Kennedy

Every aspect of the life, achievement and (especially) the death of John F. Kennedy has been the subject of intense controversy, and the arguments will go on. Nevertheless, more than thirty-five years after his assassination, it is now beginning to be possible for readers and historians to take an objective view, away from the distortions of the Kennedy Myth. This invaluable account provides an excellent introduction to the Presidency of John F. Kennedy. It looks at Kennedy the man and, while not a full blown biography, the author necessarily outlines Kennedy's background. Kennedy assesses the influence of his background on his early career and outlook, as well as on his presidency, shows how Kennedy grew as a statesman in the job, and considers what he might have done had he been allowed to complete his term as president. Hugh Brogan examines Kennedy's successful candidacy, assesses his foreign policy, his agenda as a reformer, his part in the civil rights revolution and his handling of economic affairs. There is also focus on Kennedy as a Cold War president who was forced to interrupt his domestic agenda of Civil Rights reform in order to concentrate on international events such as tensions with the USSR and Cuba and the Vietnam War. This is a penetrating look at the Kennedy presidency which offers a detached study of John F. Kennedy and the realities of his American Camelot.