Kennedy's Biography

Author: [US] Robert Dallek / Cao Jianhai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: "The Kennedy is one of the most captivating biographies I have ever read. Robert Dallek meticulously narrates the political career of John F. Kennedy, while his enchanting portrayal of Kennedy's illness and suffering creates a magnificent contrast. The Kennedy is absolutely a masterpiece."—David Herbert Donald, emeritus professor of history and American civilization at Harvard University and author of Lincoln
The Kennedy is an authoritative work in a single volume that depicts nearly 40 years of John F. Kennedy's life. Award-winning historian Robert Dallek leverages his privileged access to a batch of newly discovered archival documents, employing recently unearthed files and previously unpublished records, with an academic impartiality, sharp analytical methods, and nearly flawless prose to tell the dazzling life story of Kennedy. The book narrates the birth of the Kennedy dynasty through a story rooted in Ireland, the complexities of Kennedy's early years, and the intertwined relationships of adoration and hatred he shared with his mother Rose and his father Joseph. It clearly reveals Kennedy's views on American military leaders, the plan to invade Cuba, the American press corps in Saigon, and the expansion of the Vietnam War. The Kennedy also discloses for the first time that Kennedy's illness was far more severe than we knew. While striving to maintain an image of robust health, Kennedy secretly visited hospitals repeatedly, to the extent that he had to undergo several post-prayer rituals. The book reveals that Kennedy had an affair with a White House female intern. According to the book, Kennedy often took this 19-year-old, attractive girl with him on trips, though her medical skills were not particularly outstanding. Dallek writes: It is clear that her only outstanding skill was providing John F. Kennedy with sexual comfort during his travels, even within the White House." Robert Dallek portrays a vivid character—one who knows he is close to death and makes every effort to fully enjoy life—sometimes at the expense of others. The Kennedy is a work that Americans have waited 40 years for, an authoritative biography of Kennedy.