Product Description
A collection of Presidential Speeches from George Washington's first Inaugural Address in 1789 to the second term Inauguration address by George W. Bush.

... Read more

Product Description
Tackling head-on the most controversial and debated _what if_ in U.S. foreign policy, this provocative work explores what President John F. Kennedy would have done in Vietnam had he not been assassinated in 1963. Drawing on a wealth of recently declassified documents, frank oral testimony of White House officials from both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and the analysis of top historians, this book presents compelling evidence that JFK was ready to end U.S. involvement well before the conflict escalated. With vivid immediacy, readers will feel they are in the president's war room as the debates raged that forever changed the course of American history_and continue to affect us profoundly as the shadows of Vietnam stretch into Iraq. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

***NOT*** What I Expected.... **Don't** Waste Your $$ On This One..
Ok, I bought this book and dvd, in the hopes that it would be an "What If?" book in the genre of Turtledove and Gingrich, etc.
Boy, was I mistaken.. Instead of weaving a compelling 'alternate history' story using JFK's own words, I was submitted to a bunch of talking heads and pictures of same.
The dvd, while a nice treasury of JFK conferences, was just that - and not what I had expected either.
So, if you're looking for a book to read while paint dries, this is it.If you're looking for another great "What If?" catagory book to add to your collection, this isn't it.

Don't Bother
If anything is clear about the many "mysteries of history" it is this: John F. Kennedy -- had he not been taken out by his own National Security State -- would not have "Americanized" the war in Vietnam. The 60,000 American boys would not have been sacrificed, and (more importantly) neither would have been the 3,000,000 Southeast Asians in what would become the Johnson/Nixon/Kissinger genocide.

So what's the point of this book? No point at all. James Blight has gathered together for a weekend of kippers, strawberry scones, and piping hot Kopi Luwak a bunch of talking heads, some of whom are agenda-setting liars(some with blood on their hands such as the always dull Chet Cooper), passionately devoted to the myth that "Well, heck. It just don't matter who's POTUS. JFK, LBJ, Chester A. Arthur -- Vietnam as we know it was inevitable."

Yeah, sure. As inevitable as that terrible war we fought in Laos, as inevitable as the nuclear war we fought over the Berlin Wall, and the nuclear war we fought over Cuba, and the thousands of troops sent to Indonesia to stop the Leftist insurgents there, and the dramatic expansion of US nuclear arsenals in the early 60s. . .

Oh, wait. You say that none of these things happened? Yeah, that's right, they didn't. And they didn't happen because of one man: John F. Kennedy.

What's particularly obnoxious about this book is what Blight et. al. chooses to ignore. You know who is barely mentioned in this 420-pager?: Mr. Henry Cabot Lodge. Not mentioned at all is Lt. Col. Lucien Conein. Not mentioned: Ed Lansdale(except in passing), Ted Shackley and CIA Saigon station chief William Colby. ('Though George Clooney is mentioned.) Why is this important? (Not the Clooney part.) Because these five men -- among many others -- were traitors and did all they could to sabotage just about all aspects of JFK's Vietnam policy ON THE GROUND. Behind Kennedy's back, for example, they arranged for the murder of the Ngo brothers.

Also repugnant is who was not invited to the Hamptons chat: Howard Jones, Jim Douglass, David Kaiser, John Newman, the great Gareth Porter(whose masterpiece "Perils of Dominance" blows away all the arguments made by the LBJ Fanboys), Lawrence Freedman, among others: all men whose expertise on Vietnam ranges far and wide, much further and wider than this silly experiment was obviously willing to go. Guess that's the price you pay for access to Bill Moyers.

For reality, buy Jim Douglass's "JFK and the Unspeakable"(whose account of the Saigon intrigue through the summer and autumn of '63 is unmatched). And be sure to pick up the excellent DVD "Virtual JFK" to be released here at Amazon next week.

Virtual JFK: Vietnam if Kennedy Had Lived
(To be clear, this is a review of the film adaptation of the book.)


There is an excellent 30-year old BBC series that aired numerous times in the U.S., entitled, "Connections."In it, British journalist James Burke explores how, throughout history, often accidental minutiae ends up having profound impact on humankind.

Such is the premise of "Virtual JFK: Vietnam if Kennedy Had Lived," which asked the question of if the "police action" in Vietnam would have happened if President John F. Kennedy hadn't been assassinated.

The filmmaker, Koji Masutani, distills Kennedy's major Cold War policy dealings of his roughly 1,000-day presidency into six major avoidances of war.From this, he postulates that Kennedy consistently avoided war and would have again in Vietnam if he'd lived.

The film spends a lot of time in Kennedy press conferences, the time when we see our presidents most publicly vulnerable and witness shades of their character as they're peppered with often-unfriendly questions in a sink-or-swim format.With the 20/20 clarity of history, we see how in this kinder, gentler age of journalism, the reporters grill him, but still stay respectful.We also see him charm the reporters with charisma and intelligence, which we now know was a necessary part of Kennedy's maintaining an inappropriate personal life in the face of their knowledge.

Since Masutani is so obviously an unabashed Kennedy fan, the question arises of how much footage was discarded during his research that didn't jibe with his conclusion.Kennedy also consistently spoke out of both sides of this mouth regarding troop escalation in Vietnam, his most salient words repeated by his successor, President Johnson, to maintain support for the war.In Masutani's telling, there is no black-and-white ideology.There are only angels (Democrats) and demons (LBJ for escalating troop involvement and Republicans, but Especially Anything Richard Nixon).When the personal side of Kennedy is shown he's young and flashing a million-dollar smile while hamming it up with his his siblings.Down time for Johnson is footage of his lumbering frame in a pool about to kiss his dog.

Kennedy's press conferences also seem to have been used as a template for President Barack Obama.While we watch Kennedy we hear the same cadences, the same "uhhh"s and similar logical expressions of identical ideologies from Obama.The same "youth and inexperience" claims leveled at Obama give us a sense of deja vu.

The events depicted are fascinating about quite uncomfortable subjects.We are subjected to a patient explanation of domino theory.We see a young Fidel Castro and are reminded of Adolf Hitler.We see Nikita Kruschev at the height of his power and can't help but wince at what he could have been.We watch Defense Secretary Bob McNamara coolly lay out how many Americans would die in a Soviet first strike launched from Cuba.Somehow the tone becomes ever more somber as the inexorable march to assassination overtakes the film.However, we're captivated and are compelled to watch, even with full knowledge of how the events played out.

Perhaps part of the film's worship of Kennedy shows in how it makes it appear that his policies were in now way shaped by his close trusted advisors, to whom absolutely no credit is given, from Robert Kennedy on down.The other major peacemaker in the movie is successor president Lyndon Johnson's VP, Hubert Humphrey, who vehemently disagreed with Johnson on the level of involvement in Vietnam.It's almost as if we're to believe that fully formed peaceful warriors descend from the heavans to help humankind resolve our warlike tendencies before being either cut down or defeated in an election.

A fair amount of time is given to President Johnson, who ends up being extremely sympathetic.The blustery, arm-twisting, greatest legislator-turned-President of the 20th century is shown as a soft-spoken and ultimately broken man who ends up bleeding into history over the thousands of American boys killed in Vietnam.Lady Bird Johnson as well, who actually gets more screen time than Jackie.

In spite of his personal shortcomings and political moral ambiguities, Kennedy was a peacemaker.Whether he would have avoided all out war in Vietnam will probably be forever open to debate.

In the final analysis, we emerge from the film thankful for someone of Kennedy's ilk during an all-too-long international nightmare.

Virtual JFK,Vietnam if Kennedy had lived
This film truly made history come alive for me.I could see direct parallels to our involvement in Iraq.How I wish American national leadership from 2000 to 2008 had the capacity of discernment, policy correction and promulgation displayed in this film.The marriage of professional historical review, film presentation and learned narration was thought provoking and moving.The film is well focused and well paced.I appreciated the relatively long segments given to hear President Kennedy explain at length to the world what his thought process and beliefs were on the great issues before him, our nation and the world.It was clear that the use of concise language based on fact and knowledge was prised by him and, I beleive, was appreciated by the American public.America needs to seek leaders who do not disdain intellect, curiosity (defined as a desire to learn or know)and use of language now and in the future.Film such as Virtual JFK brings us back to an even keel to consider what was past to apply to the now and future.Thank you Mr. Masutani (director) and Mr. Blight (historian, co-producer and narrator). ... Read more

Product Description
Most Americans know the story of John F. Kennedy and his boat, PT-109. Actually, what most people know about the 109 story is not the whole story. People do know the high lights of the “aftermath” of the sinking of the 109 (JFK saving his crew) but not exactly how the boat was sunk in the first place. Until recently, none of us had the full story.

Newly released Japanese war documents indicate that JFK was, literally, asleep at the wheel when a Japanese destroyer stalked and destroyed PT-109.Yet, despite this negligence, the full story of Kennedy's war service as a PT boat captain is a heroic one.

5000 words. Illustrated with 5 high-res b&w photographs plus a color painting of Kennedy's second boat, PT-59, by the author.

Joe Hinds is the author of the eleven-volume Definitive Illustrated History of the Torpedo Boat, 1280-1945 (Nimble Books). ... Read more

Product Description
A vivid, character-driven narration of the time before, during, and after Kennedy's death, centered on the Kennedys and the Castros, two opposed sets of brothers who collectively authored one of modern history's most gripping chapters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Yet another chapter in the JFK conspiracy, but...
This review is for the unabridged audio version. This book is a must read for no other reason than to follow the reasoning of why the authors believe the Castros were responsible for JFK's assassination. I still find it highly inplausible because I don't believe Fidel could have kept his mouth shut about the event without crowing about it to someone. Raul seems much better at keeping secrets, but there would be little retribution at this late date. Who would we punish? Most of the participants are either extremely old or dead by now. Still, the authors put together a very good book. If you are a serious JFK conspiracy follower, you know most of the facts by now. There is some information that was new to me, and some I had forgotten. The book contains photos that can't be included in the audio version. The reader for the audio version is good. I recommend this book for the well written point of view and how it is presented.

Did Castro Kill Kennedy?
It's the oldest JFK conspiracy theory in the book: The Kennedy brothers tried to assassinate Castro but, in retaliation, Castro got the President instead. For those who reject thefindings of the Warren Commission but don't wish to believe that there was a domestic conspiracy it certainly is a neat little theory. If you reject the Oswald-did-it-alone scenario but just can't bring yourself to go the extra step of accepting the notion that a coup d'etat could take place in America, then you might find some comfort in blaming an enemy overseas. However, if you find yourself more interested in the truth than in a particular theory's psychological appeal, you might ask yourself, "what are the facts?"

In 1975, a Senate Committee headed by Frank Church uncovered the fact that the CIA had made repeated attempts on the life of Fidel Castro. Although evidence suggests that these attempted assassinations began in 1959, the Church Committee "found concrete evidence of at least eight plots involving the CIA to assassinate Fidel Castro from 1960 to 1965." (Church Committee: Interim Report - Alleged Assassination plots involving Foreign Leaders, p71) The committee further reported that "the proposed assassination devices ran the gamut from high-powered rifles to poison pills, poison pens, deadly bacterial powders, and other devices which strain the imagination." (Ibid) Perhaps worst of all, the CIA even went as far as hiring members of organized crime to do its dirty work.

President Kennedy did not enter the White House until January 1961. Therefore, it cannot be claimed that the President or his brother were the instigators of plans to remove the Cuban leader that had begun at least a year previously. However, in November of 1961, Kennedy revealed to New York Times reporter Tad Szulc that he was under pressure to order Castro's assassination but felt that for "moral reasons" the United States should not be involved in such activity. (Ibid p138) A few days later, when speechwriter Dick Goodwin asked JFK about his comments to Szulc, he replied "We can't get into that kind of thing, or we would all be targets." (Ibid p139) Robert Kennedy, apparently felt the same way for he was furious when he discovered the CIA's Mafia plots in May of 1962. He summoned two top CIA officials to the Justice Department and sarcastically remarked, "I trust that if you ever do business again with organized crime...you will let the attorney general know." (Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years by David Talbotp86)

The likes of Gus Russo and other proponents of the Castro-did-it scenario would have it that the Kennedy brothers were acting, that their comments were staged to hide their own involvement in the murderous plots. But the Church Committee's exhaustive investigation uncovered no evidence that either Kennedy brother took any part in planning Castro's assassination. White House officials in abundance testified that they "had no knowledge of any assassination plan...and that they did not believe that President Kennedy's character orstyle of operating would be consistent with approving assassination." (Church Committee report p119) Theodore Sorensen, for example, swore that "such an act [as assassination] was totally foreign to his character and conscience, foreign to his fundamental reverence for human life." (Ibid p120) The testimony of top CIA officials revealed that no one in the agency had personal knowledge of official authorization from the President or the Attorney General. CIA Deputy Director of Plans Richard Helms was fond of hinting that Bobby Kennedy was behind the plots, but would claim no such thing under oath. In fact Helms admitted that "No member of the Kennedy administration ever told me that [assassination] was proscribed, [or] even referred to it in that fashion." (Ibid p149) When asked specifically if Robert Kennedy had ever told him to kill Castro, Helms' one-word answer was "No." (Ibid p151) Helms also explained that he did not seek approval "because assassination was not a subject which should be aired with higher authority." (Ibid)

But let us put all of this evidence aside for the moment and ask the most important question of all: Did Castro believe that JFK was responsible for the attempts on his life? For if we are to accept that Castro killed the President in revenge, then it is crucial to know if Castro believed that Kennedy was behind the CIA's plots. Unfortunately for followers of this theory, Castro believednothing of the sort. In 1984, Tad Szulc had the opportunity to disclose with Castro the details of his remarkable conversation with Kennedy in 1961. Castro listened with interest to Szulc'sextraordinary story and told him that it confirmed what he had always believed: That Kennedy had nothing to do with the CIA's murderous scheme. (Talbot p94) Ethal Kennedy, Bobby's widow, also had the chance to set the record straight with the Cuban premier. "I want you know something," She told him, "Jack and Bobby had nothing to do with the plots to kill you." "I know." he replied. (Ibid) And it is here that the Castro theory falls apart.Because if Castro knew that the Kennedy's were not behind the assassination attempts, that the CIA was acting on its own, then there would have been no reason for him to risk the nuclear annihilation of Cuba that would inevitably have followed.

By depending on unreliable and obviously biased sources like the CIA's Sam Helpern, Russo gets it all wrong. In fact, by accepting the Warren commission's non-existent case against Lee Oswald, Russo starts from a false premise. The fact is, the statements and testimonies of six witnesses, Bill Shelley (7H390), Charles Givens (CD5: 329), Eddie Piper (19H499), Carolyn Arnold (CD5:41), Harold Norman (3H189) and Junior Jarman (3H201-2), all corroborate what Oswald told Police and place him on the first floor of the depository building shortly before the assassination and at the time the real gunman was in the sixth floor window.

To be honest, I think the fact that Dale Myers - the Walt Disney of JFK research - gave this book a ringing endorsement is reason enough all by itself to avoid this particular work of fiction.

Complexities
Wading through so much detail almost made this a four star for me but the crux of the matter was so valuable that I gave it a five anyway.Having just read Lies My Teacher Told Me this made a great supplemental text.
I was especially struck by the complexities of the characters and how different aspects of their personalities came out, especially RFK, LBJ, and Raul Castro.As Lies... points out, our heroes are not without fault and neither are our demons without good qualities.

A Must-Read, and Not Just for Assassination Buffs
This may or may not be "the last word" on the Kennedy Assassination (is it possible to have "the last word" on such a subject?).But it is a deeply convincing look at connections between Oswald and the Cuban government and how those connections may have led to the assassination.

The authors contend that Oswald was a "self-generating agent" -- in other words, a person who was not recruited or trained by Cuba, but who sympathized deeply with the Cuban cause and brought himself to the attention of Cuban authorities.The Cubans, recognizing that he was a) sincere and b) not entirely sane, gave him some money, some encouragement, even some sex with young women working at the Cuban embassy in Mexico City.And what do you know, he actually *did* manage to kill JFK.I'm sure the first reaction was something pretty close to "Wow, who woulda thunk it!"

It was a strange time. Ten thousands of criminals, fanatics, fantasists, and peculiar characters were engaged on all sides of the Cuban issue.The U.S. was both trying to sponsor further invasions of Cuba and to have Fidel murdered.The Castros saw themselves as revolutionary heroes who would soon spread violent upheaval throughout Latin America, fulfilling the promise of communism in a way that their Soviet sponsors had not.On to this stage walked Lee Harvey Oswald, a half crazy malcontent who wanted to do something consequential, but lacked the education, the connections, and for the most part the ability.

The intelligence world is not an easy one for researchers (or anyone else) to navigate, but I felt the authors did a good job of making their case -- with the caution that they base a lot of their story on interviews with surviving players in that drama, who may have their own agendas, and that definitive documented truth is hard to come by.

While not an assassination buff, I've certainly read the major theories, and this one strikes me as the best fit in terms of accounting for every aspect of the strange story, including why the U.S. government would have moved so energetically to cover up the truth (to prevent World War III).The book is also notable for the number of questions it opens up, including the degree to which the American left of the 1960s was influenced by Soviet disinformation about the assassination.

Totally misleading, just another subterfuge to feed ignorance.
This book is a disrespect to the masses because nothing written here is tenable.
To begin, all this author wants is money, and we can see how just the title of this book is such a great peace of sensationalism. Furthermore, if someone agrees with this garbage is because a personal belief, not an objective viewpoint. Hence, this garbage is untenable because what would we understand, think, and say about Mario Marcello's confession then?

So please, if you are going to waste your time and money, just give your money to some vagrant on the street. That would be better than giving your money to this mediocre author. ... Read more

Product Description
In GRACE & POWER: THE PRIVATE WORLD OF THE KENNEDY WHITE HOUSE, New York Times bestselling author Sally Bedell Smith takes us inside the Kennedy White House with unparalleled access and insight. Having interviewed scores of Kennedy intimates, including many who have never spoken before, and drawing on letters and personal papers made available for the first time, Smith paints a richly detailed picture of the personal relationships behind the high purpose and poiltical drama of the twentieth century's most storied presidency.
At the dawn of the 1960s, a forty-three-year-old president and his thirty-one-year-old first lady – the youngest couple ever to occupy the White House – captivated the world with their easy elegance and their cool conviction that anything was possible. Jack and Jackie Kennedy gathered around them an intensely loyal and brillant coterie of intellectuals, journalists, diplomats, international jet-setters and artists. Perhaps as never before, Washington was sharply divided between the “ins” and the “outs.”
In his public life, JFK created a New Frontier, stared down the Soviets, and devoted himself to his wife and children. As first lady, Jackie mesmerized foreign leaders and the American people with her style and sophistication, creating a White House renowned for its beauty and culture. Smith brilliantly recreates the glamorous pageant of the Kennedy years, as well as the daily texture of the Kennedys’ marriage, friendships, political associations, and, in Jack’s case, multiple love affairs.
Smith’s striking revelations include new information about what drew Jack to his numerous mistresses – and what effects the relationships ultimately had on the women; about the rivalries and resentments among Kennedy’s advisers; and about the poignant days before and after Kennedy’s assassination.
Smith has fashioned a vivid and nuanced portrait not only of two extraordinary individuals but of a new age that sprang to life around them. Shimmering with intelligence and detail, GRACE AND POWER is history at its finest.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Excellent
I enjoyed this book very much. I try to spread out my reading to keep a wide variety following. This book was just what I was looking for. I liked the balance, the development of the characters and the over all pictures created. I share my reviews with two book clubs, one in New York and the other here in Aspen. I love to share reviews of book as it is so positive and I get great tips. This book will be an added showcase. I try my best to give either a positive review or nothing at all, negative review are worthless to me and those in our book clubs, we look for the positive. This book was just what I was looking for, not too much of anything, fun where it should have been and no so where it needed to be serious. Great job.Other book I recommend are: The Boy He Loved - Obsession Into Darkness (Gay Suspense) this was a real read, I loved it, I've Always Known (Child Abuse) I cried when reading this true story, From Boys to Men (Gay Classic), this was a hot one, Reflections In The Looking Glass - A Murder Mystery That Will Surprise you (Gay Murder Mystery),Ride 'Em Cowboy (Gay Cowboy), The Lady In White (Gay Romance)and if your looking for hot stuff, you may want to try out Sinbad - The Balloon Kingdom (Gay Sailor).

Jack and Jackie in The White House
I have been reading Grace and Power for the past week and a bit and I am finding it very interesting.Sally's writing is very descriptive, fluid and fast-paced.
It takes you right back to the sixties.The time of the mini skirt, the bee-hive hair style, our Beatles, then the UK was experiencing heavy snow and fog.I felt that I was at one of JFK's inaugural parties.I can see Jack and Jackie in their lovely expensive clothes mingling with the guests.The champayne and best chilled white wine is flowing.I can see the lovely mouth-watering food, conversations are going on in the middle of the room and in secret corners.
The music of Chubby Checker is playing loudly on the record player.It's "Let's Twist Again".Sammy is gliding across the golden stage, singing and smiling sweetly.Is Peter Lawford and Frank Sinatra drifting through the glittering guests, getting ready to sing and make the guests laugh?
Jack and Jackie's friends are described in detail.They are witty, funny, worldly and university educated.JFK liked intelligent people.He was also fond of banter.
I am still reading this book so this is not a complete review.

Phenomenal
Grace & Power has to be one of my favorite non fiction pieces. I originally borrowed it from my local library, and once finished, decided I wanted a hardback copy for my own collection. Grace & Power walks its reader through almost every day in the Kennedy Whitehouse paying close attention to detail. One begins to feel like a fly on the wall of every ball, press conference and tete-a-tete. For anyone who has a fascination with the Kennedy family, or politics in general, this is a must read. Thank you Sally Bedell Smith!

Not bad.Focuses more on the social aspects.
Don't look for an in depth analysis of policies or events.Instead, look for in depth analysis of the parties and the social scene.The book does give slightly more insight on some of the key interpersonal relationships.It also carves a picture of Jackie as being much stronger than others.You get more of a sense of her grace, intelligence, and grit.

Behind the scenes at our 20th century Camelot!
Although Sally Bedell Smith's "Grace and Power" cannot compete with Arthur Schlesinger's "A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House" nor with Theodore Sorenson's "The Kennedy Legacy," the author makes absolutely no pretensions of doing so. Far from a political history of the Kennedy years, Ms. Smith has drawn on private letters, personal papers and 142 interviews with those close to John F. and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy to illuminate the personal lives of the martyred president and his First Lady. Her take on the couple's complex relationship, including his compulsion to take numerous lovers and her manner of coping with this problem, are mainstays here.

The book reads like an upscale Kitty Kelly bio. It is filled with sensational gossip, character sketches of glorious personalities, and fascinating anecdotes of the people and events that made the Kennedy years so exciting. Ms. Smith is an excellent raconteur who has done her research and written a nonfiction "tell all" that reads like a best-selling novel. But it is not what I would call a serious biography.

Sally Bedell Smith has also written biographies of Princess Diana and Pamela Churchill Harriman and has been a contributing editor at Vanity Fair for about ten years.

If you are a "Kennedy junkie" and want to read about the 20th century Camelot, this is a book you will love. If you are looking for excellent political history, go elsewhere. I did enjoy "Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House," and though I was an adolescent during the magical time JFK was in office, it brought back memories of the president and first lady I idolized. On the other hand, there are things I wish had never been made public. And it is all made public here!
JANA ... Read more

Product Description

Ted Sorensen knew Kennedy the man, the senator, the candidate, and the president as no other associate did. From his hiring as a legislative assistant to Kennedy's death in 1963, Sorensen was with him during the key crises and turning points—including the spectacular race for the vice presidency at the 1956 convention, the launching of Kennedy's presidential candidacy, the TV debates with Nixon, and election night at Hyannis Port. The first appointment made by the new president was to name Ted Sorensen his Special Counsel.

In Kennedy, Sorensen recounts failures as well as successes with surprising candor and objectivity. He reveals Kennedy's errors on the Bay of Pigs, and his attitudes toward the press, Congress, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Sorensen saw firsthand Kennedy's actions in the Cuban missile crises, and the evolution of his beliefs on civil rights and arms control. First published in 1965 and reissued here with a new preface, Kennedy is an intimate biography of an extraordinary man, and one of the most important historical accounts of the twentieth century.

Customer Reviews (4)

Too Many Details Make for a BORING Read
First off, this book is well researched and a good read until you get to the "World Leader" part of the book. Even though that is the part that talks about the Cuban Missile Crisis, it is sketched out beforehand. By the time I got to the "World Leader" part of the book, I felt like it was a chore to read; something that had to be done! I highly recomend Robert Dallek's "An Unfinished Life" instead of this one because Dallek's book flows at a much faster pace and is easily the best JFK book out there!

Very good coverage of Cuba
Sorensen's account deals briefly with Kennedy's background, and then dives deeper into his campaign and years in office.I used the book as research for a paper on the Bay of Pigs and found that Sorensen's analysis is concise yet thorough.His reliance on Kennedy's speeches and on the progression of the drafts (many that he wrote or co-wrote)provides a very interesting picture of the incident and the man that I couldn't find elsewhere.

A very good background, reference, or research piece from insider Ted Sorensen.

Camelot, A Time We All Miss
After watching the three Presidential debates between Kerry and Bush, its interesting to go back and read this book by Ted Sorensen, a valuable aide and friend of President Kennedy.To be able to compare the world we now live in as represented by President Bush and JFK wannabe John kerry, and the way the world used to be in the time of the real JFK is remarkable.Maybe there was a secret agreement between politicians and the media on reporting events and styles, but it seems that todays world of immediate desire for news and analysis compared to President Kennedys administration of realism and understanding goes a long way to explain why politicians today are viewed in a lesser light.After President Kennedys death, we were faced with Vietnam, Watergate, malaise, an actor in the White House, Bush, an intern in the White House, 9/11, Iraq and Bush.Like that famous politician Yogi Berra once said, "Its Deja Vu All Over Again".

A Research Classic
Although Sorenson's book might have taken a beating since Camelot's golden days, it remains an invaluable classic for those interested in Presidential biographies. Sorenson doccuments what he felt made Kennedy a leader....andwhat ultimately impacted us when he was assasinated. ... Read more

Product Description
Throughout American history, presidents have come and gone, but the words they spoke will never be lost. Their words have touched millions and their speeches will live on forever.

C&C Web Press brings you the most comprehensive Kindle book dedicated to America's 44 presidents and the speeches they gave. This book contains hundreds upon hundreds of presidential speeches/literature (over 500)---from George Washington all the way to current president, Barrack Obama. Every inaugural speech imaginable, plus virtually every important speech that occurred thereafter.

Selection includes an active table of contents ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent book of American history
Here's a fantastic book if you're interested in American history. It has between 1 and 50 speeches from each president. There are inaugural addresses, farewell addresses, 30 of Roosevelt's fireside chats, Nixon talking about Watergate, speeches given at important events in American history and lots more.

Unfortunately there's a problem with the index. It's chronological, which is good, and every speech is active so you can click one and go right to it, which is also good, but if you want to go to a certain president you have to either search for his name or press Next Page many many times until you get to him. It would be nice if the first thing in the book was a list of all the presidents with each name active so you could click the president you want and go right to his list of speeches, and then click which speech you want.

Other than that, this is a wonderful book. ... Read more

Product Description
If Satan were to create two American boys, one living at the time of Huck Finn, in the South before the Civil War; the other living at the time of Holden Caulfield, even roaming the streets of New York City after World War II, there are no other candidates than John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. Not typical of any other boys,products of the American education system, products of their dysfunctional families, products of a turbulent America, why would these boyswould grow up to kill a President of the United States?

For the first time a major work brings them together to examine their roots and their similarities.A hundred years separated them, but they shared a kinship that may astound you.Here, back to back, is a look at the school days and adolescence of the two most heinous killers of their respective centuries.

One was John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865); the other was Lee Harvey Oswald (1939-1963). Now read about their twisted childhoods, their bizarre habits, hidden beneath the idyllic world of being American boys.The work traces their lives from pre-school to their apprenticeship years.Dr. William Russo shows us the truth behind the odd parallels, provides even more unusual parallels in the lives of the assassins, but then illustrates the biggest differences between John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald.

“A compelling story, told from a new angle,” reports one conspiracy buff.

... Read more

Product Description
Communicating with Celebrity Spirits is the collection of communications that took place between 1976 and present times. All of the contributors are well known; they range from politicians, scientists, and performers to royalty. Six texts are signed God the Almighty.
All the spirits talk about their past lives relating not only to their last life but also to their lives in the world before. They talk about the circumstances of their deaths and what the transition into the realm of spirit was like. All the spirits describe what life after life is like for them.
Most of all, the spirits are interested to talk about the imminent end of this world and the coming of the world Jesus of Nazareth referred to when he said: “my kingdom is not of this world”.
To prepare the reader for the end of the world scenario the Foreword discusses this topic. As the communications presented in this book all took place via telepathy the Foreword also explains what telepathy is and how it works.
The Introduction introduces the reader to further topics the author feels the readers should get to know before reading the messages dictated by the spirits. It deals with the Atlantis Connection and explains why the spirits talk about this topic at length and in detail. The Alien Connection discusses the invasion from space this planet experienced 5800 years ago and the subsequent occupation by aliens who called themselves the gods. The author describes personal contacts he had with extraterrestrials. The UFO Connection relates to activities of extraterrestrials in present times concerning this world. The Larry King Connection explains why in the last part of this book many spirits dictated messages for him.
The first contact with the spirit of Elvis Presley brought the break through for the author’s telepathic abilities. From then on he was able to talk to spirits alone. The first contacts with Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra took place when they were still in hell. They all were asking for help to be able to leave the place of horror they were trapped in. Later contacts were made after they had arrived in the “good place”. The stories of the ones who were able to go there directly were a lot less dramatic.
The chapter with Politicians and associated Persons has two parts: in the first part the members of the Kennedy family and the associated persons Richard Nixon and Frank Sinatra gave very interesting information about their past lives in this world and in the world before. The spirit of President Kennedy gave a detailed account of the circumstances of his assassination naming Nikita Chroushchov as the one who ordered the hit and also mentioning the names of all the persons involved in the conspiracy. His wife gave a historic overview over the lives the participants in this group had in the world before. John Kennedy described the details of he accident, which cost his life and the lives of his wife and sister-in-law. He also described their descent into hell and the subsequent escape from this place of horrors.
Richard Nixon’s spirit explains that he became President to become forced out of office, which repeated a fate he suffered in the world before. Then it was Amun, the god/deity Jack Kennedy descended from who defeated the god Nixon descended from. The animosity and apprehension Nixon felt about the Kennedys reflected the feelings he had carried in his subconscious for thousands of years.
Frank Sinatra seems not to fit into the political scenery but the most important task of his past life, which he didn’t know, was to make sure Jack Kennedy was elected President.
Further communications took place with: Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir, President Tito of Yugoslavia, Leonid Breshnjev President of the Soviet Union, Mao Tse Tung President of China, Pope John Paul I, Princess Diana of Wales, King Hussein of Jordan, 7 messages for Larry King and 6 messages signed God the Almighty.
... Read more

Product Description
"Before John F. Kennedy was president, he was an ambitious U.S. senator. And before he married Jacqueline Bouvier, Kennedy began a fleeting but passionate romance with a Swedish woman. The relationship continued after he was married. The former president's letters to his Swedish lover are offered for auction. Kennedy's relationship with Gunilla von Post is documented in poignant letters and telegrams. Up until now, von Post kept the correspondence locked away, so it's never been public." -- ABC News

"Love letters written by John F. Kennedy are about to go on the auction block - and they're not letters that were meant for his wife. This week, Legendary Auctions is auctioning off secret love letters from Kennedy to a Swedish woman he met just weeks before marrying Jacqueline Bouvier.The letters provide a look into a short romance most of us have never heard about. They're love letters, they're not just logistics saying, 'Hey, can I come and see you? there's a guy who was opening his heart in these letters." said Legendary Auctions President Doug Allen.

"It's 1953 on the Cote d'Azur. A beautiful blond 21-year-old Swedish aristocrat meets a charismatic, boyish American senator with what she calls a ''fascinating accent.'' They spend a romantic evening together, share a passionate kiss, and he professes his love. But, alas, the handsome prince is about to turn into a married man -- the very next week. So that's that. Or should have been. But the newly married, ambitious, increasingly famous senator writes ardently and phones often, declaring how much he needs ''my Swedish flicka'' and vowing they will meet again in Paris or the Riviera on his next trip through. So goes the story inGunilla von Post's memoir of her romance with John F. Kennedy. Two years after that memorable night (part of the delay was due to his back surgery and long hospitalization), Kennedy visited von Post in Sweden, where they spent an idyllic week in the country, and he charmed the socks off all of her family. As they parted, he told her he wanted her in his life and promised to ''talk to my father about us.'' Well, you know how that turned out." --New York Times

"Gunilla von Post has written an elegant and important book detailing her historic relationship with John F. Kennedy. Without rancor, sensationalism or shallow titillation, she has given us a calm and loving account of an important man at a critical time in his life." -- Donald Spoto, author of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life.

"Jack and I sat on the edge of the cliff, and for the first time that night we were quiet together. He turned and kissed me tenderly, and my breath was taken away. The brightness of the moon and stars made his eyes appear bluer than the ocean beneath us. He broke the silence by saying softly, 'I fell in love with you tonight.'"

He was a dashing young senator pursued by an Italian contessa and the imposing forces of his destiny. She was a twenty-one-year-old Swedish aristocrat away from home for the first time. Their accidental meeting at a port in the Riviera changed both their lives forever.

Spanning two continents and the Atlantic Ocean, unfolding over a six-year period starting in 1953, this is the story of a transcendent but heartbreaking love between two people at the peak of their youth and beauty, a love that seemed impossible but could not be denied. Here is an intimate portrait of John Kennedy never before seen: a gentle, kind, and caring man, intensely passionate and full of life-but a man who faces great difficulty adjusting to the demanding role history and his father have assigned him.

Driven by his love for Gunilla von Post, Jack risked the sort of exposure that might have ruined his career, and he was willing to endure debilitating pain to cross the ocean for her. For the sake of her passion, Gunilla risked the ostracism of her family and friends, ready to turn her back on the country she loved.

Here at last is the heartwarming account ... Read more

Product Description
A used trumpet, a second-hand typewriter and a "simple" little love story". Like the Kudza vines that cover Dixie they spread across the south in the early 1960's. ... Read more

Product Description
Where were you the day Kennedy was saved? History CAN be altered ...

Actress Cady Cuyler is recruited to time travel back to Dallas in November 1963and recover President John F. Kennedy's personal Bible. It was used to swear in Lyndon Johnson as president aboard Air Force One after Kennedy's assassination, and later disappeared.Now it is a priceless historic artifact. But Cady has another, more personal mission as well: To change the fate of her beloved father, who disappeared without a trace on the day JFK died. The startling truths she uncovers and the terrifying dangers she faces lead her to the most perilous mission of all: To somehow save JFK's life, with the help of one unlikely ally: A courageous ex-Marine named Lee Harvey Oswald.

At its heart, FORWARD TO CAMELOT is the story of two exceptional men, and a message of hope for all of us. It is a rare opportunity to re-visit an era that once was, and dream of an America that might have been. ... Read more

Product Description
When Cornelius McPherson, a former highway maintenance man, finds himself trapped in a tunnel he helped create decades earlier, he’s horrified to discover the well-preserved, frozen arm of a fellow worker. McPherson remembers a secret the man whispered to him—that he knew who assassinated John F. Kennedy. When McPherson also turns up dead, CJ Floyd steps in to sort out the details, in the process going on his own hunt for the presidential assassin. CJ’s journey is a retrospective trek that has him fielding CIA plots, mafia dons, and Cuban conspirators. But it’s not until he realizes that there were two attempts on Kennedy’s life prior to his actual assassination in 1963—one in Chicago and one in Tampa—that he’s able to hone in on who might have really killed the president. The investigation takes him from the pristine mountains of Colorado to the muggy swamps of Louisiana, and ultimately leads him to a grieving, long-silent, Louisiana backwoods Creole mother who may hold the key to what happened. Robert Greer brings his trademark complex but never confusing plot, colorful cast of characters, and stylistic brio to one of America’s enduring mysteries in this dazzling whodunit.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Technical Ignorance
People who don't know anything about guns should not attempt to write mysteries. There is no such thing as a .38 magnum handgun (page 281).

Some Mysteries Will Never Be Laid to Rest
Robert Greer weaves a pulsating tale of suspense and drama. When an earthquake shakes up the Eisenhower Tunnel, it reveals the severed arm of a miner, Antoine Ducane. Fellow miner , Cornelius McPherson, who is just days away from retirement, recognizes the tattooed arm as belonging to Ducane, a co-worker who vanished without a word. An investigation is started, which is further complicated when McPherson, who had been talking to newspersons, is murdered in a drive-by shooting.Ducane had told McPherson that he knew who killed JFK. Detective Gus Cavalaris starts his own investigation and soon finds himself entangled with the mob and the FBI. Aging gangsters scramble to cover-up any involvement that they may have had in the plot to kill Kennedy. Old theories are revisited and the plot thickens as to who and why JFK was murdered.

This book is very exciting with lots of non-stop action.I believe that it would make a good movie, lots of colorful quirky characters. This offering has a multitude of characters and the author did an excellent job of managing them. Each of them played a vital role in keeping the story true to form. This was my first time reading Robert Greer and I am glad I did. I will definitely be reading more of his mysteries.

Margaret Ball
APOOO BookClub

Deep Mystery With Conspiracy Theory
Author Robert Greer started out mining the field of black private investigators with his series hero, C. J. Floyd.Floyd is a hybrid, part bail bondsman and part antiques dealer (though he's since given up the bail bonds business and bountyhunting).Comparisons were immediately made to Walter Mosely's long-running unlicensed private eye, Easy Rawlins.Easy's adventures to date have gone from 1948 to 1968 and seem to have locked into the late 1960s.Floyd is contemporary, but the focus of his investigations seem to mix current crimes with past events of a historical nature.On the surface, there might be some resemblance between the two series, but there are vast differences.

The early Floyd adventures concentrated on the bail bonds business and moved quickly into murder investigations.The last three novels have their foundations anchored more deeply in Floyd's interest in the antiques business and conspiracy theories.As a result, Greer's already complex plots have deepened even more, with mixed results.

In THE MONGOOSE DECEPTION, Greer put Floyd directly in the path of a conspiracy cover-up involving the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.The body of Antoine Ducane is discovered in the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel in Colorado, Floyd's home state, and events move ponderously to involve the private eye.In fact, Floyd doesn't even step onto the book until nearly eighty pages in, and by then it's almost too late for the reader to take interest.

When a second man is murdered who had ties to Ducane, Floyd starts poking into the truth of the assassination.He immediately draws fire from mafia dons, a JFK conspiracy investigator, and even the CIA.His fellow antiques dealer, Mario Santoni, ends up getting offered as the patsy for the assassination by mafia bosses in their 80s (which strains credulity a bit), so Floyd has more personal stakes involved than just his own curiosity.

The JFK assassination has fueled a couple of generations now, and the mysteries involving his death will probably never be satisfactorily resolved for everyone, but Greer takes another stab at it.Conspiracy theorists and junkies will probably enjoy this one.

But for me everything got a little convoluted.There were too many characters to keep up with (I finally had to keep a notebook to keep everyone separated) and too many subplots (although all were interesting).It's a case of too many good things thrown in at once.The subplots with Floyd's mom and ex-girlfriend could have waited for a more opportune book and allowed the author to focus more on this investigation.I think I would have enjoyed a stripped-down version a little more myself.

Greer's writing is solid, and I like a lot of dialogue in the novels I read, so he fits the bill there as well.His descriptions of Denver and Louisiana are dead on as well.And there are a lot of esoteric facts along the way.The problem was that too many of them were too familiar.The JFK assassination has been, literally, done to death.Obviously Greer felt he had more to say on the issue.But I'll be looking forward to Floyd's next outing, and hopefully it'll steer clear of such controversial subjects - unless they're ones that haven't been so heavily mined or exploited.

Another excellent, suspenseful CJ Floyd mystery!
Reading this mystery kept me on the edge of my seat.Greer's great writing and realistic character portrayals got me so close to the participants in this drama that I worried what was going to happen to them.Suspenseful, intriguing.The book brought life in 1963 up close and personal.I can hardly wait for the next CJ Floyd mystery!

Crime Fiction of Epic Proportions
Billed as the seventh mystery in the CJ Floyd series, The Mongoose Deception reveals itself to be more of a crime novel or conspiracy thriller than a traditional whodunit. Floyd doesn't make his first appearance until page seventy-seven, by which time the reader has become quite intimate with Louisiana delinquent Antoine Ducane and a slew of 1963-vintage mafia figures from around the country who are busy executing a conspiracy to assassinate JFK.

Floyd, who earns his living through the unlikely combination of bail bondsman services and antiques dealing, gets pulled into these decades-old events through his antiques partner and former mafia kingpin, Mario Santoni, who fears that he's being served up by his mafia brethren as a fall-guy for the assassination. The mafia guys, some of whom are retired octogenarians yet still retain their violent tendencies, are running scared now that the long-interred body of patsy Antoine Ducane has been unearthed from a Colorado tunnel.

In addition to juggling a large cast of mafia dons, hit men, and other shadowy figures (including an enigmatic JFK conspiracy investigator), Robert Greer ambitiously layers in subplots involving Ducane's mother and former girlfriend as well as an earnest young basketball star and his defense lawyer mom. Greer writes well and succeeds in constructing an intersecting plot of epic proportions, but I found myself bogged down by minutia and dialogue that often failed to advance the story. The multitude of mafia guys also tended to blur together, as many were given only bit parts and few were bestowed with distinguishing character traits. I also felt as if the novel lacked a compelling central character; neither Floyd nor any of his cohorts were given enough stage time to forge a strong bond with me.

Robert Greer possesses talent and an interesting protagonist. In my view, future CJ Floyd offerings would benefit from a more focused, Floyd-centric structure.

-Kevin Joseph (as reviewed for TCM Reviews) ... Read more

Product Description
Comprehensive, accessible and unprecedented, "Who's Who in the JFK Assassination" presents vital information on each of more than 1,400 individuals related in any noteworthy way to the murders of President John F. Kennedy, Dallas Police Officer J. D. Tippit and alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22 and 24, 1963. Based on years of research, a wealth of sources and a long study of the Warren Commission's twenty-six volumes, this encyclopedic book includes:

A-to-Z entries on virtually all the suspects, victims, witnesses, law enforcement officials and investigators.

Quick identification of each person followed by biographical facts, testimony, evidence and more.

Detailed listings of sources.

Explorations of the puzzling theories and countless sides of the case.

Extensive cross-referencing of entries, allowing readers to follow their own investigations and construct their own conclusions.

This all-new who's who will prove an essential companion to the many best-selling books, documentaries and feature films about the JFK assassination. Bound to be referred to again and again, it is the complete resource for anyone who wants to know more about-- or wants to keep better track of-- the key players involved in one of the most infamous chapters in American history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Good reference for the researcher
Michael Benson's "Who's Who in the JFK Assassination" is an outstanding reference book for the assassination hobbyist. The book is like a cheaper version of the "Master Index to the JFK Assassination" by Sylvia Meagher and Gary Owens. Benson's book has an alphabetical listing of all the major and minor players in the JFK assassination (like Meagher and Owens' book) but Benson's book has a brief synopsis of who or what these players were to the assassination.

The book weighs in at 532 pages. The first section of the book is a critical apparatus telling the researcher what Benson's abbreviations (used throughout the book) mean. This section also tells the researcher about the source material used to support this work.

The main part of the book is an alphabetical listing of movers and shakers associated in some way with the assassination of President John Kennedy. Because the book is an encyclopedia, it doesn't have to be read sequentially. Indeed, the reader is encouraged to pick through the topics of his choosing and review the data therein. Benson ends each encyclopedia entry with a "See Also" section--a type of keyword tag that give the reader tips on further research. Then the entry has footnotes (in Benson's abbreviated notation) which inform the reader as to where Benson got his information (usually the Warren Report or the HSCA).

I have found it invaluable to have a brief, digestable and alphabetical synopsis of who someone was in the JFK assassination. The notes and the "See Also" sections are the icing on the cake. The author has filed a valuable niche for the assassination hobbyist.

This book makes a good "bathroom reader": the entries are relatively short and the book doesn't have to be read sequentially. If you want an introduction to the JFK assassination, this book can supplement that need. If you are a researcher, this book is quite handy. If you are looking for interesting "bathroom reading", this book can fill that need as well.

I've recommended this book to two people. They looked it over and became so engrossed, they immediately went out and bought their own copies! Benson deserves our kudos. My highest recommendations! *****

good reference book
i keep this book right by my side and i read other books about the jfk assassination.when i come across a new name,i find the name in my a to z reference book and read a quick summary that gives me a fairly complete picture om who this person is.

excellent informative source
Just got through reading this book.What a wealth of info.I am now going to read High Treason, which is referred to many times in the A to Z book.If you don't walk away from this without a doubt that there was a major conspiracy, I don't know what planet you're from.Just when you think you know who did it, there are more and more people introduced to the theory, leaving you consumed by curiosity.What a great book.This books lists alphabetically the people who were involved in the assassination, the Oswald shooting, and the Tippit shooting.

Very nice compendium!
Michael Benson, whom I know from research conferences (and who mentions me a few times in his follow-up book), has written a great compendium of information on the JFK assassination. This is truly a great all-in-one-place volume. Get this!
[...]

The best book someone would need on the JFK assassination.
I have been reading books on the assassination of John Kennedy my entire life.Then I came across this book, "Who's Who in the JFK Assassination", I couldn't beleive it.Never before did I read through a book so fast and when I was done, I had to go back and start over.It's not really meant to read cover-to-cover, though.When I am reading a book on the assassination, and see a name I don't know, I can flip to it in this book and know just who this man is.For anyone who has looked at the assassination, they know you come across hundreds of names and you can't remember them all, thats where this book came in.Let's say I see the name Ruby Henderson; I can look her up in this book and find out she saw TWO men in the 6th floor of the TSBD, one of whom had a rifle, but she thought they were with the secret service.Anyway, I would tell ANY person looking for information on the Kennedy Assassination to get this book anyway they can.What else can I say, Michael Benson did a GREAT job. ... Read more

Product Description
Previous biographies of John F. Kennedy have been based almost entirely on newspaper files and personal recollections.Geoffrey Perret's Jack is both the first comprehensive one-volume biography of JFK and the first account of his life based on the extensive and important documentary record that has finally become available, including Kennedy's personal diaries, hundreds of hours of taped conversations from the White House, recently declassified government documents, extensive family correspondence, and crucial interviews sealed for nearly forty years.The result is a gripping, accurate, and ultimately moving portrait of America's most charismatic president.

Jack provides much-needed context and perspective on Kennedy's bewilderingly complex personality.It offers an even-handed account of the seamy side of his life - orgies and abortions, health and drug problems - along with valuable insights into JFK's truly idealistic and visionary character.

Jack presents a compelling account of the volatile relationship between Kennedy and his wife, including Jackie's attempt to divorce him, move to Hollywood, and become a film star.At the same time Perret explains how, together, they created the Kennedy style.

Jack reveals how the restless, innovative Kennedy was able to overturn more than a hundred years of political tradition, forge the modern political campaign, and, once in the White House, modernize the presidency.His success was so complete that all serious presidential candidates since 1960 have sought to compare themselves to JFK, not challenging his legacy but embracing it.

Jack is filled, too, with numerous revelations, such as the true story behind the lobotomy of JFK's sister Rosemary.And here, for the first time, is a comprehensive account of Kennedy's numerous and varied ailments from childhood on, including his back problems.

Perret describes how JFK got the two most important decisions of his administration right: his handling of the Cuban missile crisis and his stance on civil rights.As to Vietnam, Kennedy did not believe it was worth fighting for, and in the last months of his presidency he began formulating a secret plan for neutralization and withdrawal - if he won the 1964 election.But that, of course, was not to be: Convinced he would die young, Kennedy foresaw that a violent death would claim him.Throughout his brief time in the White House he was haunted by a vision of a man standing at a window, looking down at him, holding a rifle.

Jack: A Life Like No Other is a book like no other.Here, at last, John F. Kennedy seems to step off the page in all his vitality, charm, and originality.Amazon.com Review
Written with commendable measure, Geoffrey Perret's Jack: A Life Like No Other is an informal but informed cradle-to-grave biography of JFK. Though Perret hardly ignores the intricacies of Kennedy's uneven and truncated presidency--specifically the cold war imbroglios of Southeast Asia, Berlin, and Cuba, as well as intractable domestic festerings of poverty and civil rights--his real interest lies with the man himself. Kennedy, in chronic ill health from childhood, emerges here as a singular and daunting contradiction, at once cautious and impulsive, generous and selfish. He was a brat and a man of the people, an inveterate womanizer and a devoted family man, well-read but hardly intellectual, a charmer with a ferocious temper. Perret's book--utilizing heretofore-unseen documents--is refreshingly candid and felicitously nonjudgmental. Neither hagiographical, mean-spirited, salacious, nor conspiratorial, Jack, rich in anecdotes, is a welcome, evenhanded addition to the Kennedy library. --H. O'Billovitch ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Unrecognizable JFK. A Very Strange Book.....
JFK definitely lived one of the most amazing and interesting lives in history, you can't even invent a story with so much triumph and tragedy, but this book was a very incomplete and odd portrait of the man, I really don't know what to make of it. The author quotes JFK as saying things that are so out of character for him, and takes incidents that have been mentioned in other books and totally twists them around. The one example I can think of is when Mr. Perret relates a well known story about Jackie listening outside the bathroom door as JFK's in the tub and gossiping with a friend, in every other book they say that JFK got out of the tub, brought her into the room and gently scolded her in a teasing manner about promising not to listen to his conversations, but in Perret's book he says that JFK bolted out of the tub in a rage, grabbed Jackie, yanked her by the hair and screamed, "You f#@*ing b#@ch!" That just doesn't sound like JFK's usual behavior from everything I've read about him before, and nobody has ever told the story that way. In addition to an almost unrecognizable JFK, there are numerous factual errors and the whole tone of the book is very strange, it's almost like a tabloid retelling of JFK's life, there's no depth to it at all, just fragmented anecdotes about trivial things nobody cares about. Perret also makes ridiculous and unsubstantiated claims, including one about Jackie's alleged plan to move to Hollywood and become a film star! Come on! Where did he even come up with that story and how can anyone take him seriously? Especially knowing how shy Jackie was and how she shunned the spotlight, and later discouraged John Jr. from an acting career. He also recycles the old, never proven rumor about Joe's million dollar offer to Jackie and quotes her as saying, "The price goes up to twenty million if Jack brings home any venereal diseases from any of his sluts." Can anyone imagine Jackie saying that? Other books like Unfinished Life have already established, through medical records, that Kennedy had venereal disease since the 1940s, and that Jackie was well aware of it, so she obviously could never have said that to Joe, and I doubt anyone knows if that conversation ever even took place, because the only people who could tell us were Jackie and Joe, and of course they're dead, how convenient! Jack definitely had a life like no other, but you need to find some other book if you want to read about it.

A Good Try
Jack is a nice easy read but one tends to wonder where Perret got some of his ideas or if in fact he got them from anywhere but his own imagination.There are times when Perret seems to make up small insignificant happenings to forshadow the inevitable outcome of his life.That aside, Jack is a good book portraying a President so unique and so different than most ex-Presidents.This would be a good first Kennedy read.

Good Stuff Here!
The life of Jack Kennedy has been covered countless times in books, magazines and movies.Having made the transformation from assassinated president to tabloid favorite, one wonders if there is anything new to be learned about Kennedy, or if there is anything to be gained by buying Geoffrey Perret's book.If you're at all like me -- a fan of history, an admirer of JFK, but not too swayed by rose colored revisionism -- then this book will prove to be well worth the money.Perret starts at the beginning and fully explores the odd psychological uprbinging Kennedy experienced in a family that was extremely eccentric and neurotic -- quite a far cry from American royalty.He follows Kennedy through his pratfalls as a high school and college student, and laments on the never-ending health problems Kennedy ran into throughout his life.I, for one, never knew that our movie star president was often in a frail and precarious state.By the book's end, you walk away with a new appreciation for all of the complexities of Kennedy's character -- and there enough here to make Freud blink a few times -- and for the truly unique life that he led.

ZZZZZZZZ
Mr. Perret somehow succeeded in writing an incredibly boring book about a man who lived an extrodinary life.The book is also marred by continuous misstatements of fact and poor research.To those looking for a good book on JFK, I advise you to take a look at Nigel Hamilton's "JFK: Reckless Youth" for illumination on his early life, Richard Reeves' "Profile in Power" for a broad look at his presidency, and Arthur Schlessinger Jr.'s "A Thousand Days" for an intimate look at his presidency that also gives you an excellent sense of who he was as a person."Jack" isn't worth the time.

Another JFK-trasher; certainly NOT "like no other"
It's true that JFK lived a "life like no other," but the author completely missed his chance to tell the reader why. This is the same type of tabloid swill that's already been done to death in, for example, "JFK: Reckless Youth" and "A Question of Character." The themes of JFK's being obsessed with early death and his drive to live every day as if it were his last, are interesting ones, and could have been a good premise for this book. But this book adds absolutely nothing to what's already been written. No new ground is broken, despite promises to the contrary. Also detracting from his credibility are the author's gossipy references to such things as JFK's personal habits while having sex, how many cigarettes a day Jackie smoked (do I care?) and the homosexuality of friends like Lem Billings and Joe Alsop. Obviously JFK felt comfortable and confident enough in his own masculinity and heterosexuality, and valued the loyalty and friendship of these men enough, that he was neither concerned about nor felt threatened by their sexual orientation. Also detracting from the book's credibility is the sloppy research and annoying lack of fact-checking. For example, the author mentions several times that Bobby and Ethel were married in 1951.They were actually married in 1950. The book also states that Bobby and Ethel's first-born son was Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. In fact, he was their second-born son (he was born in 1954); Joseph P. Kennedy II (born in 1952) was the first. Also, Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy is mentioned several times as JFK's "eldest" sister, and is even misidentified as such (in place of Rosemary) in one of the book's photographs. Perhaps the author fell into Joe, Sr.'s spell of pretending that Rosemary, the actual first daughter and third child, never even existed. These are just a few examples.

This book is a waste of time. ... Read more

Product Description

One of Bobby Kennedy's first acts after JFK's assassination was to write a letter to his eldest son, reminding him of the obligations of his name. Bobby sent the letter to eleven-year-old Joe, but the message was meant for all his sons and nephews.

Sons of Camelot is the compelling story of that message and how it shaped each Kennedy son and grandson in the aftermath of President John F. Kennedy's death. Based on five years of rigorous research and unprecedented cooperation from both the Kennedys and the Shrivers, Sons of Camelot examines the lives characterized by overwhelming drama -- from the most spectacular mishaps, excesses, and tragediesto the remarkable accomplishments that have led to better lives for Americans and others around the world.

The third volume in Laurence Leamer's bestselling history of America's first family, Sons of Camelot chronicles the spellbinding journey of a message sent from a father to his son ... from a president to his people.

Customer Reviews (19)

Disappointed
This book is a horror!All it does is lament that the younger generation of Kennedy men ARE Kennedys.Yes they are, but it's no one's fault.This is over 500 pages of dry rot as far as I'm concerned.Joe II has trouble in his marriage because of politics.That's not news!Bobby, Jr. and Bobby Shriver, Jr. have substance abuse problems.That's not news!

Don't waste your money unless you buy this book used for 0.01.

JFK, Jr. and so much more
This book has handsome JFK, Jr. on the cover and opens with young John-John saluting his father's coffin, and capturing our hearts. However this book is not devoted to President Kennedy's namesake. He's included here, but so are his equally fascinating -- if not as glamorous -- male cousins. Here are doomed Michael and David, ambitious Joe and a pair of gifted Bobbys (Kennedy and Shriver). There's Tim Shriver, trying to find his way within a powerful family. Ted Kennedy's sons have led particularly poignant lives, dealing with the legacy of Chappaquidick and their mother's alcoholism as well as their uncles' assasinations. I came away from this book with a renewed respect for Jackie and Eunice for their mothering skills, for their sons of Camelot were guided with surer, more attentive and imaginative hands than many of their cousins. While it was an interesting and educational read, I wish it had been longer and gone into more detail. So many of these young men were previously unknown to me and I wanted to know more. Still, I recommend it.

Spreading lies about JFK Jr. and his wife using anonymous so
Spreading lies about JFK Jr. and his wife using anonymous sources.
People that think that this was for selling better are in denial.
The reason is much more sinister. For some reason the goal of the book is to cover-up the circumstances of his death.
The other reason is to diffamate his memory. Does November 2, 2004 ring a bell ?

Should have been the Sons and DAUGHTERS of Camelot
Here is the next generation of the Kennedys, warts and all. If you idolize the Kennedys, you won't be happy and if you hate the Kennedys, you won't be happy. But if you want a fairly well rounded account of the younger generation of Kennedys, Laurence Leamer's book does a good job. The sordid (the liberal use of drugs among the next generation, death of David Kennedy, the scandalous life of Michael Kennedy, etc.) and the positive (JFK Jr.'s loyalty to his friends, RFK Jr.'s rehabilitation into a leading environmentalist, Tim Shriver's teaching career helping disadvantaged children, etc.) are both discussed here. It deals in scandal, of course, but all in all is pretty even handed.

However, Leamer does not discuss some of the outstanding female members of the next generation, including Kathleen Kennedy, Lt. Governor of Maryland, Caroline Kennedy and Maria Shriver. Joseph Kennedy promoted his sons in public life while virtually ignoring his daughters (even old Joe admitted that if daughter Eunice "had b*lls, she'd be president."), but several of the female members of the next generation have made their mark. It's too bad that Leamer brings his book down a notch by ignoring the Kennedy women -- they deserve some mention as well.

a good read
This is a comprehensive, non sensationalized account of the lives of the younger Kennedys. The book manages to be interesting without becoming tabloidish in tone (as some of the other books have). The author appears to have made an effort to be thorough and fair in his reporting of events. ... Read more

Product Description
For decades, books about John or Robert Kennedy have woven either a shimmering tale of Camelot gallantry or a tawdry story of runaway ambition and reckless personal behavior. But the real story of the Kennedys in the 1960s has long been submerged -- until now. In Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot sheds a dramatic new light on the tumultuous inner life of the Kennedy presidency and its stunning aftermath. Talbot, the founder of Salon.com, has written a gripping political history that is sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.

Brothers begins on the shattering afternoon of November 22, 1963, as a grief-stricken Robert Kennedy urgently demands answers about the assassination of his brother. Bobby's suspicions immediately focus on the nest of CIA spies, gangsters, and Cuban exiles that had long been plotting a violent regime change in Cuba. The Kennedys had struggled to control this swamp of anti-Castro intrigue based in southern Florida, but with little success.

Brothers then shifts back in time, revealing the shadowy conflicts that tore apart the Kennedy administration, pitting the young president and his even younger brother against their own national security apparatus. The Kennedy brothers and a small circle of their most trusted advisors -- men like Theodore Sorensen, Robert McNamara, and Kenneth O'Donnell, who were so close the Kennedys regarded them as family -- repeatedly thwarted Washington's warrior caste. These hard-line generals and spymasters were hell-bent on a showdown with the Communist foe -- in Berlin, Laos, Vietnam, and especially Cuba. But the Kennedys continually frustrated their militaristic ambitions, pushing instead for a peaceful resolution to the Cold War. The tensions within the Kennedy administration were heading for an explosive climax, when a burst of gunfire in a sunny Dallas plaza terminated John F. Kennedy's presidency.

Based on interviews with more than one hundred fifty people -- including many of the Kennedys' aging "band of brothers," whose testimony here might be their final word on this epic political story -- as well as newly released government documents, Brothers reveals the compelling, untold story of the Kennedy years, including JFK's heroic efforts to keep the country out of a cataclysmic war and Bobby Kennedy's secret quest to solve his beloved brother's murder. Bobby's subterranean search was a dangerous one and led, in part, to his own quest for power in 1968, in a passion-filled campaign that ended with his own murder. As Talbot reveals here, RFK might have been the victim of the same plotters he suspected of killing his brother. This is historical storytelling at its riveting best -- meticulously researched and movingly told.

Brothers is a sprawling narrative about the clash of powerful men and the darker side of the Cold War -- a tale of tragic grandeur that is certain to change our understanding of the relentlessly fascinating Kennedy saga. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (80)

A perfectly well documented study
I had carefully read the reviews on this website before considering buying this book, due to the multitude of Kennedy related work available. I was not disappointed. I almost done reading it, started three days ago and found it particularly insightful. It was not only a matter of conspiracy theories and/or uncovering the truth about the death of JFK. It was also a matter of geopolitical interest to me, which was greatly rewarding through this reading.
It gives a clear picture of the Kennedy brothers' frame of mind concerning difficult matters and shows somehow prophetically how their positions on those matters were completely adequate then, and still are now. All this adds to the incredible tragedy of their deaths which thus bear all the appearances of martyrdom. That they would privilege peace through the heavy military and intelligence influence framing the Cold War shows their incredible determination and convictions. The implications on the international chess game between the two reigning super-powers that were the US and the USSR were completely embraced by JFK, and his resisting the pressures to which he was submitted can only reinforce the idea following which he was ahead of his time, of how his energetic idealism made him a unique politician, especially in that so specific context of the early 1960s.
I always admired the Kennedy administration for that reason. I will not say that they were completely holy and that their decisions were never rash or hazardous. As the author points out quite often, their ambivalent position on certain matters did not help, but the fact is that their convictions were never shaken. This is what constitutes the core of this narrative, that is built retrospectively and explains WHY their convictions led to their doom. One by one, the reasons of their antagonism with the administrative maze are exposed, and their enemies presented. Until the consequences of their policies and choices lead to the tragedies of 1963 and 1968.
I was never a conspiracy theoretician who was "active", but I passively assisted to the creation of theories, and read the material available to me in order to understand the mechanisms at work in the deaths of these two admirable men. This book, is extremely well constructed and the sources seem reliable enough. The author does not designate namely those he believes to be responsible of this manslaughter, but he hints towards them and the truth appears to be appallingly obvious.

A very descent book who includes alot of key players
This book is a good book that has has good evidence and insight into some avenues of the killing of both kennedy brothers.It didn't get a 5 star from me because it didn't go far enough and almost felt held back in some places but is still an ovreall good book that flows well.Some of the stuff in the book doesn't necessarily fit and seems out of places which lead one to believe that some stuff is thrown in there to not get to much flack from either side of the political spectrum but otherwise it a good book to own.

The Cuban Missile Crisis Myths Live On
One could not reasonably expect Mr. Talbot to listen to more than 20 hours of the Cuban Missile Crisis ExComm meeting recordings since that event is not central to his book. However, he certainly could have read the most recent transcripts (Timothy Naftali and Philip Zelikow, eds., The Presidential Recordings: John F. Kennedy, Miller Center/Norton, 2001) or my own narrative account of those meetings (Averting the `Final Failure': John F. Kennedy and the Secret Cuban Missile Crisis Meetings, Stanford University Press, 2003). If he had done so, he could not have claimed that President Kennedy's "only key support [for a non-military solution] in the increasingly tense cabinet room meetings came from his brother Bobby and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara." Nor could he have asserted that RFK "matured from a knee-jerk hawk to a wise and restrained diplomat" during the meetings.

In fact, in the final days of the discussions, RFK reintroduced the idea of bombing Cuba (which had been shelved during the first week) and, along with McNamara, vehemently opposed the Turkish missile swap that JFK finally imposed on his advisers. In essence, Talbot is perpetuating the self-serving myth which RFK invented in 13 Days and which McNamara recently revived in Errol Morris' The Fog of War. The tapes, however, prove conclusively that when JFK told Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith after the crisis: "Ken, you will never know how much bad advice I had"--RFK and McNamara must surely be included.

The material on the assassinations of the Kennedy brothers is essentially the same old conspiracy same old. For an alternative, see Vincent Bugliosi's encyclopedic deconstruction of the conspiracy industry.

A quiet, fact-filled, dispassionate case that the Warren Report was wrong.
BROTHERS: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, by David Talbot (492 pgs., 2007). Talbot is the founder of Salon.com.He's no slouch in the intellect department.In this thick volume he revisits the days of the Kennedy Presidency, the ties between the brothers John & Robert, their jousts with their own intelligence people in both the CIA & FBI, their jousts with their own Chiefs of Staff of the military, their attempts to peacefully reach out to both Khruschev & Castro, their bitter fights with organized crime & its infiltration of labor unions (primarily the Teamsters), & their attempts to thwart the more militaristic wings of their own administration.Talbot is no conspiracy nut.Yet, if after reading this thick with facts & footnotes book the reader does not come away with at the very least huge doubts about the Warren Report; then that reader is a dolt.Talbot shows how Robert Kennedy doubted that Lee Harvey Oswald had killed his brother, especially acting on his own, right from the start.The author shows how Robert's guilt is multiplied by the fact that he believed the people who assassinated his brother were really sending a message to him.From the day of the assassination, he was gathering his people around himself who would find the truth as to who killed his brother & take retribution for it.He just had to wait until the Presidency was his before he could act.In the meantime he had to play along with the Warren Report & not show his hand in public.
I loved Robert Kennedy.
I loved my father.
They are the two heroes of my life.I cherished the memory of Camelot & the 1,000 Days of JFK & the idealism & hope & courage he birthed in the young people of this country & of the world.Talbot writes of the closeness of these two brothers, so that readers like myself will just shed tears while trying to read certain passages of this large tome.
JFK's autopsy was botched.Lee Harvey Oswald was known to the intelligence services before the assassination.He was not a stooge of Cuba.Rather, he had ties to the mob & to the anti-Castro Cuban community & to people who worked for the CIA.Was he just a fall guy?Was he just a scapegoat?Is that why Jack Ruby with his own ties to the mob, killed him? RFK was left unprotected by the Secret Service during his run for the Presidency.Was this his choice?Was this LBJ's choice?There are so many unanswered questions, like this.Talbot points out that even some of the members of the Warren Commission lambasted the report when it came out.However this was little reported by the media.Talbot in his quiet, fact-filled, dispassionate way makes his case that the Warren Report was wrong & the truth behind the deaths of both John & Robert Kennedy may never be known - but that those deaths surely changed the course of American & world history & affairs.

Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years
Haven't read the book yet, but this was a great purchase experience, not a single problem. Seller gave perfect description and shipped quickly. Can't ask for anymore than that. Satisfied with Amazon process. ... Read more

Product Description
Would you like to know how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s murder was solved? This book concerns “The Boys of Birmingham,” which covers the colorful FBI memoirs of William Saucier, field agent in charge of the Birmingham, Alabama investigation of Dr. King’s assassination. My book shows how without his fast leg work MLK’s killer would not have been found, and features the talents of his fellow Irish Catholic FBI agents. This team of federal agents did most of the work leading to the arrest of James Earl Ray, Dr. King’s murderer.

Saucier was the lone agent who broke the actual method for locating the killer through checking international passports at airports; his work caused Ray’s arrest just as this killer, hiding under an alias, was about to permanently escape to another country. In those days of limited international extradition laws, that meant Dr. King’s killer would have escaped and never been caught.

But it took the FBI, thanks to Saucier’s team, the Boys of Birmingham, all of two months to track down and arrest Dr. King’s assassin. Even though MLK was killed in Memphis, Tennessee, his main seat of operations was in Birmingham, and that’s why he grew close in his relationship with “the Boys.” This book tells Saucier’s story for the first time ever, also detailing how dangerous life was in Birmingham. I tell all our family’s stories of grotesque encounters with rednecks and the Ku Klux Klan, and how we as the Boys’ extended families had to weather the white hot heat of Sixties’ southern racism.

The book, written from stories my Irish Catholic father William Saucier told to me over many years, presents brand new information concerning both Dr. King’s and President Kennedy’s assassinations - and the incriminating tapes on King as well. An agent who was a member of Saucier’s team was also the man who arrested Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s murderer. This agent was possibly the “blond man” who picked up the fifth bullet in Dealey Plaza. I carefully detail the scenario, citing reliable testimonies concerning this revelatory evidence.

I also tell many humorous stories about the incredibly peculiar lifetime FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. It goes into hilarious detail about him and his gay lover Clyde Tolson, telling some new FBI “insider” stories that have never been told before. The self-righteous Hoover taped Dr. King’s “indiscretions” and had the Boys “shadow” him through his stays in Birmingham. All of his phones and residences were “bugged,” as ordered by Hoover, and some pretty “weird” tapes resulted. New info about these tapes is brought to light, and stories about the Boys of Birmingham’s ridiculous farces are told in rich detail in this entertaining, historical and heart-touching FBI memoir.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not what I thought it would be
The 1960's was a turbulent time in the United States.Wars, foreign and domestic were being fought and assassinations were something that seemed to happen frequently.Martin Luther King, Jr. was the iconic preacher who lead the Civil Rights Movement until his assassination in 1968, which is the topic of the book "The Boys of Birmingham".

The stories told in this book are the lives of Martin Luther King, Jr. and of the organization that would eventually investigate his death, the FBI.While the history told within the pages of this book is interesting and accurate, there was something that I missed from the book - the actual investigation of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.The book is over 300 pages long and we don't get to the investigation of his death until the last section of the book.Once you get to the portion, you really aren't told anything that leads to a greater understanding of the investigation.

Also, it can sometimes be confusing - facts are restated several times and sections of the book don't seem to flow together as much as they seem to be presented to stand alone from each other.The first portion of the book, which outlines the reasoning for the Civil Rights Movement is great but it is hard to make the connection between this portion and the rest of the book.

The title of the book, and most of the information found on the book, lead you to believe that this gives you real details on the investigation.When in fact it is more of the history of the Civil Rights Movement and a memoir of sorts of the authors father.Again, great book but not what I was hoping it would be.

Great history of the FBI and Dr. King
I loved this book. It tells all about how they caught James Earl Ray. You should read it for the funny stories about J. Edgar Hoover alone. A MUST READ. ... Read more

Product Description
The complete texts of all U.S. presidential inaugural addresses from George Washington in 1789 to Barack Obama in 2009.

The Kindle Edition includes a full Table of Contents. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

All the speeches, in one place
Following Obama's inauguration speech, I was interested in comparing it to the ones that had come before. This book brings them all together, and, through the hyper-linked front index indicating the president's name and the year of the inauguration, they are very easy to browse and read. Fascinating stuff. ... Read more