John F Kennedy

William Manchester's epic and definitive account of President John F. Kennedy's assassination--now restored to print in a new paperback edition. As the world still reeled from the tragic and historic events of November 22, 1963, William Manchester set out, at the request of the Kennedy family, to create a detailed, authoritative record of the days immediately preceding and following President John F. Kennedy's death. Through hundreds of interviews, abundant travel and firsthand observation, and with unique access to the proceedings of the Warren Commission, Manchester conducted an exhaustive historical investigation, accumulating forty-five volumes of documents, exhibits, and transcribed tapes. His ultimate objective -- to set down as a whole the national and personal tragedy that was JFK's assassination -- is brilliantly achieved in this galvanizing narrative, a book universally acclaimed as a landmark work of modern history.

Describes the courage and conviction demonstrated by some great Americans

On two consecutive days in June 1963, in two lyrical speeches, John F. Kennedy pivots dramatically and boldly on the two greatest issues of his time: nuclear arms and civil rights. In language unheard in lily white, Cold War America, he appeals to Americans to see both the Russians and the "Negroes" as human beings. His speech on June 10 leads to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963; his speech on June 11 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Based on new material—hours of recently uncovered documentary film shot in the White House and the Justice Department, fresh interviews, and a rediscovered draft speech—Two Days in June captures Kennedy at the high noon of his presidency in startling, granular detail which biographer Sally Bedell Smith calls "a seamless and riveting narrative, beautifully written, weaving together the consequential and the quotidian, with verve and authority." Moment by moment, JFK's feverish forty-eight hours unspools in cinematic clarity as he addresses "peace and freedom." In the tick-tock of the American presidency, we see Kennedy facing down George Wallace over the integration of the University of Alabama, talking obsessively about sex and politics at a dinner party in Georgetown, recoiling at a newspaper photograph of a burning monk in Saigon, planning a secret diplomatic mission to Indonesia, and reeling from the midnight murder of Medgar Evers. There were 1,036 days in the presidency of John F. Kennedy. This is the story of two of them.

The man who saved the lives of his PT-109 crewmen during WWII and became the 35th president fought-and won-his first battle at the age of two-and-a-half, when he was stricken with scarlet fever. Although his presidency was cut short, our nation's youngest elected leader left an indelible mark on the American consciousness and now is profiled in our Who Was...? series. Included are 100 black-and-white illustrations as well as a timeline that guides readers through this eventful period in history.

A biography of the dynamic leader who served as the thirty-fifth president of the United States until his assassination in 1963.

An objective account of the personalities and events and their effects on each other during John Kennedy's presidency.

The presidency of John F. Kennedy continues to fascinate, even as it also continues to inspire heated debates between admirers and detractors of Camelot's fallen king. Now readers can gain a new appreciation of JFK in this thoroughly revised and updated edition of James Giglio's bestselling study, widely acclaimed as the best and most balanced book on JFK's White House years. Giglio incorporates the voluminous archival materials made available in the last fifteen years, including the declassified documents on crucial foreign policy affairs and White House medical records that contradict the image of Kennedy's youth and vigor. He stresses the extent to which domestic and foreign policies were interconnected at a time when the Cold War dominated national life and reveals his new appreciation for JFK's prudence in his handling of such enormous challenges as the Cuban missile crisis and the emerging war in Vietnam. Giglio shows Kennedy to be "the most medicated, one of the most courageous, and perhaps the most self-absorbed of our presidents." He reviews the physical ailments and heavy prescriptions that were kept out of the public eye and catalogs sexual indiscretions ranging from Marilyn Monroe and socialite Florence Pritchett to low-level White House employees and even virtual strangers. Surveying this field of conquest, Giglio suggests that JFK's sexual obsession could easily have affected his presidency even more during a second term. His work also amplifies coverage of key issues like civil rights, the Cuban missile crisis, and Vietnam and reevaluates many of the questions surrounding the assassination—maintaining that, even with the existence of a conspiracy still doubtful, the case is far from closed. Like the first edition, this new edition provides a sharp and thoughtful analysis of both domestic and foreign affairs and underscores that, despite his undeniably brief tenure in office, the state of the nation actually did improve on Kennedy's watch. Featuring an expanded bibliographical essay and twenty-two photos from the JFK library, The Presidency of John F. Kennedy remains the definitive appraisal of Camelot's kingdom.

In this biography, David Burner explores the controversies, successes, and failures in the life and presidency of John F. Kennedy--and how he shaped the modern American consciousness. Burner discusses John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) as both an individual and a leader, allowing the reader to examine the changes that took place in the American political and social systems as reflected in the hopeful days of Kennedy's "Camelot." Paperback, brief, and inexpensive, each of the titles in the "Library of American Biography" series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of American history and national life. In addition, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.