Synopses & Reviews
“What was he like?”Jack Kennedy said the reason people read biography is to answer that basic question.
With the verve of a novelist, Chris Matthews gives us just that. We see this most beloved president in the company of friends. We see and feel him close-up, having fun and giving off that restlessness of his. We watch him navigate his life from privileged, rebellious youth to gutsy American president. We witness his bravery in war and selfless rescue of his PT boat crew. We watch JFK as a young politician learning to play hardball and watch him grow into the leader who averts a nuclear war.
What was he like, this person whose own wife called him “that elusive, unforgettable man”? The Jack Kennedy you discover here wanted never to be alone, never to be bored. He loved courage, hated war, lived each day as if it were his last.
Chris Matthews’s extraordinary biography is based on personal interviews with those closest to JFK, oral histories by top political aide Kenneth O’Donnell and others, documents from his years as a student at Choate, and notes from Jacqueline Kennedy’s first interview after Dallas. You’ll learn the origins of his inaugural call to “Ask what you can do for your country.” You’ll discover his role in the genesis of the Peace Corps, his stand on civil rights, his push to put a man on the moon, his ban on nuclear arms testing. You’ll get, more than ever before, to the root of the man, including the unsettling aspects of his personal life. As Matthews writes, “I found a fighting prince never free of pain, never far from trouble, never accepting the world he found, never wanting to be his father’s son. He was a far greater hero than he ever wished us to know.”
Review
"It's hard for a book to be loving, affectionate and honest, but Chris Matthews has done it.
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"Matthews stirring biography reveals Kennedy as a 'fighting prince never free from pain, never far from trouble, and never accepting the world he found."
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"Matthews...blends tributes and chastisement in this highly personal account of John. F. Kennedy's career."
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In
Review
“If history at its best is about telling storiesthat bring the past to life, then Chris Matthews is a master storyteller, forthis fascinating portrait brings Jack Kennedy more vividly to life than anyrecent work.—Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals
Review
andlt;divandgt;"It's hard for a book to be loving, affectionate and honest, but Chris Matthews has done it.
Review
In
Review
and#8220;It's hard for a book to be loving, affectionate and honest, but Chris Matthews has done it. He captures JFKand#8217;s virtues and flaws, his appreciation of heroism, his essential independence, his coolness at the core. Full of drama, infused with the joy of politics and battle, andlt;iandgt;Jack Kennedyandlt;/iandgt; is an insightful piece of work and andlt;iandgt;a great timeandlt;/iandgt;! and#8221;
Review
"In his engaging new biographyand#8230;Matthews, who has a deep knowledge of American political history, draws on coversations with numerous people...[offering] a valuable reminder of Kennedyand#8217;s skill at uniting toughness with inspirational leadership."
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"Chris Matthews takes on a giant of American lifeand#8212;and triumphs."
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"Chris Matthews has written an insightful, engrossing, and candid account about what made John F. Kennedy tick. Every chapter brims with colorful anecdotes, political yarns, fast-paced drama, and solid research. andlt;iandgt;Jack Kennedyandlt;/iandgt; is a riveting read by one of American's master political analysts. I give it ten gold-stars!"
Review
"Filled with the vitality and spirit that made Jack Kennedy such a magical figure. Chris Matthews shows the cunning and determination beneath that magic. Written with passion and insight. This book makes Kennedy vibrant again. It's an awesome and delightful book.and#8221;
Synopsis
A new portrait of John F. Kennedy by Chris Matthews, bestselling Kennedy expert and host of MSNBC’s Hardball.
Synopsis
"What was he like?"
Jack Kennedy said the reason people read biography is to answer that basic question. What was he like, this man whose own wife called him "that elusive, unforgettable man?" In this New York Times bestselling biography, Chris Matthews answers that question with the verve of a novelist. We see this most beloved president in the company of friends. We see and feel him close-up, having fun and giving off that restlessness of his. We watch him navigate his life from privileged, rebellious youth to gutsy American president. We witness his bravery in war and selfless rescue of his PT boat crew. We watch JFK as a young politician learning to play hardball and watch him grow into the leader who averts a nuclear war. Matthews's extraordinary biography is based on personal interviews with those closest to JFK, oral histories by top political aide Kenneth O'Donnell and others, documents from his years as a student at Choate, and notes from Jacqueline Kennedy's first interview after Dallas. As Matthews writes: "I found a fighting prince never free of pain, never far from trouble, never accepting the world he found, never wanting to be his father's son. He was a far greater hero than he ever wished us to know."
Synopsis
A new portrait of John F. Kennedy based on interviews with those who knew him best, by Chris Matthews, bestselling Kennedy expert and host of
Hardball .
By following the journey of Jack Kennedy’s life from his school days to the White House, through war and illness and his greatest triumphs, Chris Matthews brings us much closer to the man Jack Kennedy really was.
We know so much about President John F. Kennedy, yet even his wife Jacqueline described him as “that elusive man.” To MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews, Kennedy has long been both an avatar and a puzzle, a beacon and a conundrum. “Whenever I spot the name in print, I stop to read. Anytime I’ve ever met a person who knew him—someone who was there with JFK in real time—I crave hearing their first-person narrative.”
For years, Matthews has been collecting those stories. In Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero, the bestselling author and Kennedy expert has woven those firsthand encounters with JFK into a great American Bildungsroman, telling the tale of how Kennedy grew from a child of privilege into a war hero and finally President of the United States, all the while coping with a life-threatening disease.
“In searching for Jack Kennedy my own way,” Matthews writes, “I found a fighting prince never free from pain, never far from trouble, never accepting the world he found, never wanting to be his father’s son. He was a far greater hero than he ever wished us to know.”
Synopsis
and#8220;What was he like?and#8221;andlt;Iandgt; andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Jack Kennedy said the reason people read biography is to answer that basic question. What was he like, this man whose own wife called him and#8220;that elusive, unforgettable man?and#8221; In this andlt;Iandgt;New York Times andlt;/Iandgt;bestselling biography, Chris Matthews answers that question with the verve of a novelist. We see this most beloved president in the company of friends. We see and feel him close-up, having fun and giving off that restlessness of his. We watch him navigate his life from privileged, rebellious youth to gutsy American president. We witness his bravery in war and selfless rescue of his PT boat crew. We watch JFK as a young politician learning to play hardball and watch him grow into the leader who averts a nuclear war. Matthewsand#8217;s extraordinary biography is based on personal interviews with those closest to JFK, oral histories by top political aide Kenneth Oand#8217;Donnell and others, documents from his years as a student at Choate, and notes from Jacqueline Kennedyand#8217;s first interview after Dallas. As Matthews writes: and#8220;I found a fighting prince never free of pain, never far from trouble, never accepting the world he found, never wanting to be his fatherand#8217;s son. He was a far greater hero than he ever wished us to know.and#8221;
About the Author
Chris Matthews is anchor of MSNBCandrsquo;sandnbsp;andlt;iandgt;Hardballandlt;/iandgt;. He is author of andlt;iandgt;Tip and the Gipperandlt;/iandgt;;andlt;iandgt; Jack Kennedy: Elusive Heroandlt;/iandgt;;andlt;iandgt; Kennedy and Nixonandlt;/iandgt;;andlt;iandgt; Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Thinkandlt;/iandgt;;andlt;iandgt; American: Beyond Our Grandest Notionsandlt;/iandgt;; andlt;iandgt;Hardball: How Politics Is Played by One Who Knows The Gameandlt;/iandgt;; and andlt;iandgt;Politicians: The Backroom World They Never Show Usandlt;/iandgt;.