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The Presidential Series #2
The Kennedy Endeavor
Book 2 of the Nationally Bestselling Presidential Series by Bob Mayer.
No one looks for something that isn’t supposed to exist.
For 13 days in October 1962 the world came the closest to nuclear Armageddon. On 22 November 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated. On the 25th of November, as Kennedy’s body lay in state at the Rotunda in Washington, Anastas Mikyoan, Khrushchev’s top adviser, presented the Premier’s condolences to Jacqueline Kennedy. She took Mikoyan’s hand in both hers and told him: “I am sure that Chairman Khrushchev and my husband could have been successful in the search for peace, and they were really striving for that. Now you must continue this endeavor and bring it to completion.”
On 12 October 1964, a Washington socialite named Mary Meyer was shot in the back of the head and through the heart at point-blank range. She had been married to a high-ranking CIA agent. More importantly, she had been carrying on an affair with President John F. Kennedy and was one of his most trusted friends, at his side through the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Mary Meyer kept a secret diary.
On 13 October 1964, the day after Mary Meyer’s murder, the Soviet Politburo forced Nikita Khrushchev to resign from power and put him under house arrest.
What was in Mary Meyer’s diary that caused her murder and Khrushchev’s resignation?
Paul Ducharme learns that someone is searching APS Archives for information about Kennedy and Khrushchev, looking for details of a secret deal made between the two after the missile crisis that has significant repercussions to this day—that in fact, could spell nuclear destruction for the United States.
To find out what those two world leaders did, Ducharme must unravel the mystery of Kennedy’s assassination, the murky history of the CIA, and what role the Society of the Cincinnati played in all of those. And, most chilling of all, what role his own American Philosophical Society played.
No one looks for something that isn’t supposed to exist.
For 13 days in October 1962 the world came the closest to nuclear Armageddon. On 22 November 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated. On the 25th of November, as Kennedy’s body lay in state at the Rotunda in Washington, Anastas Mikyoan, Khrushchev’s top adviser, presented the Premier’s condolences to Jacqueline Kennedy. She took Mikoyan’s hand in both hers and told him: “I am sure that Chairman Khrushchev and my husband could have been successful in the search for peace, and they were really striving for that. Now you must continue this endeavor and bring it to completion.”
On 12 October 1964, a Washington socialite named Mary Meyer was shot in the back of the head and through the heart at point-blank range. She had been married to a high-ranking CIA agent. More importantly, she had been carrying on an affair with President John F. Kennedy and was one of his most trusted friends, at his side through the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Mary Meyer kept a secret diary.
On 13 October 1964, the day after Mary Meyer’s murder, the Soviet Politburo forced Nikita Khrushchev to resign from power and put him under house arrest.
What was in Mary Meyer’s diary that caused her murder and Khrushchev’s resignation?
Paul Ducharme learns that someone is searching APS Archives for information about Kennedy and Khrushchev, looking for details of a secret deal made between the two after the missile crisis that has significant repercussions to this day—that in fact, could spell nuclear destruction for the United States.
To find out what those two world leaders did, Ducharme must unravel the mystery of Kennedy’s assassination, the murky history of the CIA, and what role the Society of the Cincinnati played in all of those. And, most chilling of all, what role his own American Philosophical Society played.
268 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 2013
104 people are currently reading
319 people want to read
About the author
Bob Mayer
212 books47.8k followersBesides my own interests, I read whatever my wife tells me to read-- she's a voracious reader and has wide-ranging tastes as my reviews show (she also always has the TV remote and she's always right about what to watch). I read a lot of nonfiction, mostly for research. Some of my favorite books are Lonesome Dove, Mystic River, LOTR, and an array of science fiction classics including the Foundation series. Our house is covered with books, although I finally broke down and started reading eBooks, strangely enough on my iPhone. Since I carry it pretty much everywhere, it means I always have an entire library of books with me.
I'm a West Point graduate, former Green Beret and a New York Times Bestselling Author. I've sold over five million books. My newest series begins with New York Minute, a thriller set in New York City in 1977.
I love using history and science in my books. My Area 51 series pretty much had me rewriting our entire history of civilization.
I'm a West Point graduate, former Green Beret and a New York Times Bestselling Author. I've sold over five million books. My newest series begins with New York Minute, a thriller set in New York City in 1977.
I love using history and science in my books. My Area 51 series pretty much had me rewriting our entire history of civilization.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 28, 2016
A mix of macho action - with mercenaries trying to prevent a nuclear event originally initiated in 1963 - and little known secrets from the days of JFK's "Camelot". There is good and evil on both the Russian and the American sides of this story and Mayer tries to be even-handed, not giving in to the gung-ho attitude that pervades similar books. I'd have given it 2.5 stars but Mayer's bid to show that world politics is not all black and white raises it to 3. A fast read and the author reveals some fascinating facts from the days of Kennedy and Khrushchev, which will prove a real eye opener to those readers who aren't aware of the real story of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
June 3, 2022
This made no sense whatever to me.
To me this is a horrible awful terrible P OS that should never have been written.
This book — to me — really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really
Fokking STINKS !!!!!
And so i quit at page 39….
.
To me this is a horrible awful terrible P OS that should never have been written.
This book — to me — really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really
Fokking STINKS !!!!!
And so i quit at page 39….
.
June 10, 2017
Great second outing
Reading this I felt it was missing a word that made some sentences feel clunky. After reading all his books I can say this effort wasn't his best.
Reading this I felt it was missing a word that made some sentences feel clunky. After reading all his books I can say this effort wasn't his best.
January 11, 2014
The Cold War – the conflict between the former Soviet Union and the United States. It’s a period rarely covered in US history classes. John F Kennedy, the Bay of Pigs and Nikita Khrushchev even more ghosts of a period most gloss over yet the time period was real and very dangerous for the whole of mankind. Nuclear warfare, all within a touch, literally, of a finger, capable of killing the world, stood at the edge of the Cold War. Thank heavens its over – or is it?
In Bob Mayer’s latest, The Kennedy Endeavor, once more, the past comes to haunt today in a scary scenario bordering on the truth. During the Cold War, both the USA and USSR were stockpiling nuclear arms, as if owning more would win. Finally, it came to being that this madness needed to stop and both sides agreed to dispose their nukes – but what if they didn’t? What if a few remained? The Sword of Damocles still hung over us to this day? This is the basis for this book and the way its written, Mayer’s argument over power struggles that should have died as the USSR fell apart are still prevalent today with the threat bordering into an inferno.
The book pits the rivalry of two old factions from the 18th century – Alexander Hamilton’s Society of the Cincinnati verses Thomas Jefferson’s United States Military Philosophical Society (MPS). Hamilton’s Federalist Party supported a strong central government with strong foreign policy. This was the opposite of Jefferson’s Anti-Federalist Party, who believed in decentralized government with a non-interventionist foreign policy. The Cincinnatians and Philosophers still battle today for domestic power and control of the US foreign policy.
Kennedy spoke to the United Nations about the Sword of Damocles dangling over our heads, threatening to strike. Taking this speech, Mayer weaves a tale that jumps between Kennedy’s presidency and today. Both the Cincinnatians and Philosophers wage a war for power that includes missing nuclear arms discovered in Turkey poised to strike the former USSR. These nukes are 50 years old – buried in the mountains, did they still work and who wants them? And why?
The book goes back and forth, between Kennedy, his brother, Khrushchev and Kennedy’s mistress Mary Meyer and today’s covert forces. It gets a bit confusing at times – several characters vying for attention. Former Soviet’s children wanting justification for a parent’s death, the two political forces trying to claim ownership of the day and a third unknown power, the Peacekeepers, the ones who control the infamous Sword. Once you can keep your characters and their respective parties straight, the story pulls you, making you not want to put it down. Several times, Mayer’s introduces links to the recordings of Kennedy’s UN speech and that in itself is fascinating – the power of digital copy. The writing is superb and definitely takes you deep as Mayer’s story has the unexpected happen, making you wonder what could possible be next?
I strongly recommend this book but be forewarned – Mayer’s plot and the facts he based this off of, will leave you on the seat of your chair and truly questioning what is fact and what is fiction? Because, in the long run, this strongly hints the structure that this could happen today or in the future. These powers do exist and struggle for domination. Pay attention, America – for the Sword of Damocles hangs on thin threads and those able to cut it stand dangerously close…
In Bob Mayer’s latest, The Kennedy Endeavor, once more, the past comes to haunt today in a scary scenario bordering on the truth. During the Cold War, both the USA and USSR were stockpiling nuclear arms, as if owning more would win. Finally, it came to being that this madness needed to stop and both sides agreed to dispose their nukes – but what if they didn’t? What if a few remained? The Sword of Damocles still hung over us to this day? This is the basis for this book and the way its written, Mayer’s argument over power struggles that should have died as the USSR fell apart are still prevalent today with the threat bordering into an inferno.
The book pits the rivalry of two old factions from the 18th century – Alexander Hamilton’s Society of the Cincinnati verses Thomas Jefferson’s United States Military Philosophical Society (MPS). Hamilton’s Federalist Party supported a strong central government with strong foreign policy. This was the opposite of Jefferson’s Anti-Federalist Party, who believed in decentralized government with a non-interventionist foreign policy. The Cincinnatians and Philosophers still battle today for domestic power and control of the US foreign policy.
Kennedy spoke to the United Nations about the Sword of Damocles dangling over our heads, threatening to strike. Taking this speech, Mayer weaves a tale that jumps between Kennedy’s presidency and today. Both the Cincinnatians and Philosophers wage a war for power that includes missing nuclear arms discovered in Turkey poised to strike the former USSR. These nukes are 50 years old – buried in the mountains, did they still work and who wants them? And why?
The book goes back and forth, between Kennedy, his brother, Khrushchev and Kennedy’s mistress Mary Meyer and today’s covert forces. It gets a bit confusing at times – several characters vying for attention. Former Soviet’s children wanting justification for a parent’s death, the two political forces trying to claim ownership of the day and a third unknown power, the Peacekeepers, the ones who control the infamous Sword. Once you can keep your characters and their respective parties straight, the story pulls you, making you not want to put it down. Several times, Mayer’s introduces links to the recordings of Kennedy’s UN speech and that in itself is fascinating – the power of digital copy. The writing is superb and definitely takes you deep as Mayer’s story has the unexpected happen, making you wonder what could possible be next?
I strongly recommend this book but be forewarned – Mayer’s plot and the facts he based this off of, will leave you on the seat of your chair and truly questioning what is fact and what is fiction? Because, in the long run, this strongly hints the structure that this could happen today or in the future. These powers do exist and struggle for domination. Pay attention, America – for the Sword of Damocles hangs on thin threads and those able to cut it stand dangerously close…
February 24, 2017
Good but not great
I guess I should have expected that as a series we would see the same characters. I was hoping for something more. The same protagonists and antagonists from book one. I would have preferred new people and new character development. A decent job.
I guess I should have expected that as a series we would see the same characters. I was hoping for something more. The same protagonists and antagonists from book one. I would have preferred new people and new character development. A decent job.
March 15, 2016
For thirteen days in October 1962, the world stood on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. Only back-channel diplomacy between U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev averted a world-ending nuclear war. But was there more to their diplomatic agreement than history recorded?
Within a year, Kennedy was dead, ostensibly killed by the lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald. A year later, Kennedy's long-time confidant and one-time lover, Mary Meyer, was also dead, shot execution-style. And the day after Meyer's death, Khrushchev was ousted from power and placed under house arrest. Were these events an attempt to hide the real reason the world survived the Cold War?
In The Kennedy Endeavor, the second in author Bob Mayer's Presidential Series, the American Philosophical Society, founded by Thomas Jefferson at the founding of the United States to secure the rights of the people, continues its battle with the Society of the Cincinnati, founded by Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists to promote a centralized government concentrating power in a small selected elite.
Green Beret Paul Ducharme and former CIA-agent Evie Tolliver, newly anointed leaders of the "Philosophers," must unearth the secret pact made by Kennedy and Khrushchev which now threatens to destroy two of the world's great cities -- Moscow and New York. To do so, they must join forces with the "Cincinnatians." Ducharme and Tolliver race a nuclear countdown as they unravel long-hidden secrets -- secrets for which their new "allies" may kill them.
Any novel by Mayer is a history lesson wrapped in a plot. The Kennedy Endeavor, the sequel to The Jefferson Allegiance, is no different. Chapters alternate between the struggles of Ducharme and Tolliver, and a fictionalized narrative of the dark days leading from the Missiles of October to the assassination of JFK. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction or a good thriller will enjoy The Kennedy Endeavor.
Within a year, Kennedy was dead, ostensibly killed by the lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald. A year later, Kennedy's long-time confidant and one-time lover, Mary Meyer, was also dead, shot execution-style. And the day after Meyer's death, Khrushchev was ousted from power and placed under house arrest. Were these events an attempt to hide the real reason the world survived the Cold War?
In The Kennedy Endeavor, the second in author Bob Mayer's Presidential Series, the American Philosophical Society, founded by Thomas Jefferson at the founding of the United States to secure the rights of the people, continues its battle with the Society of the Cincinnati, founded by Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists to promote a centralized government concentrating power in a small selected elite.
Green Beret Paul Ducharme and former CIA-agent Evie Tolliver, newly anointed leaders of the "Philosophers," must unearth the secret pact made by Kennedy and Khrushchev which now threatens to destroy two of the world's great cities -- Moscow and New York. To do so, they must join forces with the "Cincinnatians." Ducharme and Tolliver race a nuclear countdown as they unravel long-hidden secrets -- secrets for which their new "allies" may kill them.
Any novel by Mayer is a history lesson wrapped in a plot. The Kennedy Endeavor, the sequel to The Jefferson Allegiance, is no different. Chapters alternate between the struggles of Ducharme and Tolliver, and a fictionalized narrative of the dark days leading from the Missiles of October to the assassination of JFK. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction or a good thriller will enjoy The Kennedy Endeavor.
December 30, 2013
The Kennedy Endeavor is another fine book from Bob Mayer. I like that The Kennedy Endeavor takes place immediately after the events in The Jefferson Allegiance. There was a lot of historical fiction in this one, much more than in the previous book. There were times that I thought there was too much of it and not enough of the present day stuff, but either way the story worked out well. I enjoy reading about the characters Evie and Ducharme and even Burns works well. I enjoyed the plot and how it melds real history with the fiction to create an interesting story.
Overall a great book and if you've read the first book and liked it then I don't see why you wouldn't enjoy The Kennedy Endeavor.
Overall a great book and if you've read the first book and liked it then I don't see why you wouldn't enjoy The Kennedy Endeavor.
August 5, 2014
A quick read given the length of the book and how easy it was for read. It was overall a mostly enjoyable book with a bit of history and secret societies somewhat. Maybe not quite as good as the first one in the series but still an alright book. If you have liked previous books by Bob Mayer, you will likely enjoy this book as well. Throws in some history of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but nothing too elaborate.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
October 22, 2015
I love these books by Bob Mayer. The combination of history, good characters, and a splash of fiction makes for a fun read. It also makes me Google - a lot! Using real life incidents, tinged with fiction, Bob Mayer brings pivotal events to life and twists them a bit. I would highly recommend this book.
December 2, 2014
WOW what a rush
Have to get the first book in this series. This is a page turner you can't put down. Tells a great story and keeps you guessing who the good guys are. Would recommend to anyone who likes Tom Clancy.
Have to get the first book in this series. This is a page turner you can't put down. Tells a great story and keeps you guessing who the good guys are. Would recommend to anyone who likes Tom Clancy.
September 10, 2015
A good read
I really enjoyed this book. I really didn't want it to end.
I am a huge fan of historical fiction and can appreciate a well-crafted conspiracy theory.
I really enjoyed this book. I really didn't want it to end.
I am a huge fan of historical fiction and can appreciate a well-crafted conspiracy theory.
February 11, 2016
The second book in the "Presidential Series" "The Kennedy Endeavor" takes up right where the first book "The Jefferson Allegiance" left off. Both are fast action thrillers that all should enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews