An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek

May 13, 2013 Leon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A #1 New York Times Bestseller

In a tale that stretches back to Ireland, An Unfinished Life describes the birth of the Kennedy dynasty, the complexity of Jack's early years, and the mixture of adulation and resentment that tangled his relationships with his mother, Rose, and his father, Joseph. An Unfinished Life also discloses for the first time that Kennedy was far sicker than we ever knew.

From Publishers Weekly

In this riveting tour de force, Boston University history professor Dallek (Fl

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A #1 New York Times Bestseller

In a tale that stretches back to Ireland, An Unfinished Life describes the birth of the Kennedy dynasty, the complexity of Jack's early years, and the mixture of adulation and resentment that tangled his relationships with his mother, Rose, and his father, Joseph. An Unfinished Life also discloses for the first time that Kennedy was far sicker than we ever knew.

From Publishers Weekly

In this riveting tour de force, Boston University history professor Dallek (Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1961-1973) delivers what will most assuredly become the benchmark JFK biography for this generation. A master of the art of narrative history, Dallek is also the first biographer since Doris Kearns Goodwin to be granted unrestricted access to key Kennedy family papers (most importantly, the Joseph and Rose Kennedy Papers) in the JFK Library. This is a substantial and significant trove to which Dallek brings a refreshingly critical eye. He has also mined many nuggets of key information from the papers of JFK's colleagues, doctors and friends. Thus Dallek has significant new ground to break on a range of fronts including but not limited to Kennedy's health, politics, personal recklessness and love affairs. Dallek's revelations about JFK's health, based on previously unavailable medical files maintained by Kennedy's personal physician, have already received significant publicity from the Atlantic excerpt in December 2002. But here Dallek expands on that information and reveals (for the first time) the full extent of the medical coverup orchestrated by the Kennedy family: a coverup that involved the destruction of key medical records even after JFK was in his grave. On the political front, Dallek uses new inside information from a Kennedy associate to reveal the detailed mechanics (and enormous scope) of the use of Kennedy money to purchase the West Virginia primary in 1960. At the same time, Dallek has new evidence on both Jack's philandering and his recklessness. Example: During the same 1960 campaign on which his father spent millions, JFK risked it all by inviting an underage cheerleader to his hotel room. As is appropriate, close to two-thirds of this biography covers Kennedy's truncated presidency. In one of the book's most important sections, Dallek marshals new evidence that JFK did not view with favor the expansion of the war in Vietnam, and that he most likely would not have sanctioned such an expansion. Throughout the book, Dallek stops short of worshipping his subject. He is a Kennedy admirer, but he never allows this admiration to cloud either his focus or his truth telling. Dallek is to be thanked for providing the thoroughly researched, well-sourced, responsible and readable biography that has for so long been wanting in Kennedy scholarship. Illus. not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From The New Yorker

It's hard to believe that someone could find anything new to say about John F. Kennedy, but Dallek succeeds in this riveting and well-documented biography. Despite plentiful revelations about Kennedy's private life, the book is very much a political biography, which keenly explores Kennedy's grasp of modern political campaigning. (The account of how the Kennedy machine managed the issue of his Catholicism in the 1960 West Virginia primary is particularly telling.) But he wasn't always sure what to do with power once he had it. His ideas on domestic policy were surprisingly conventional, and his foreign policy seems jingoistic. Kennedy, however, had the ability to change his mind—no small accomplishment for a President—and by the time he died he was a considerably more sophisticated leader. One need not accept Dallek's fanciful, if familiar, conclusion—that, had Kennedy lived, he might have pulled the United States out of Vietnam—to think that J.F.K.'s political career was a work in progress that was arrested too soon.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

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Jun 02, 2013 Arjun Ravichandran rated it 2 of 5 stars

Slightly boring one-volume account of the late American President's life and career. Boring because instead of information about JFK's personality and mindset, the author assumes the reader is as interested in the intricacies of local American politics as he is. You are treated to dry accounts of state politics, and when JFK ascends to the Presidency, you are treated to an equally dry account of the day-to-day minutiae of his work life.
Besides that, the book had some good information regarding...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Socraticgadfly rated it 2 of 5 stars

I didn't realize Dallek was such a JFK "homer"

I was prepared to rate this three stars, but given that I can't see any other reviewers mentioning what I caught, at the end of the book, and other things, I'm doing like I occasionally have done in the past at Amazon, and knocking a book down a star in "compensation." (I've sometimes done it the other direction, too.)

In the last few pages of the book, Dallek makes two statements, one of which I think is wrong, and one of which I know was potentially...more

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Sep 10, 2012 James Thane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, biography

This is a very good biography of JFK, focusing principally on his presidency. Dallek obviously admires Kennedy, but that does not prevent him from being critical of his subject when he believes that the criticism is warranted.

Dallek's principal contribution is to document more thoroughly than any previous biographer Kennedy's many medical problems, the treatment he received and the extent to which the President, his family, his doctors and others conspired to conceal those problems from public v...more This is a very good biography of JFK, focusing principally on his presidency. Dallek obviously admires Kennedy, but that does not prevent him from being critical of his subject when he believes that the criticism is warranted.

Dallek's principal contribution is to document more thoroughly than any previous biographer Kennedy's many medical problems, the treatment he received and the extent to which the President, his family, his doctors and others conspired to conceal those problems from public view. In the end, Dallek concludes that, although he was often in pain, Kennedy managed his afflictions well and they did not adversely affect his ability to function as president. Dalleck also speculates, however, that in the modern age it would be impossible for a presidential candidate to conceal such problems as effectively as Kennedy did. He also assumes that someone with Kennedy's medical history could almost certainly not be elected to the office today.

Dalleck details Kennedy's extensive womanizing, both before and after he married Jackie, and which continued unabated during his presidency. Dalleck speculates that perhaps this compulsion resulted from the example that JFK's father had set and from Kennedy's fears about his own mortality because of his medical problems. Again, Dallek concludes that his womanizing did not distract Kennedy from the larger tasks that confronted him and so did not prevent him from being an effective president. Though many reporters and others knew or speculated about Kennedy's philandering, as quaint as it now seems, the press still believed that a president's private life was off limits. Dallek also points out that many of the journalists and editors who covered the Kennedy administration had extra-marital affairs of their own and so did not want to cast the first stone. Dalleck again assumes though, that no candidate with Kennedy's record in this department could be elected today.

Otherwise, Dallek's account is a fairy familiar one. He admits that Kennedy made mistakes early on in his administration, the Bay of Pigs fiasco principal among them. He also concedes that Kennedy came slowly to the cause of civil rights and tempered his actions by calculating the political consequences, which is hardly surprising. He also insists, though, that Kennedy learned from his mistakes and grew to be a better president as a result.

Dallek gives Kennedy very high marks for his handling of the Cuban missile crisis, and reading his account one realizes how perilously close we came to the possibility of nuclear annihilation. Kennedy was determined to give diplomacy every chance to work, even against the advice of military figures and others who argued for an attack on the missile sites and an invasion of the island. Considering some of the trigger-happy people who have occupied the office since 1963, one reads these chapters and becomes enormously grateful for the fact that this crisis fell to JFK and not to some of his successors.

Probably the greatest argument left from the Kennedy administration is the question of what JFK would have done with respect to Vietnam. Dallek covers in great detail Kennedy's handling of the problem and, based in part on new evidence, concludes that, had he lived, Kennedy almost certainly would not have enlarged the war. Dallek also concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of the President.

This is a rich, compelling book and may be the best biography of Kennedy that we now have. Reading it, one can only regret that, even for all his faults, JFK did not live long enough to serve a second term as president.

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Apr 11, 2012 Jeremy Perron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Robert Dallek's biography on John F. Kennedy is very well titled. It is a work that leaves you a little unsatisfied. Not because Dallek did a bad job, quite the contrary it is a very good book, but in the end you just feel like you watched a really good movie that ends suddenly and very incomplete. There is a lot of huff made in comparing Kennedy to President Lincoln, in the years they were elected, names of their vice presidents/successors, etc, etc. However, it is important to note the major d...more Robert Dallek's biography on John F. Kennedy is very well titled. It is a work that leaves you a little unsatisfied. Not because Dallek did a bad job, quite the contrary it is a very good book, but in the end you just feel like you watched a really good movie that ends suddenly and very incomplete. There is a lot of huff made in comparing Kennedy to President Lincoln, in the years they were elected, names of their vice presidents/successors, etc, etc. However, it is important to note the major difference of Lincoln serving a full term plus, and Kennedy's dying at the start of his re-election bid. Lincoln's story climaxes at the Gettysburg Address and concludes at his second inaugural, when he is later murdered by John Wilkes Booth, the mission that he started had already been completed beyond his, Lincoln's, wildest dreams. The Union had been saved and slavery, which he wanted to put on the path to destruction, was destroyed; Lincoln had fulfilled his place in history. Kennedy had been able to complete a good deal of the ground work that he needed to accomplish in his historic mission. The bill that would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had been proposed to the Congress; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had stated was the most powerful civil rights legislation ever proposed by a president. To help settle some of the political damage that it was going to cause in the South, Kennedy went to campaign in Dallas, Texas where he would lose his life.

Dallek's story begins with the history of the two families that would create John F. Kennedy, the Kennedys and the Fitzgeralds. Joseph P. Kennedy marries Rose Fitzgerald the daughter of Mayor John 'Honey Fitz' Fitzgerald uniting their two families. They would name their second son after his maternal grandfather. Everyone in the family expected a lot of John's older brother, Joe, Jr., who John was very close to growing up. His other brothers were far too young for him to have much of a relationship with. Kennedy's youth, although blessed with wealth, was cursed by a lack of health; he was always ill and spent a great deal of time with doctors. Throughout the whole misadventure Kennedy would maintain good humor about his situation.

"More puzzling medical problems punctuated Jack's second year at Choate. In January and February 1933, 'flu-like symptoms' plagued him, as well as almost constant pain in his knees. 'Jack's winter term sounded like a hospital report,' a fiftieth-anniversary remembrance of his attendance at the school recounted, 'with correspondence flying back and forth between Rose Kennedy and Clara St. John [the headmaster's wife]. Again, eyes, ears, teeth, knees, arches, from the top of his head to the tip of his toes, Jack needed attention.' X-rays showed no pathology in his knees, and so his doctor attributed his difficulties to growing pains and recommended exercises and 'built up' shoes." p.34-5

Nevertheless he would through sheer determination, get himself in shape enough to join the Navy and serve as a P.T. boat captain. He would famously captain the PT-109 and would get his most of his crew to safety when an enemy destroyed their boat. Unfortunately, for the Kennedy family they would suffer two tremendous tragedies during the war. The first, which took place before JFK's command, was his sister Rosemary's botched lobotomy that took her personhood. The second was the death of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. who was killed on a secret mission.

When the war was over JFK, began to pursue his own political career, his father's ended the moment he misjudged the political situation of World War II, going as far to praise the German Dictator Adolph Hitler. The young Kennedy, however, was going to rise and rise fast. Kennedy wrote a book, Why England Slept, in which he separated himself from his father's opinion of World War II. He would be elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1946. There he would befriend another freshman Congressman, named Richard M. Nixon. A pure status-type of politician Congressman Kennedy became bored of the House and, in 1952, ran for the United States Senate against the incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge II, whose grandfather for whom he was named, helped bring down Woodrow Wilson's League of Nations proposal. Kennedy would win and would enter the Senate that would soon be ruled by an all-powerful majority leader named Lyndon B. Johnson. Kennedy's eight years in the Senate were rather unremarkable but he did find the time to write, or at least be the leader chief editor, for the Pulitzer Prize winning book Profiles in Courage.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy changed history by running for president, not just being the first Catholic to win the office, but he changed the way presidents were nominated. Kennedy took the primaries more seriously than any candidate in the past; enough so that when the convention started Kennedy was able to capture it on the first ballot. The master of the Senate, much to the suffering of the candidate's younger brother, Robert F. Kennedy, was going to be on the ticket for vice president. Kennedy would go the general election facing his old friend Vice President Richard M. Nixon. Together they were going to participate in the first televised presidential debates. Nixon seemed to win on substance but Kennedy would win on style. When Election Day, came Kennedy would prevail in one of the closet elections on record and would take office on January 20, 1961.

"In the final analysis, the most important question is not why Kennedy won but why his victory was so narrow. Harry Truman was amazed at the closeness of the race. "Why, even our friend Adlai would have had a landslide running against Nixon,' he told Senator William Benton of Connecticut. Given the majority status of the Democrats, the discontent over the state of the economy and international affairs, and Kennedy's superior campaign and campaigning, he should have gained at least 52 or 53 percent of the popular vote. Everyone on his staff had predicted a victory of between 53 and 57 percent. The small margin shocked them. What they missed was the unyielding fear of having a Catholic in the White House. Although about 46 percent of Protestants voted for Kennedy, millions of them in Ohio, Wisconsin, and across the South made his religion a decisive consideration. It was the first time a candidate had won the presidency with a minority of Protestant voters." p.296

Kennedy's presidency has been described as Camelot and there certainly was that feel. A new young President and his family had moved into the White House and things were going to be different. Kennedy's administration would change the nation in a number of ways; this presidency saw an increase of national support for NASA and the moon program. In addition, there were some real highs and lows of the Cold War. The botched Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba was a national embarrassment but more importantly President Kennedy saw us through the scary Cuban Missile Crisis.

"The Peace Corps proved to be one of the enduring legacies of Kennedy's presidency. As with some American domestic institutions like Social Security and Medicare, the Peace Corps became a fixture that Democratic and Republican administrations alike would continue to finance for over forty years. It made far more friends than enemies and, as Kennedy had hoped, convinced millions of people abroad that the United States was eager to help developing nations raise standards of living."p.340

On Civil Rights, like Lincoln a hundred years before him, he would be pressured from all over the political spectrum, to the advocates on the ground he was too slow and to conservatives he was too fast and radical. The first two years of his presidency, Kennedy wanted to move slowly though executive actions rather then fight for legislation. Later the President began to take more forceful action on that front, but he not live to finish the job. That would be carried on by his successor President Lyndon B. Johnson*.

Assassination creates secular saints and when Lee Harvey Oswald, murdered the President on November 22, 1963, Kennedy's martyred image would aid the new administration in establishing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and would be an asset to what President Johnson called the Great Society. Dallek does an incredible job detailing a great deal of these events, and I strongly recommend this book.

*That is something Lincoln did not have, his replacement, President Andrew Johnson, caused all sorts of problems during his incompetent stay as the nation's chief executive. (less)

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Mar 12, 2012 Jason Russell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(Posted on my blog)

As I watch Jimmer and BYU take on Gonzaga in the "third round" of the NCAA tournament, I'm using an iPad from my company's IT department to write this post. It's pretty cool, I guess.

I recently finished a very compelling biography of JFK (An Unfinished Life). Being too young to have any experience with his presidency (or life, for that matter), I learned a lot from this book. I know a number of my "conservative" friends would automatically say JFK was a liberal. I suppose he d...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Riley rated it 3 of 5 stars

The health problems that John F. Kennedy had were quite incredible, and it is hard to read them without having sympathy and awe for Kennedy's perseverance. Historian Robert Dallek was the first to have access to Kennedy's health records, though Seymour Hersh detailed many of Kennedy's ailments through anonymous sourcing in a book he wrote.

Dallek is a good writer and presents Kennedy well. That said, this biography didn't change my own view that JFK is perhaps the most overrated president in U.S....more

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Sep 17, 2009 Judith rated it 4 of 5 stars

One must wonder what there is that we don't already know about Kennedy. For me, this was an eye opener because I hadn't realized how ill the man was, not just during his presidency, but for his whole life. From early childhood until his death he was plagued like Job with constant pain and a host of diseases and injuries that it is mind-boggling that he was able to function, much less take the highest office in the country. He was in such bad shape that the Navy wouldn't take him until he had his...more

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May 17, 2009 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really had to think before I started this book because the nearly 1,000 pages were a tad daunting. But it's a really good read. This is one of the third generation books about John F. Kennedy. Following his assassination, there were countless books that romanticized him and his presidency. Then years later, the highly critical books began to be published. This look at Kennedy by Robert Dallek, a professor of history at Boston University, looks at Kennedy from childhood through his assassinatio...more

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Dec 25, 2008 Shane Haggerty rated it 4 of 5 stars

I admit to an obsession with the Kennedy Family. I remember being a kid and looking through my mom's boxes of stuff from her childhood and finding an autographed picture from JFK and Jacqueline from like 1962 or something. I was fascinated. Then, I was enamored and fascinated with the idea that this young and against-type President was shot down in the prime of life. I remember seeing JFK, the Oliver Stone movie, and loving it, and I was convinced that there was a conspiracy. I remember just alw...more

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Dec 27, 2008 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I first came to hear much about John F. Kennedy after the death of Jackie Kennedy -- all the publications memorializing her passing focused on the days of "Camelot." JFK is consistently recognized as one of the most popular presidents of all time, but I had often wondered if he was truly great. This 711 page biography by historian Robert Dallek examines the rise of the Kennedy family dynasty and making of JFK. Dallek had access to records no historian had ever seen and details JFK's extreme heal...more

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Oct 20, 2009 Vivian Valvano rated it 3 of 5 stars

Disclosure: I loved JFK and admired his presidency and still weep over his assassination. I am no fool about his errant womanizing. That said, I commend Dallek for his meticulous research into JFK's medical history. He was a far sicker man than anyone except very few people very close to him knew, and he hid it very deliberately. My conclusion is that he really did want to do public service, do something for his country. Most fabulously wealthy men who were as ill as he was would have done absol...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, biography

I picked up the book at a Borders book sale and started this read a few weeks ago. As some of the other reviewers have commented, it goes back to a lot of material I already knew regarding the hige influence that Joe Sr. had in this country and how that Kennedy family influence propelled the Kennedy kids to a path of glory...and tragedy.

I was extremely surprised of the medical issues JFK went through in his life. I knew he had health issues while in the White House, but this is the first book I'...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Rhona Arthur rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this single volume biography of JFK. Over the years myths have grown up around the man, family and legacy and it was great to have an overview of his contribution to global politics. I was a little surprised that there was light touch in some areas, like the Bay of Pigs, which I expected a filler analysis of and there was a great emphasis on his physical debilities. There is no evidence that any of the physical weaknesses or sexual predilections affected his judgement or events...more

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Oct 15, 2011 Sophie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is the first I've read on JFK, so I can't compare the portrayal of JFK to other writings. I was glad to see that Dallek didn't treat JFK like an icon, merely a man with many flaws. Like others, I was surprised how ill JFK was his entire life, and even more surprised that he managed to keep his many ailments out of public view. Most of the book is about JFK's presidential years, but the reader does get a glimpse of JFK's privileged life, his friendly rivalry with his older brother Joe,...more

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Jul 01, 2012 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dallek presents a balanced and solid biography of JFK. He is especially good at fleshing out the myths purporting to JFK's WWII command of PT-109 in the Pacific, his lifelong penchant for womanizing, and his myriad and never-ending medical difficulties. He presents JFK as both a foreign policy realist and an idealist - and how he straddled the line between both views.

Dallek does not delve deeply into the close relationship between JFK and RFK, which began in the 1950s. While certainly alluding...more Dallek presents a balanced and solid biography of JFK. He is especially good at fleshing out the myths purporting to JFK's WWII command of PT-109 in the Pacific, his lifelong penchant for womanizing, and his myriad and never-ending medical difficulties. He presents JFK as both a foreign policy realist and an idealist - and how he straddled the line between both views.

Dallek does not delve deeply into the close relationship between JFK and RFK, which began in the 1950s. While certainly alluding to it several times throughout the chapters on the 1960 election and JFK's subsequent time in office, I found Arthur Schlesinger Jr's magisterial "Robert F. Kennedy and His Times" to be much more enlightening on this subject. However, I don't think that was Dallek's goal, and I can understand that.

Dallek is especially strong JFK's foreign policy triumphs and missteps. The chapters concerning Cuba, Vietnam, and JFK's dealings with Khrushchev are particularly detailed and well-written. He also does a good job of showing how JFK was way too slow to respond to the growing Civil Rights disturbances in the South.

The chapter on the 1960 election and campaign is good. For a much more detailed account (not read to be a criticism of Dallek here): see David Pietrusza's "1960: JFK vs LBJ vs Nixon."

I would have liked to have seen some more analysis re: the assassination, and who Dallek really thinks was behind it. It seems like he leans towards Oswald as a lone gunman, but doesn't quite fully venture out on that limb.

One issue I do take with Dallek is his assertion at the end that JFK would have enjoyed a similar ultra-successful legislative experience that LBJ had, had Kennedy lived. While we will never know for sure, I doubt that JFK would have equaled LBJ's domestic achievements in 1964-1965. LBJ was a master of Congress in general and the Senate in particular, and he knew exactly who to pressure and prod to support his legislation and how to do it. And, LBJ was helped by the fact that many people felt that since JFK had alread proposed some of these bills or programs, that the Congress should accede to his wishes.(less)

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May 21, 2013 Bill Christian rated it 5 of 5 stars

An excellent biography of John Kennedy. The author gives a fair appraisal of Kennedy's life. It's neither an expose nor a hero worship account of Kennedy's life. Rather it's an unbiased account of John Kennedy the man, the politician, and the president. The author points out that Kennedy's life occurred in a different time. If he were alive today there is no way he could overcome the bad image he would have because of the numerous sexual escapades and the reliance on pain-killers, steroids, and...more

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Mar 23, 2011 Caroline rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-history, kennedy-family, biography

This is definitely one of the best JFK biographies out there. I've read this twice now, which is rare for me with a biography. It's incredibly comprehensive, very detailed, and quite balanced. A lot of books on JFK either verge on hagiography or they seem to take a salacious interest in recounting the womanizing, the medical problems, the anti-Castro actions - this book doesn't excuse or condone the less savoury aspects of JFK's character but it does try to explain and put them in context. He co...more

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Jan 05, 2013 William Oh rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had to read this entire book for my English dialectical (a journal where you have to take a page of notes on every chapter).

Considering that this was around 700 pages and had more than 40 chapters, this was not a fun reading experience for me.

Regardless though, the biography itself was rich and extensive. Honestly, though I was a fan of JFK before I read this, but afterwards, not so much.

He womanized and cheated so much, and he only got into Congress because of his father's money and influenc...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Linda Nichols rated it 5 of 5 stars

Delves deeply into the life and especially the presidency of JFK. I've always admired him, and now know him more as a real man and not just a demigod, as so many would have us believe he is. I suppose I'm particularly close to this man because I was a high school sophomore in Dallas when he was assassinated. It was a very painful period of time for all of us, whether we liked him or not. I've learned a good deal more history with this book. I was not aware, for instance, that the Bay of Pigs Inv...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Claudia rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book (so far) provides an excellent view into the path John F. Kennedy took to become President. It also discusses his many illnesses that he suffered from physically, that until now, were not commonly known. I knew he had back problems and Addison's Disease, but I had no idea how many times he was in the hospital, and the grueling tests he had performed on him. I'm about half-way finished with the book.

Finished with the book ~ it was okay, but not one of my favorites. My biggest complaint...more

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Feb 17, 2010 Kaelie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: on-the-shelf

I have an insane love for the Kennedy Family, and this was an excellent book. While it only touches on the generally bright moments of Kennedy's life/presidency, it is pretty accurate. To balance this out, I read Seymour M. Hersh's Dark Side of Camelot, which pulls out all the negative. Dallek's book was mostly bright, with the occasional display of a failure of Kennedy's, but Kennedy always came out the hero.

I had no illusions of the perfect Kennedy that most people seem to have, so the book wa...more

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Feb 09, 2010 Adam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazing insight on the many complex issues from the presidency in the 60's. Although I am as guilty as the next person, I appreciated the subject matter of foreign and domestic policies rather than the personal life into what it's like "being Kennedy." Almost nothing is written of Caroline, John Jr., and/or Jackie (for that matter) from 1961-1963. But this is a must read to have as deep an understanding of the ability to overcome (and even to cover-up) all obstacles of his medical ailments, reli...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Fred rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobiography

Well done biography. I never realized the extent of the serious health problems the President had even from his youth. I found it interesting that President Kennedy relied so much on his brother Bobby's advice in making decisions. According to the author, the President certainly had little confidence in the advise from the military leaders, who wanted to bomb Cuba and every one else. He just did not trust them. At times he even rejected the advice of his cabinet on many occasions. The public gi...more

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Dec 18, 2009 Billcorcoran rated it 5 of 5 stars

A great overview of his life that doensn't white wash the scandolous parts of his life but really doesn't focus on it too much. The most interesting part to me was the foreign policy chess game between Kennedy and Kruschev that took place all over the world in places like Laos, Vietnam, Berlin, and Cuba. I was particularly fascinated by the way policy decisions on one area could cause all kinds of problems in one of the other areas.

I was also intrigued by the sections covering the Civil Rights...more

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Mar 23, 2009 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Incredibly readable and engaging...even at 700+ pages. Learned so much about the complexities of world affairs during Kennedy's short time in office and how he both failed and succeeded in addressing them. The book shines a light on the pressures and politics involved in being president and how no decision is easily made. I do wish more had been discussed in terms of Kennedy's role as a father...barely a mention is made. The second half of the book focuses almost exclusively on his role and resp...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Jeff Kelleher rated it 4 of 5 stars

The esteemed author of a two-volume biography of LBJ takes a hand at a "comprehensive" bio of JFK, drawing on all that went before, and adding some new research.

A lot went before. More books have been written about JFK than any other presidents except Lincoln and FDR. If you don't want to wade through them all, this is a good one-stop choice.

The main new information comes from Dallek's first-ever access to cartons of unsorted medical records from Dr. Janet Travell, JFK's official in-house physic...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Lara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, kennedy-for-me

Well, I've been reading this one on and off for a few months here and I just can't make myself finish it. I love JFK; I think he's easily one of our most interesting politicians, both the good and "dark" sides of him, but Robert Dallek somehow manages to make him dull as dirt--something I did not think possible. This book is due back at the library tomorrow, and I've decided to just return it. I'll try to read the Cuban Missile Crisis chapters before then, but I honestly am considering just read...more Well, I've been reading this one on and off for a few months here and I just can't make myself finish it. I love JFK; I think he's easily one of our most interesting politicians, both the good and "dark" sides of him, but Robert Dallek somehow manages to make him dull as dirt--something I did not think possible. This book is due back at the library tomorrow, and I've decided to just return it. I'll try to read the Cuban Missile Crisis chapters before then, but I honestly am considering just reading a different book.

This is not to say, however, that this book is invaluable to Kennedy studies. Dallek reveals so many heretofore unknown facts about Kennedy's health situations, which has proved an irreplaceable asset to understanding his state of mind, struggles, and, in many ways, triumphs. Knowing how many times he viewed himself as on the brink of death, knowing that Jack was always aware of the fact that he would die young, makes his death ever so much more tragic. I have come to respect him very much through reading these biographies, and this one did offer some valuable information.

I suppose what annoys me about the presentation of facts in this biography, and this criticism pertains to many historians in general, is Dallek's tendency to reduce JFK's life to dates and events, critical facts and overanalysis. This poses many problems, in my opinion. Think about it: with Kennedy's life, you have intrigue, political unrest--domestic and international, sex, health issues, numerous tragedies, a ruthless father who used the acquisition of wealth as a form of rebellion against the oppression he endured to his Irish heritage, and so much more! There is a reason there are so many Kennedy biographies, and it is not because of his murder; we want to understand this morally ambiguous, ambitious, highly intellectual, sickly man who saved us from nuclear war, began the space program, and at least strove to understand civil rights. Yet, with this biography, it's easy to confuse who's who, what happened when, and why we are even interested in reading this at all, which is definitely one of the worst ways to treat such a fascinating biographical subject.

I do recommend this biography for people interested in a balanced account of JFK's presidency. For his childhood and young adulthood, you are better off reading JFK: Reckless Youth. The good thing is there are so, so many more JFK biographies in case you feel a little underwhelmed by this text. (less)

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Apr 24, 2012 Richel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: john-f-kennedy, biography, my-book, favorites

A great book indeed. The author wrote well and very exhaustively. It presents an answer to every question one has in mind. For anyone who is a stranger to the events obtaining at that time (like me who is a Filipino, and born just as Kennedy was elected President of the US), the book is informative.

To record what I thought are worth remembering about the subject, I wrote a summary. Thus:

Pres. Kennedy's ancestors, both from the father side and the mother side, were Irish Catholics who were drive...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Kathy Mckean rated it 3 of 5 stars

Very interesting to read a new biography of JFK. Frankly, I abandoned Chris Matthews' fawning little book and picked this up....this had more meat. I thought he went overboard on the things that don't matter -- putting in the titillating stuff that sells books to the masses -- but overall, an interesting study of a complex man.

What struck me most was how difficult it is to be President of the US, and how extremely difficult it was in the early 1960s. There were a couple of junctures where his i...more

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An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963

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