoting several full chapters to it and threading it through other sections of his narrative as well. This seems overdone. It would be a shame if public perception of this truly probing and informative biography were to be based mainly on its laundry list of JFK's bed partners.

The 1963 assassination itself, too, is dispatched in a couple of pages at the very end of the book. Given O'Brien's penchant for thorough research and multiple interpretations of events, one wonders why he simply ignored the controversy around the event itself and its subsequent effect on world history.

One answer might be that no room could be found for such things in this behemoth of a book -- but room might well have been made if less space had been devoted to trivia about his sex life, his dinner parties, and whose job it was to cut his toenails.

The author's industrious digging, while often clogging his narrative with unnecessary detail, also turns up insightful quotations that sum up a situation in a few words (Jacqueline Kennedy on her husband's family: "They never relax, even when they're relaxing." A staffer on JFK: "I never heard of a President who wanted to know so much.").

O'Brien does not gloss over Kennedy's politically inspired reluctance to denounce Joseph McCarthy, the unprincipled Red-hunting Wisconsin demagogue, or his initial timidity in ducking a leadership role in the civil rights struggle --- but he does give JFK credit for later reversing himself on the latter issue. There is constant emphasis on the young President's wit, charm and youthful energy. One of O'Brien's chorus of historians sums up the author's own viewpoint: "To a large extent, his style was as important as his substance."

The book's size has caused the publisher to eliminate O'Brien's footnotes. If you want to consult them you can either go online to the publisher's website or write to the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. It might be worth the trouble.

--- Reviewed by Robert Finn ... Read more

Book Description
"I awakened early on Friday morning, November 22, 1963. The day was gray and somber. Rain was falling....I asked John if I could ride with him to Dallas, and his reply was 'certainly.' We got in the jump seats right behind the driver and secret service man in the front. I was on the driver's side. Mrs. Kennedy was behind me. The President sat directly behind John. We were a happy foursome. I had my yellow roses; Jackie had red ones. I turned to the President as the formation of cars turned onto Elm Street and said, ' Mr. President, you certainly cannot say that Dallas does not love you.'"Nellie Connally, wife of the late governor of Texas John Connally, shares her personal diary of the JFK assassination. While a seminal document in our nation's history-the original document is to be archived at the University of Texas-From Love Field is, at heart, one woman's account of a personal tragedy. Written for her children and grandchildren forty years ago in November 1963, the diary details what it took as a wife, mother, and friend to cope with an unimaginable personal and public ordeal. With the twenty-six-page original document expertly reproduced in its entirely and an additional narrative detailing the days before and after the fatal shots, From Love Field also includes many major newsbreaking revelations that further delineate Mrs. Connally's longstanding dispute of the Warren Commission's findings. Along with Mickey Herskowitz, a longtime family friend and coauthor of John Connally's autobiography In History's Shadow, Nellie Connally has, at last, broken her silence and given the country a personal point of view of the most controversial and disturbing chapter in its history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Compelling insight into that horrible day
I find this book wonderfully written by Mrs Connolly and a never before seen insight into what happened that day. As the (then) only surviving member of that car, it was something that is much appreciated to hear what her opinion was.

Meeting the gracious and beautiful Nellie Connally
My husband and I had the opportunity yesterday to get our copy of "From Love Field" signed by Mrs. Nellie Connally. What a treat!She is so elegant and eloquent, and gracious to all of her fans.She spoke personably with every single person in line and made everyone feel like they were of interest to her.I started reading her book as soon as I got in the car, and read straight through til I finished it.It is a wonderful book, exactly what you would expect from someone who lived through that horrible day.I got exactly what I expected to get from reading it, and even more.I especially appreciated the speeches that President Kennedy wasn't able to give being reproduced in the book.This is a book I will always cherish, along with meeting this great Texan, Mrs. Nellie Connally.

Refreshing and Honest
Of the many volumes on the subject, I find this book to be the best.Told with charm and grace, Nellie Connally relates the events of November 22, 1963 as only an occupant of that ill-fated Presidential Lincoln could.Devoid of conjecture or theories, we are simply presented with the facts.The Connally's viewpoint from the jumpseats is sobering. Pivotal moments, from Mrs. Connally's last words to President Kennedy to Governor Connally' near fatal wounds to Oswald's emergency room visit after the Jack Ruby shooting are covered in a comfortable format; making one feel that Mrs. Connally is relating the events to you personally.Thank-You, Mrs. Connally.

Thank you, Mrs. Connally
The former First Lady of Texas takes an infamous blot on our history, an event that quite literally changed the world for generations to come, and put it in completely human terms. This is what happened to her and her family. This is how she remembers it. What's more, it's how she experienced it -- from both the front seat of the Lincoln Continental and the corridors of Parkland Hospital. This makes it an invaluable historical record, and a moving account written by a woman who had been fired upon in an open car and held her bleeding husband in her arms. Perhaps it is "slight." I would not have wanted her to embellish or alter her memories of those tragic days just to accommodate readers who measure a book's worth by the number of pages. I did not consider the photographs, the reproduction of her notes nor President Kennedy's undelivered speeches "filler." They lent texture and veracity to her story. And I do not see how anyone can say there is nothing "new" here. She is the only one of those three surviving passengers who discussed what happened at this length with the public. That in and of itself is "new." I appreciate this lady's gallantry and her generosity in contributing her family's history to our country's history. And I was also moved by her son John's recollections of the funeral. It was poignant to read a man nearing 60 recalling the awe, pagentry and pain he experienced while still a teen.

FROM LOVE FIELD-FINAL HOURS W/JFK
THIS IS A VERY DISAPPOINTING BOOK - IT COULD HAVE SERVED ITSELF BETTER AS A MAGAZINE ARTICLE - THERE IS TOO MUCH REHASHING OF OLD INFORMATION AND WHAT'S KNEW IS SLIGHT.
SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GET IT OUT OF YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Mr. Adler needs to do a better job checking his facts
While I think it is important for young people to have books to read about the important figures in our history, I think it is imperative that an author makes sure his facts are correct.In his book, Mr. Adler has JFK being elected to the Senate in 1952 and reelected in 1956.Yes, JFK was elected to the Senate for the first time in 1952, beating Henry Cabot Lodge, but he was not reelected in 1956.Senate terms are six years unless there are special circumstances, which there were not in this case, which means JFK would not have to run again until 1958.He did so and was elected by the largest margin in Massachusetts state history at that time.In 1956 JFK made an attempt to be the Democrat's candidate for Vice President on the ticket with Adlai Stevenson, but he was defeated in that attempt by fellow Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee.How can we expect our children to have their facts straight when we do not provide them with the correct information to begin with.How this mistake got past the author, editor and publisher, I do not know, but that fact that it did is [unheard of]

The Real John F. Kennedy
I really enjoyed reading this picture book.This book portrays JFK as a normal person who had real problems in his life.Dispite being one America's Great Presidents, people can see the other side of him as well.The everyday boy growing up in a big family.I learned what he did as a kid, and how sickly he was.This book even gave information about his brothers as well.The illustrations are incredible.The pictures are almost a perfect likeness of JFK and his family. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (8)

WHEN OUR MORAL, POLITICAL, MILITARY, DIPLOMATIC, PRESIDENTIAL & ELECTED LEADERSHIP STRUGGLED FOR WAYS TO KEEP US OUT OF WAR
This book may be the most readable (for being a narrative) account of those challenging days when our great and elected President brought us back from the brink of nuclear war and possible annihilation as a nation, as a people, as a species.

Thus this thick book may further serve as a solid introduction to the primary sources of that time, from Tuesday, October 16th through Monday, October 29th, 1962, now 45 years ago. We must have a national celebration and commemoration of the President who kept us OUT of war and the world from bloodshed. Read this book to learn how and why.

Sheldon Stern is an academic professional historian who took early retirement to write this book as the EXComm tapes became declassified. He therefore places these tapes within their historical context, fully presenting their background, as well as providing a learned and helpful running commentary throughout his presentation of the transcript. He also provides a technical analysis of the transcript, including its reliability and validity, and the peer-review process by which it was developed. For instance he provides an interesting analysis of alternative interpretations of some points in the tape, and thereby the alternative political implications, and also reflects upon the technical quality of the recordings.

All in all, this is an excellent presentation of those courageous days in every aspect, and probably their best general presentation, comprehensive while accessible to the general reader. Certainly it will present a purpose for further study of other historical documents from that crucial period in which our President kept us out of war, which he termed the "final failure," and recalls to our hearts a time of great, serious, intent, decisive, moral, experienced, humane, elected, wise and intelligent leadership concerned for the safety and well-being of all people, sadly lacking since.

The REAL insider story of the Missiles of October...
This is the book, I'd wager, that everyone thought they were getting when they purchased "The Kennedy Tapes" (Zelikow and May, 1997 Harvard Press). After struggling through that seminal work, the need for a narrative form of this compelling side of the Missile Crisis was palpable...fortunately, retired JFK Library historian Sheldon Stern also saw the need and completed what was clearly a passionate "life's work" with "Averting the Final Failure". Stern takes years of study and scrutinization of the White House tapes that eavesdropped on the EXCOMM (Executive Committee of the National Security Council) as they advised and debated the day-to-day issues associated with the Crisis and turned a complex story into an amazingly lucid and cogent narrative that should become THE source for White House activities during the Crisis.

Newly declassified and available, Stern has added immensly to the growing amount of literature/transcripts of these profound tapes. The difference here is that Stern is clearly the one who has spent the most time and study on these tapes and, coupled with his surprisingly apt story-telling capability, has developed an authoritative work that defines the "who? what? where? when? and how?" of the Kennedy advisor "inner-workings". Time and again, Stern destroys myths and legends as his narrative describes each meeting and the theme that each one invoked. He interprets each discussion and adds his own attempt at tone and voice inflection to give not only the content of the discussion, but the "atmosphere" as well. The result is almost as good as hearing the tapes themselves...giving the true feel for what these "Best and Brightest" advisors went through.

The story of course has been told time and again...Soviet leader Nikita Khrushev surreptitiously installs nuclear capable missiles and the associated warheads in Communist ally Cuba and this subversion is discovered with American U2 spy plane photography. The subsequent actions taken by the U.S. government are fortunately recorded on a complex White House taping system by President John Kennedy, thus providing an invaluable insight into this provocative period in the Cold War. Unfortunately, these recordings leave much to be desired in terms of quality and many have attempted to transcibe them into a useful tool for historians. The "Kennedy Tapes" book attempted to publish the full transcriptions, but this work was so disjointed that it tended to confuse more than educate. Stern, having initially supported this effort by Zelikow and May, becomes more and more dismayed with the quality of this transcribing work and decides to offer his own interpretation of the tapes and the Crisis. Having spent many years analyzing them (long before they were declassified) he provides an amazing insight and scholarship, while clearing up many "unclear" voice transcriptions.

Taking all this information and recognizing that just another publication of transcripts would not be useful, he decides on a version that describes these actions on the tapes in narrative form. He clears up the collateral chatter and keeps a thematic focus on the narrative and comes up with a wonderfully clear and concise coverage of this event. More than just an interpretation of tapes, Stern also accompanies the narrative with a surprisingly readable summary of events and, happily, a destruction of many of the afore mentioned myths that have survived throughout the years. Well known Crisis stories such as Robert Kennedy's "hawkish" anti-Communist stance, the deception and negotiations of the agreement to extract nuclear missiles from Turkey as a trade for extraction of the missiles from Cuba and the continued iintransigence of Fidel Castro and the Cuban government are denounced here by Stern...offering a new and embellished perspective on the Crisis. Kenndy's "free-wheeling" meeting style is amazingly supported by the tapes and stand in stark contrast to the popular theme presented in such movies as "The Missiles of October" and "Thirteen Days"...an example being JFK's response to the shooting down of an American U2 spy plane at the height of the Crisis on October 27th...the movie version has JFK and the EXCOMM loudly debating retaliatory responses when in reality JFK's calm and measured response was: "...this is an escalation by them isn't it?" and the meeting went on.

"Averting the Final Failure" comes 42 years following the denouement of the Missile Crisis and thouroughly ties together all loose ends associated with White House activities during those heady 13 days. This is an important and monumental addition to the vast amount of literature available on the Crisis and should be considered the first reference used by historians for the White House perspective of the Crisis...I would overwhelmingly recommend this work to anyone interested in those activities in October, 1962.

Very Readable!
While reading Sheldon Stern's book, I felt as if I were having a conversation with him. Relating the facts of that event in a manner and detail that made this reader want to know what came next was a gift!Detailed, yes; comprehensive, yes; accurate, no doubt!

History At It's Best
History has two definitions: a chronological record of significant past events, and a story. Sheldon Stern's story of the Cuban Missile Crisis is history (both definitions) at its best. The scholarly, time-consuming, and meticulous research that went into this work abounds throughout its pages. The author's willingness to challenge earlier historical works on the translation of the crisis's audiotapes makes this book a must for any student of JFK, his administration, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Because of the comprehensive nature of history, a reader might conclude that this is just another dry historical work. Far from it - this book reads like a Robert Ludlum novel. The reader is caught in the tension as the missiles are first discovered, held as the conflict escalates to an almost unbearable crisis, and released as the resolution unfolds. But this was no political thriller, it was real life. Mr. Stern has taught us all a great lesson of history: that real people make real decisions, that these decisions have consequences both foreseen and unforeseen, and that there could have been other choices made with different outcomes. Our world would be a much different place if JFK had listened to his advisors. I believe this book will become the classic study for the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Averting the Final Failure is a must read.

JFK's most crucial days
Stern has offered the most complete understanding of the Cuban missile crisis, and of Kennedy himself, in this the most intimate account of those October days, drawn directly from the taped deliberations.His reconstruction destroys the simplistic characterizations of JFK as a "cold warrior" and leaves the reader grateful for his handling of that showdown with the Soviets.I would consider this account more definitive than any other now available, or likely to be in the near future.This is essential reading. ... Read more

Book Description
When young Jack Kennedy's little sister gets tired of playing, Jack suggests a a sail. Within moments Jack is steering the small chip toward Osterville to say hello to Captain Manley. Under darkening clouds the two children head back home -- but they do not make it before a storm hits, threatening their lives. Is young Jack a good enough sailor to bring his sister home to safety?

... Read more

Book Description
He would be a symbol of power, grace, and tragedy-but before he was JFK, he was sickly and scrappy, troubled and charming; he was a boy called Jack.

To Jack, it seemed as if his brother Joe, not quite two years older, would always triumph-in school, on the playing field, in his father's affections. Jack was the sloppy second son, the witty, disorganized dreamer who could never seem to stay well long enough to muster his talents-a risky failing in the success-driven Kennedy family. Young readers cannot help but be fascinated by this sympathetic portrait of a complex youth who, as he struggled with the pressures of father-son dynamics and the shadow of ill health, discovered within himself an intensity for living and a profoundly ironic humor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent Photobiography
It is amazing that a man who was only president for two years and ten months had such a profound effect on a nation, and that his life is still so widely read about and researched. Cooper's biography, with its' extensive collection of well-chosen and captioned black and white images on nearly every page, is excellent in it's singular focus on the youth of JFK.

Chronological from birth to college, with a final chapter on the presidency and the assassination, Cooper zeros in on the competition between first and second son's Joe Jr. and Jack, a father's determination for having only winners in the family, and the family's history in politics as keys to Jack's success. She also gives us an overview of the family dynasty and the entire Kennedy clan.

Primary sources are heavily used, and the many quotes from a variety of people who knew the family, as well as from Kennedys themselves, tell most of the story. But the narrative goes beyond the factual; Cooper writes in an anecdotal style about her subject and goes a step further to analyze the pivotal moments that made the man who overcame sickliness, sibling rivalry, and the stigma of Irish Catholicism to become a leader of the free world.

Although all of the facts about JFK ring true and Cooper documents her meticulous research with source annotations from each chapter, she is incorrect in her description of the Irish Potato Famine that brought the ancestors of Jack to the United States. Whitish-green spots formed on the leaves of the plants, not on the tubers themselves, which turned dark brown, black or purplish on the inside. Since she cites Susan Campbell Bartoletti's Black Potatoes (Houghton, 2001) as her source, I am surprised at this error.

insightful and interesting
This look at JFK's early years is very amazing. I loved the idea of exploring his early years in depth.As a school teacher, I realized that so many of the students we see as average students or pranksters have great potential! The book shows JFK's relationship with his older brother as being very strained.I didn't realize they were so competitive, but this book points out how competitive they really were.I loved this book!If you are a fan of the Kennedys and are looking for a glimpse into the young life of JFK, this book is the one.

very good
this biography is wonderfull, it's one of the most complete bio of young Jack. It tells how he was.
there are a lot of rares photos and a few documents.
I suggest it to all the peaople who are fans of john f kennedy. ... Read more

Book Description
On the eve of the 40th anniversary of his assassination, this newest of National Geographic's acclaimed photobiographies profiles the 35th President of the United States, a man of enduring fascination. The book follows John F. Kennedy from his privileged but sickly childhood through his studies at Harvard and heroism in the Navy to his sudden move into politics upon the death of his older brother, Joe. Young readers get an inside view of the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban missile crisis, and other highlights of Kennedy's thousand days in office. Through compelling text, duotone photographs, and Kennedy's own stirring words, Heiligman celebrates the life and legacy of this young President, who still looms large in the American public's memory and imagination. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Easily accessible for young people
Award-winning children's author Deborah Heiligman presents High Hopes: A Photobiography Of John F. Kennedy. This a thoughtful and wonderfully illustrated rendition of President John F. Kennedy's inspirational life and tragic assassination. Black-and-white photographs on every page add a strong presence to the straightforward narration in a text which is easily accessible for young people at an intermediate reading level and up. Highly recommended.

High Hopes deserves High Praise!
In this compelling biography, award winning author, Deborah Heiligman, captures the spirit of the handsome, charismatic President, Jack Kennedy,who won the hearts of Americans and people around the world. Born to a wealthy Massachusetts family, Jack had been taught at an early age that his mission was to serve others. The hopes of the family really resided in his older brother Joe, but when Joe died, Jack stepped into his shoes, and despiteserious medical problems, became the youngest person ever to be elected President.Accompanied by stunning photographs this eloquent biography is the perfect choice for family sharing.

A Great Book to Share With My Sixth Grade Class
I've been looking for a good book on JFK to share with my sixth grade class and I'm happy to have found it here! The text is very kid friendly and full of compelling stories from JFK's childhood. The author's style is perfectly suited to the layout of pictures and children can come away with not only important facts, but the feeling that they've spent some private time with the Kennedy family. I learned things I never knew and was very moved by some of the quotes and stories. This is just the book I was hoping to find, for the author has taken a leader and an ikon in American history and presented him in a new and fresh way. I especially liked the author's handling of JFK's early, formative years. After all that's been written about this man and his presidency it's amazing to me how inspiring this book was. I found lots of ways to spin off on this material.Anyone wanting to share the life of this very unique president with school age children could do no better than High Hopes. ... Read more

Book Description
This anthology focuses on one of America's most charismatic and beloved presidents. It profiles Kennedy's unique style and personality and describes his domestic and foreign policy successes and failures. ... Read more

Book Description
The only known private writings of John F. Kennedy during this stage of his life. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (5)

An Excellent Survey of Early JFK Researchers
John Kelin has provided us with a well-researched and highly informative history of the first generation of researchers into the assassination of President Kennedy. The book is full of surprises and pleasures, and well worth a read.

Martin Shackelford

An excellent work!
This is a very fine effort that deserves the attention of a vast audience. It is well referenced and sourced. Of the many JFK books, this one ranks very high. Most knowledgeable JFK researchers will know of the early Warren Commission critics covered within the work, and the battles they fought, but Mr. Kelin also introduces the little known Oklahoma housewife, Shirley Martin. Mrs. Martin loaded her car with her children in 1964 and headed for Dallas, interviewing many JFK witnesses even before the Warren Commission. What a woman!

Impressive
I have read over 500 books on the Kennedy assassination and have been involved with this for thirty years and I have met some of the individuals in this book. Even absent my interest in the assasination, this is one of the finest books on any subject that I have ever read. The writing is superb and the organization is outstanding. This is a book that merits being on top of the best seller list. As I work on a book on this topic, it places in perspective the fact that truth is not determined by consensus, but is determined by its own virtues. These people never forgot that meaning. Any step one makes towards truth can only come from standing on the shoulders of many giants. The people in this book were such giants. Thanks to the author (who I have not met)for offering this gem.

Doug Weldon

Profiles in Courage
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Several months later, the Warren Commission Report proclaimed that there was no conspiracy and that Lee Harvey oswald was the lone assassin. It is probable that this official document, designed to deliberately deceive the American people, would have succeeded in its objectives if not for the efforts of a small group of individuals who detected inconsistencies, improbabilities and unqualified lies in the report. These individuals eventually succeeded against impossible odds in exposing the most reprehensible hoax ever perpetuated upon the American public, a monumental deception that covered up the true facts about the murder of JFK. In this impeccably researched book, author John Kelin authenticates this first generation of critics and their unrelenting quest for justice. To discover the truth about the assassination, they waged an extraordinary battle against a gigantic bureacracy that was aided and abetted by the mass media. With courage and commitment, they battled powerful antagonists who had unlimited resources, all of which were used to ridicule and silence them. But they persevered and as a result of their groundbreaking efforts as well as those of their successors, the only people who still believe the Warren Report are those who are woefully ignorant of the facts that have been disclosed over the past four decades. But Mr. Kelin does more than record their indefatigable labors and the indisputable results of their investigations. He also delves into their personal lives, allowing readers to intimately know them and subsequently witness their human frailties along with their sacrifices. They emerge as fully three-dimensional people, average persons from different walks of life who shared an astonishing commitment to exposing the lies of the establishment. Mr. Kelin deserves credit for bringing long-overdue praise to these relatively unknown heroes, many of whom are no longer with us. Now, because of the author's equally admirable commitment to historical truth, they will forever be remembered. They live on in the present and future generations of critics who are determined to achieve justice for a slain president and to restore this nation's sense of honor. This is an important book that exposes the worst of America, as represented by the murderous conspirators, and the best of America, as represented by those noble critics whose endeavors symbolize profiles in courage. Future generations will praise not only these critics but Mr. Kelin as well.

At Last!
John Kelin's book, "Praise from a Future Generation," does what no other book on JFK's assassination has done before.For the first time, the story of those first brave few who dared challenge the official findings of the Warren Commission has been told. They were ordinary citizens: lawyers, housewives, reporters. Together, however, they managed to change they way an entire nation percieved those bloody days in November, 1963. Kelin's research is extraordinary, his storytelling equally skilled.Whether you see yourself as an expert on the Kennedy murder or just an interested novice, this book is a historical must! ... Read more

Book Description
On November 22, 1963 the United States lost its youngest president, John F. Kennedy, to a senseless assassination.This anthology explores the myriad of theories that continue to surround the mysterious death of Kennedy.The official version of the assassination is carefully analyzed for its strengths and weaknesses, and the numerous conspiracy theories are presented for examination.JFK Researchers, including a retired Air Force officer and a former district attorney, are among the contributors to this fascinating volume. ... Read more

Book Description
This first book-length critical analysis of Kennedy's public address defines how he aroused Americans to rise to the opportunities and challenges that he defined for them. This rigorously researched study offers an in-depth analysis of the development of President Kennedy as a public speaker and a balanced view of his civil rights, foreign policy, presidential, and other types of speeches. Eight speech texts accompany the analysis. This reference and teaching tool also offers a selected chronology of major speeches along with a bibliography of important primary and secondary sources. Designed for students, teachers, and professionals in the fields of rhetoric, political communication, presidential studies, and American history. ... Read more

Amazon.com
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 McNameeBook Description
The Kennedy Presidency, and his role in the history of a turbulent time, told through fast-paced narrative and illustrated with documents, photographs, artifacts, and audio recordings exclusive to the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.

PublicAffairs is proud to introduce the first volume in our new Presidential Library Series, edited by renowned presidential historian Michael Beschloss.

Each year, thousands of people visit the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum to experience the "thousand days" of his presidency and learn what it took to be the leader of the most powerful nation on earth. Now readers can revisit the tenure of one of America's most mythic figures and most controversial presidents through this elegantly designed book and portfolio. John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Portfolio is a unique time capsule that captures the essence, style, and excitement of the Kennedy presidency. Readers will travel back in time to the breathtakingly close election; the drama of the Cuban Missile Crisis; the careful political maneuvering at the start of the civil rights movement; the Bay of Pigs fiasco; and the inspiring creation of the Peace Corps. Key figures, such as First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, are vividly profiled. And bound to each book is a 90-minute CD recording of never-before-heard Kennedy phone conversations and dictations.

For Kennedy Library visitors, fans of Camelot, or anyone interested in American history, this historically authoritative examination of the man, his era, and an institution is an essential reference volume and a beautiful gift. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

excellent book
there are over 250 pictures ans documents, it's very complete. the texts are interessing, not boring.
there is a cd also.
we can hear a few dialogues,. there is one with rfk and on the 14 tracks we can hear young caroline.
there is part to rfk and jbk too.
so I enjoyed it.

John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Portfolio
John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Portfolio features more than 250 photos and documents from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum that capture the essence, style, and excitement of the Kennedy presidency. Included in these pages are the artifacts from a lifetime young Jack's letter requsting to be made Godfather to his brother Teddy, a handwritten fragment of the inaugural adress, correspondence from Nikita Khrushchev, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and many others. Providing the backdrop for these images is a carefully rendered narrative highlighting the many remarkable events of Kennedy's life and his presidency: the tremendous physical ailments JFK had to overcome on a daily basis, his privileged chilhhood, transformation from reluctant student to Pulitzer Prize - winning author, dramatic political campaigns, struggle over the Cuban missile crisis, and his efforts to end segregation as well as counter nuclear proliferation, are all recounted here.

To Enhance The Experience of reliving the Kennedy years, a riveting 60 - minute audio CD of JFK'S phone conversations and personal dictations is packaged with the book. The following is a list of the recordings.

- An undated memoir entry concerning JFK'S entrance into politics.

- A dicated letter (circa 1959) to Joseph P. Kennedy on election and poll results.

- A dictated letter (circa 1959) to Jacqueline Kennedy on weekend in Rhode Island.

- Phone Conversation with Sargent Shriver recorded on April 2, 1963 regarding keeping CIA out of the Peace Corps.

- Three phone conversations with Ross Barnett recorded on September 30, 1962, regarding the University of Mississippi crisis.

- Phone conversation with Richard J. Daley recorded on October 28, 1963 regarding the civil rights bill.

- Phone conversation with Charles Halleck recorded on October 29, 1963 regarding the civil rights bill.

- An undated phone conversation between JFK and RFK concerning articles in Newsweek and Time magazines.

-Phone conversation with Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 22, 1962 regarding Cuban missile crisis.

- Phone conversation with Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 28,1962 regarding Cuban missile crisis.

-Phone conversation with Lincoln White on October 26,1962 regarding comments to the press concerning Cuban missile crisis.

- A dictated memoir entry dated November 1963.

Pleasant but not outstanding
As a twenty-something, I really don't know much about John or Robert Kennedy other than the vague "Camelot" fantasies tossed around. I acquired this book as part of my recent appetite for understanding JFK/RFK.

I found it to be a light-weight overview of the major periods of JFK's life, along with some information on RFK and Jackie. While it revealed a few new things I hadn't heard before, this book is really of interest primarily as a coffee table book for ocassional perusal, and not for study. It's a great combination of stories you will have heard and pictures you have already seen.

The accompanying CD, however, is particularly interesting in what it reveals about JFK the man and his way of being. Overall, I enjoyed it.

The Most Complete & Accurate on JFK
This book is the most complete and accurate book on President John F. Kennedy.With the contribution from the John F. Kennedy Library & Museum, the true and exact data regarding the man who changed the life of many Americans is shown here in a direct manner.Great pictures.In conclusion, this book deserves to be at each home in the USA and abroad.JFK is worth to be known and admired through this masterpiece. This book is a must. ... Read more