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John F. Kennedy, President
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365 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1963
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 28, 2021
Prior to reading this narrative of the 35th president, I’d previously read, “President Kennedy: profile of Power” by Richard Reeves and “Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero,” by Chris Matthews.
And as well written as these two works were, not to mention the impressive credentials of the lauded journalist and the news anchor/political commentator, they were both, to my mind, semi-scholarly works, both of great value in and of themselves, but seemed to look at Kennedy through the eyes of an academic.
It was with this in mind that I was intrigued by the idea of reading about Kennedy’s presidency through the eyes of a closer observer, one who actually participated in the iconic events of a presidency that was all to brief yet packed with historically significant moments.
Before reading this book, I knew a bit about High Sidey, albeit this knowledge was limited to the highlights of his career, including the fact that he worked as a journalist for Life magazine from 1955-1957, then Time after that. I knew he’d covered presidents for these magazines, ranging from Eisenhower to Clinton. I also knew that he interacted rather closely with Kennedy during his presidency, but after a little digging learned that the easy comfortable rapport was on Kennedy’s initiative, which surprised me.
Hugh Sidey, I learned, was actually in the room on April 14, 1961, when Kennedy was discussing how he’d respond to Yuri Gagarin’s recent spaceflight. The fact that the journalist was actually present for this meeting where the president was trying to deal with the fact that the USA was perceived to be lagging behind the Soviet Union in the “Space Race” up to that point was significant, but to my mind, it was Kennedy’s reaction to Sidey that was unexpected.
It was 6:35PM when Kennedy, returning from a congressional coffee hour, walked into the cabinet room at the same time Sidey was himself being escorted in. Kennedy pulled out a chair for him at the end of the table, while saying to the surprised journalist,
“Here, you sit at the head of the table. That’s a good place.”
There seemed to be a natural kind of understanding between the journalist and the president, and I wanted to take a look at the Kennedy presidency and it’s times through this closer, more intimate vantagepoint. Reading Sidey’s account was almost as if he were saying, “Come along with me, I’ll tell you the tale of what I experienced…”
And experience I did, finding myself immersed into this quasi-intimate narrative of Kennedy’s Peace Corps, his grappling with the repressive symbolism of the Berlin Wall and the president’s battle with the big steel corporations. We get a closer look at Kennedy’s visits to Paris and Vienna and the dramatic events that led to Kennedy coming to the Civil Right movement.
Overall, an amazingly close look at the times of the 35th president.
And as well written as these two works were, not to mention the impressive credentials of the lauded journalist and the news anchor/political commentator, they were both, to my mind, semi-scholarly works, both of great value in and of themselves, but seemed to look at Kennedy through the eyes of an academic.
It was with this in mind that I was intrigued by the idea of reading about Kennedy’s presidency through the eyes of a closer observer, one who actually participated in the iconic events of a presidency that was all to brief yet packed with historically significant moments.
Before reading this book, I knew a bit about High Sidey, albeit this knowledge was limited to the highlights of his career, including the fact that he worked as a journalist for Life magazine from 1955-1957, then Time after that. I knew he’d covered presidents for these magazines, ranging from Eisenhower to Clinton. I also knew that he interacted rather closely with Kennedy during his presidency, but after a little digging learned that the easy comfortable rapport was on Kennedy’s initiative, which surprised me.
Hugh Sidey, I learned, was actually in the room on April 14, 1961, when Kennedy was discussing how he’d respond to Yuri Gagarin’s recent spaceflight. The fact that the journalist was actually present for this meeting where the president was trying to deal with the fact that the USA was perceived to be lagging behind the Soviet Union in the “Space Race” up to that point was significant, but to my mind, it was Kennedy’s reaction to Sidey that was unexpected.
It was 6:35PM when Kennedy, returning from a congressional coffee hour, walked into the cabinet room at the same time Sidey was himself being escorted in. Kennedy pulled out a chair for him at the end of the table, while saying to the surprised journalist,
“Here, you sit at the head of the table. That’s a good place.”
There seemed to be a natural kind of understanding between the journalist and the president, and I wanted to take a look at the Kennedy presidency and it’s times through this closer, more intimate vantagepoint. Reading Sidey’s account was almost as if he were saying, “Come along with me, I’ll tell you the tale of what I experienced…”
And experience I did, finding myself immersed into this quasi-intimate narrative of Kennedy’s Peace Corps, his grappling with the repressive symbolism of the Berlin Wall and the president’s battle with the big steel corporations. We get a closer look at Kennedy’s visits to Paris and Vienna and the dramatic events that led to Kennedy coming to the Civil Right movement.
Overall, an amazingly close look at the times of the 35th president.
March 13, 2019
Great book on the Kennedy years when a reporter was with him a lot of the time. Written in 1964 shortly after his death. A lot of 60's history here.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews