JFK

The man behind the icon.

A Kennedy specialist, Taraborrelli has written six books on the family, yet this is the first on JFK. Americans have idolized subsequent presidents for their political views, but Kennedy and his circle’s glamour captivated the world. The author states bluntly that Kennedy was assigned the goal of being president by his father, a wealthy, fiercely ambitious Democrat with eyes on the 1940 election who ruined his career when, as ambassador to Britain, early in the war he repeatedly warned FDR not to support a decrepit nation sure to lose to the Nazis. He transferred his ambition to John, who, after well-publicized heroism in the South Pacific, was elected to the House in 1947, Senate in 1953, and presidency in 1960. Taraborrelli is not the first to disparage his political acumen. Kennedy shared the average voter’s fierce anti-communism, kept silent on McCarthyism, and paid little attention to the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement until forced to deal with it as president. Taraborrelli gives priority to his personal life, a disturbing experience for most readers, although his sexual appetite is old news. Plagued throughout life by crippling back pain, he often required crutches, underwent several unsuccessful spinal operations, and patronized dubious personal physicians who kept him going with injections of amphetamines and painkillers. A serial adulterer, JFK’s father had no objection to the son’s behavior but insisted that anyone he married be suitable for a presidential candidate; Jacqueline met his approval, although neither she nor Jack were in love. Most readers will be shocked at how badly he treated her after their 1953 marriage; she seriously considered divorce, although by his years as president they had achieved a deep affection. Other biographers, led by Robert Dallek, delve more deeply into politics, but Taraborrelli nonetheless has written a commendable history.

An excellent biography of the 35th president.