Difference between revisions of "Top Ten Books on President John F Kennedy"

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It's fifty years since President John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on 22 November 1963.  The death of the charismatic young man has cast a rosy glow over his presidency and we've selected our ten favourite books about JFK so that you can judge him for yourself.  They're here in alphabetical order.  (Actually there are eleven books here - we've since received a children's book which we felt should be included.)
+
It's more than sixty years since President John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on 22 November 1963.  The death of the charismatic young man has cast a rosy glow over his presidency and we've selected our ten favourite books about JFK so that you can judge him for yourself.  They're here in alphabetical order.  (Actually there are eleven books here - we've since received a children's book which we felt should be included.)
  
{{topten
+
{{Frontpage
 
|author=Vincent Bugliosi
 
|author=Vincent Bugliosi
 
|title=Parkland
 
|title=Parkland
Line 8: Line 8:
 
|genre=History
 
|genre=History
 
|summary= ''Parkland'' is not just a book about history but a book ''with'' a history.  Vincent Bugliosi published ''Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy''  in 2007 with much of the book being based on his preparation for a mock trial of Lee Harvey Oswald which was shown on British television.  This book was an exhaustive look at what happened in Dallas and at subsequent events such as the trial of Jack Ruby and the conspiracy theories which have abounded in the intervening fifty years.  ''Four Days in November: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy'' was published in June 2008 and is - as the title suggests - restricted to what happened on 22 November 1963 and the following three days.  ''Parkland'' is the film tie-in version of that book.
 
|summary= ''Parkland'' is not just a book about history but a book ''with'' a history.  Vincent Bugliosi published ''Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy''  in 2007 with much of the book being based on his preparation for a mock trial of Lee Harvey Oswald which was shown on British television.  This book was an exhaustive look at what happened in Dallas and at subsequent events such as the trial of Jack Ruby and the conspiracy theories which have abounded in the intervening fifty years.  ''Four Days in November: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy'' was published in June 2008 and is - as the title suggests - restricted to what happened on 22 November 1963 and the following three days.  ''Parkland'' is the film tie-in version of that book.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0393347338</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0393347338
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{topten
+
{{Frontpage
 
|author=David G Coleman
 
|author=David G Coleman
 
|title=The Fourteenth Day: JFK and the Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis
 
|title=The Fourteenth Day: JFK and the Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Line 17: Line 17:
 
|genre=History
 
|genre=History
 
|summary=The commonly-held view of history would have us believe that the Cuban Missile Crisis began in mid-October 1962 and concluded on 28 October, with the world heaving a collective sigh of relief and moving on to think of other things.  The truth is, of course, rather different and the crisis rumbled on for weeks and months to come, occasionally almost bubbling to the boil again as Kennedy and Krushchev fenced with each other.  Historian David G Coleman has used the secret White House recordings to take us into the Oval Office and listen to what really went on.  
 
|summary=The commonly-held view of history would have us believe that the Cuban Missile Crisis began in mid-October 1962 and concluded on 28 October, with the world heaving a collective sigh of relief and moving on to think of other things.  The truth is, of course, rather different and the crisis rumbled on for weeks and months to come, occasionally almost bubbling to the boil again as Kennedy and Krushchev fenced with each other.  Historian David G Coleman has used the secret White House recordings to take us into the Oval Office and listen to what really went on.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0393346803</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0393346803
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{topten
+
{{Frontpage
 
|author=Michael Dobbs
 
|author=Michael Dobbs
 
|title=One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Krushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War
 
|title=One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Krushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War
Line 26: Line 26:
 
|genre=History
 
|genre=History
 
|summary= At the end of October 1962 the world held its breath as three Presidents – Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro – brought the world to the brink of thermonuclear war, but somehow managed to back away from almost certain disaster.  The story begins on Tuesday October the 16th and takes us through to the point at the end of the month when we all realised that what to eat for our next meal need not be the extent of our forward planning.
 
|summary= At the end of October 1962 the world held its breath as three Presidents – Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro – brought the world to the brink of thermonuclear war, but somehow managed to back away from almost certain disaster.  The story begins on Tuesday October the 16th and takes us through to the point at the end of the month when we all realised that what to eat for our next meal need not be the extent of our forward planning.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099492458</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0099492458
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{topten
+
{{Frontpage
 
|author=Steven M Gillon
 
|author=Steven M Gillon
 
|title=The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After
 
|title=The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After
Line 35: Line 35:
 
|genre=History
 
|genre=History
 
|summary= The assassination of President Kennedy came at a pivotal moment in my life and for more than forty years I've read much of what has been written about the event.  It's been of variable quality, but the books fed the curiosity of people entranced by the charismatic young President who died so publicly.  I'd come to the point of wondering if there was anything new to be said, but Stephen Gillom has looked at what happened from an unusual and largely overlooked angle – the first twenty four hours of Lyndon Johnson's Presidency.
 
|summary= The assassination of President Kennedy came at a pivotal moment in my life and for more than forty years I've read much of what has been written about the event.  It's been of variable quality, but the books fed the curiosity of people entranced by the charismatic young President who died so publicly.  I'd come to the point of wondering if there was anything new to be said, but Stephen Gillom has looked at what happened from an unusual and largely overlooked angle – the first twenty four hours of Lyndon Johnson's Presidency.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>046501870X</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=046501870X
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{topten
+
{{Frontpage
 
|author=Nigel Hamilton
 
|author=Nigel Hamilton
 
|title=American Caesars: Lives of the US Presidents, from Franklin D Roosevelt to George W Bush
 
|title=American Caesars: Lives of the US Presidents, from Franklin D Roosevelt to George W Bush
Line 44: Line 44:
 
|genre=History
 
|genre=History
 
|summary= The premise is simple: take twelve men (and unfortunately they are all men, but that's not the author's fault) who have achieved high office and look at each of them.  Firstly, take a look at the road to the high office, then how they performed once they reached their goal and finally a look at their private life.  Suetonius did it first when he wrote ''The Twelve Caesars'' and now Nigel Hamilton has taken the same journey with ''American Caesars'', a remarkably in-depth look at twelve consecutive American presidents from the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, starting with Franklin D Roosevelt and finishing with George W Bush.
 
|summary= The premise is simple: take twelve men (and unfortunately they are all men, but that's not the author's fault) who have achieved high office and look at each of them.  Firstly, take a look at the road to the high office, then how they performed once they reached their goal and finally a look at their private life.  Suetonius did it first when he wrote ''The Twelve Caesars'' and now Nigel Hamilton has taken the same journey with ''American Caesars'', a remarkably in-depth look at twelve consecutive American presidents from the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, starting with Franklin D Roosevelt and finishing with George W Bush.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099520419</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0099520419
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{topten
+
{{Frontpage
 
|author=Tracey Kelly
 
|author=Tracey Kelly
 
|title=A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy
 
|title=A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy
Line 53: Line 53:
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=I have a vivid memory of hearing about the assassination of John F Kennedy.  He was young, charismatic and a hope for the future after the old guard who seemed to have been in power for ever - and then he was gone.  Books on JFK are easy to find - you'll find our favourites [[Top Ten Books on President John F Kennedy|here]], but it's rather more difficult to find a book which puts Kennedy and what happened into context, so I was delighted to receive a copy of 'A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy'.
 
|summary=I have a vivid memory of hearing about the assassination of John F Kennedy.  He was young, charismatic and a hope for the future after the old guard who seemed to have been in power for ever - and then he was gone.  Books on JFK are easy to find - you'll find our favourites [[Top Ten Books on President John F Kennedy|here]], but it's rather more difficult to find a book which puts Kennedy and what happened into context, so I was delighted to receive a copy of 'A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy'.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445123576</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1445123576
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{topten
+
{{Frontpage
 
|author=Jonathan Mayo
 
|author=Jonathan Mayo
 
|title=The Assassination of JFK Minute by Minute
 
|title=The Assassination of JFK Minute by Minute
Line 62: Line 62:
 
|genre=History
 
|genre=History
 
|summary=President John F Kennedy had been warned about going to Dallas - he himself  referred to it as 'nut country' - but, conscious of the upcoming presidential elections, he needed to bring some support from the city onside and that was why he and the First Lady found themselves in the motorcade which swept into Dealey Plaza on 22 November 1963.  There can be few people who are not aware of what happened next, but Jonathan Mayo has presented a chronology of events over the next four days ('four days, three murders, hundreds of stories', as the cover says) demonstrating the pressure under which the officials involved were working.  
 
|summary=President John F Kennedy had been warned about going to Dallas - he himself  referred to it as 'nut country' - but, conscious of the upcoming presidential elections, he needed to bring some support from the city onside and that was why he and the First Lady found themselves in the motorcade which swept into Dealey Plaza on 22 November 1963.  There can be few people who are not aware of what happened next, but Jonathan Mayo has presented a chronology of events over the next four days ('four days, three murders, hundreds of stories', as the cover says) demonstrating the pressure under which the officials involved were working.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780721854</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1780721854
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{topten
+
{{Frontpage
 
|author=Jed Mercurio
 
|author=Jed Mercurio
 
|title=American Adulterer
 
|title=American Adulterer
Line 72: Line 72:
 
|summary=  
 
|summary=  
 
I've often wondered how history would have viewed Jack Kennedy if he'd died a natural death rather than by an assassin's bullet.  As an extension of that I've also thought that he might not have lived that much longer had nature been allowed to take its course.  He's one of the most-written-about Presidents of all time and finding a new angle – even a fictional one – is not easy, but Jed Mercurio has looked at Kennedy's adult life through the prism of his sexual peccadilloes and his health.
 
I've often wondered how history would have viewed Jack Kennedy if he'd died a natural death rather than by an assassin's bullet.  As an extension of that I've also thought that he might not have lived that much longer had nature been allowed to take its course.  He's one of the most-written-about Presidents of all time and finding a new angle – even a fictional one – is not easy, but Jed Mercurio has looked at Kennedy's adult life through the prism of his sexual peccadilloes and his health.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099515873</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0099515873
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{topten
+
{{Frontpage
 
|author=Barbara A Perry
 
|author=Barbara A Perry
 
|title=Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch
 
|title=Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch
Line 81: Line 81:
 
|genre=Biography
 
|genre=Biography
 
|summary= It's about fifty years since the assassination of President John F Kennedy and it was he (and particularly his death) who brought the Kennedy family to the attention of a new generation.  An earlier generation had been split about the virtues (or otherwise) of his father, Joe Kennedy, multi millionaire and United States Ambassador to Great Britain.  But behind both of these men was mother and wife, Rose Kennedy and Barbara A Perry has produced a superb biography using letters, diaries and other archived material recently made available.
 
|summary= It's about fifty years since the assassination of President John F Kennedy and it was he (and particularly his death) who brought the Kennedy family to the attention of a new generation.  An earlier generation had been split about the virtues (or otherwise) of his father, Joe Kennedy, multi millionaire and United States Ambassador to Great Britain.  But behind both of these men was mother and wife, Rose Kennedy and Barbara A Perry has produced a superb biography using letters, diaries and other archived material recently made available.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0393068951</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0393068951
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{topten
+
{{Frontpage
 
|author=Anthony Summers
 
|author=Anthony Summers
 
|title=Not In Your Lifetime: The Assassination of JFK
 
|title=Not In Your Lifetime: The Assassination of JFK
Line 90: Line 90:
 
|genre=True Crime
 
|genre=True Crime
 
|summary= Originally published as ''The Kennedy Conspiracy'', Anthony Summers has massively revised the text, updated it with the latest evidence and it's been republished as ''Not in Your Lifetime: The Assassination of JFK'' which refers to the statement made by Chief Justice Earl Warren who was asked if the truth about what happened would come out.  He said that it would, but added the rider that ''it might not be in your lifetime''.  Fifty years on most of the people directly involved are now dead, but the truth has not officially emerged.  In fact, it's difficult to avoid the thought that the US government would prefer that it did not see the light of day.  Further documents are due to be released in 2017, but, in the meantime Anthony Summer has examined what is available, investigated on his own behalf and given us this comprehensive book.
 
|summary= Originally published as ''The Kennedy Conspiracy'', Anthony Summers has massively revised the text, updated it with the latest evidence and it's been republished as ''Not in Your Lifetime: The Assassination of JFK'' which refers to the statement made by Chief Justice Earl Warren who was asked if the truth about what happened would come out.  He said that it would, but added the rider that ''it might not be in your lifetime''.  Fifty years on most of the people directly involved are now dead, but the truth has not officially emerged.  In fact, it's difficult to avoid the thought that the US government would prefer that it did not see the light of day.  Further documents are due to be released in 2017, but, in the meantime Anthony Summer has examined what is available, investigated on his own behalf and given us this comprehensive book.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755365429</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0755365429
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{topten
+
{{Frontpage
 
|author=David Talbot
 
|author=David Talbot
 
|title=Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years
 
|title=Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years
Line 99: Line 99:
 
|genre=History
 
|genre=History
 
|summary= Jack Kennedy was assassinated the day before my college interview and afterwards I could remember little of what had been said. Rather than feeling that a door was opening I felt that a light had been snuffed out. The man who offered promise of a better world had been brutally murdered by a loan gunman. Nearly five years later I had a young baby and Senator Robert Kennedy seemed about to offer a light at the end of the dark tunnel of the Johnson Presidency with all the horrors of Vietnam, when he too was shot in the head. The world looked to Senator Edward Kennedy and sighed.
 
|summary= Jack Kennedy was assassinated the day before my college interview and afterwards I could remember little of what had been said. Rather than feeling that a door was opening I felt that a light had been snuffed out. The man who offered promise of a better world had been brutally murdered by a loan gunman. Nearly five years later I had a young baby and Senator Robert Kennedy seemed about to offer a light at the end of the dark tunnel of the Johnson Presidency with all the horrors of Vietnam, when he too was shot in the head. The world looked to Senator Edward Kennedy and sighed.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847370829</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1847370829
 
}}
 
}}
  

Latest revision as of 13:03, 2 February 2024

It's more than sixty years since President John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on 22 November 1963. The death of the charismatic young man has cast a rosy glow over his presidency and we've selected our ten favourite books about JFK so that you can judge him for yourself. They're here in alphabetical order. (Actually there are eleven books here - we've since received a children's book which we felt should be included.)

0393347338.jpg

Review of

Parkland by Vincent Bugliosi

4.5star.jpg History

Parkland is not just a book about history but a book with a history. Vincent Bugliosi published Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 2007 with much of the book being based on his preparation for a mock trial of Lee Harvey Oswald which was shown on British television. This book was an exhaustive look at what happened in Dallas and at subsequent events such as the trial of Jack Ruby and the conspiracy theories which have abounded in the intervening fifty years. Four Days in November: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy was published in June 2008 and is - as the title suggests - restricted to what happened on 22 November 1963 and the following three days. Parkland is the film tie-in version of that book. Full Review

0393346803.jpg

Review of

The Fourteenth Day: JFK and the Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis by David G Coleman

4star.jpg History

The commonly-held view of history would have us believe that the Cuban Missile Crisis began in mid-October 1962 and concluded on 28 October, with the world heaving a collective sigh of relief and moving on to think of other things. The truth is, of course, rather different and the crisis rumbled on for weeks and months to come, occasionally almost bubbling to the boil again as Kennedy and Krushchev fenced with each other. Historian David G Coleman has used the secret White House recordings to take us into the Oval Office and listen to what really went on. Full Review

0099492458.jpg

Review of

One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Krushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War by Michael Dobbs

5star.jpg History

At the end of October 1962 the world held its breath as three Presidents – Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro – brought the world to the brink of thermonuclear war, but somehow managed to back away from almost certain disaster. The story begins on Tuesday October the 16th and takes us through to the point at the end of the month when we all realised that what to eat for our next meal need not be the extent of our forward planning. Full Review

046501870X.jpg

Review of

The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After by Steven M Gillon

4.5star.jpg History

The assassination of President Kennedy came at a pivotal moment in my life and for more than forty years I've read much of what has been written about the event. It's been of variable quality, but the books fed the curiosity of people entranced by the charismatic young President who died so publicly. I'd come to the point of wondering if there was anything new to be said, but Stephen Gillom has looked at what happened from an unusual and largely overlooked angle – the first twenty four hours of Lyndon Johnson's Presidency. Full Review

0099520419.jpg

Review of

American Caesars: Lives of the US Presidents, from Franklin D Roosevelt to George W Bush by Nigel Hamilton

5star.jpg History

The premise is simple: take twelve men (and unfortunately they are all men, but that's not the author's fault) who have achieved high office and look at each of them. Firstly, take a look at the road to the high office, then how they performed once they reached their goal and finally a look at their private life. Suetonius did it first when he wrote The Twelve Caesars and now Nigel Hamilton has taken the same journey with American Caesars, a remarkably in-depth look at twelve consecutive American presidents from the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, starting with Franklin D Roosevelt and finishing with George W Bush. Full Review

1445123576.jpg

Review of

A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy by Tracey Kelly

4star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

I have a vivid memory of hearing about the assassination of John F Kennedy. He was young, charismatic and a hope for the future after the old guard who seemed to have been in power for ever - and then he was gone. Books on JFK are easy to find - you'll find our favourites here, but it's rather more difficult to find a book which puts Kennedy and what happened into context, so I was delighted to receive a copy of 'A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy'. Full Review

1780721854.jpg

Review of

The Assassination of JFK Minute by Minute by Jonathan Mayo

4star.jpg History

President John F Kennedy had been warned about going to Dallas - he himself referred to it as 'nut country' - but, conscious of the upcoming presidential elections, he needed to bring some support from the city onside and that was why he and the First Lady found themselves in the motorcade which swept into Dealey Plaza on 22 November 1963. There can be few people who are not aware of what happened next, but Jonathan Mayo has presented a chronology of events over the next four days ('four days, three murders, hundreds of stories', as the cover says) demonstrating the pressure under which the officials involved were working. Full Review

0099515873.jpg

Review of

American Adulterer by Jed Mercurio

4star.jpg General Fiction

I've often wondered how history would have viewed Jack Kennedy if he'd died a natural death rather than by an assassin's bullet. As an extension of that I've also thought that he might not have lived that much longer had nature been allowed to take its course. He's one of the most-written-about Presidents of all time and finding a new angle – even a fictional one – is not easy, but Jed Mercurio has looked at Kennedy's adult life through the prism of his sexual peccadilloes and his health. Full Review

0393068951.jpg

Review of

Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch by Barbara A Perry

4.5star.jpg Biography

It's about fifty years since the assassination of President John F Kennedy and it was he (and particularly his death) who brought the Kennedy family to the attention of a new generation. An earlier generation had been split about the virtues (or otherwise) of his father, Joe Kennedy, multi millionaire and United States Ambassador to Great Britain. But behind both of these men was mother and wife, Rose Kennedy and Barbara A Perry has produced a superb biography using letters, diaries and other archived material recently made available. Full Review

0755365429.jpg

Review of

Not In Your Lifetime: The Assassination of JFK by Anthony Summers

4.5star.jpg True Crime

Originally published as The Kennedy Conspiracy, Anthony Summers has massively revised the text, updated it with the latest evidence and it's been republished as Not in Your Lifetime: The Assassination of JFK which refers to the statement made by Chief Justice Earl Warren who was asked if the truth about what happened would come out. He said that it would, but added the rider that it might not be in your lifetime. Fifty years on most of the people directly involved are now dead, but the truth has not officially emerged. In fact, it's difficult to avoid the thought that the US government would prefer that it did not see the light of day. Further documents are due to be released in 2017, but, in the meantime Anthony Summer has examined what is available, investigated on his own behalf and given us this comprehensive book. Full Review

1847370829.jpg

Review of

Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years by David Talbot

5star.jpg History

Jack Kennedy was assassinated the day before my college interview and afterwards I could remember little of what had been said. Rather than feeling that a door was opening I felt that a light had been snuffed out. The man who offered promise of a better world had been brutally murdered by a loan gunman. Nearly five years later I had a young baby and Senator Robert Kennedy seemed about to offer a light at the end of the dark tunnel of the Johnson Presidency with all the horrors of Vietnam, when he too was shot in the head. The world looked to Senator Edward Kennedy and sighed. Full Review

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