Synopses & Reviews
In the summer of 1962, nineteen-year-old Mimi Beardsley arrived by train in Washington, D.C., to begin an internship in the White House press office. The Kennedy Administration had reinvigorated the capital and the country—and Mimi was eager to contribute. For a young woman from a privileged but sheltered upbringing, the job was the chance of a lifetime. Although she started as a lowly intern, Mimi made an impression on Kennedy’s inner circle and, after just three days at the White House, she was presented to the President himself.
Almost immediately, the two began an affair that would continue for the next eighteen months.
In an era when women in the workplace were still considered “girls,” Mimi was literally a girl herself—naïve, innocent, emotionally unprepared for the thrill that came when the President’s charisma and power were turned on her full-force. She was also unprepared for the feelings of isolation that would follow as she fell into the double life of a college student who was also the secret lover of the most powerful man in the world. Then, after the President’s tragic death in Dallas, she grieved in private, locked her secret away, and tried to start her life anew, only to find that her past would cast a long shadow—and ultimately destroy her relationship with the man she married.
In 2003, a Kennedy biographer mentioned “a tall, slender, beautiful nineteen-year-old college sophomore and White House intern, who worked in the press office” in reference to one of the President’s affairs. The disclosure set off a tabloid frenzy and soon exposed Mimi and the secret that she had kept for forty-one years. Because her past had been revealed in such a shocking, public way, she was forced, for the first time, to examine the choices she’d made. She came to understand that shutting down one part of her life so completely had closed her off from so much more.
No longer defined by silence or shame, Mimi Alford has finally unburdened herself with this searingly honest account of her life and her extremely private moments with a very public man. Once Upon a Secret offers a new and personal depiction of one of our most iconic leaders and a powerful, moving story of a woman coming to terms with her past and moving out of the shadows to reclaim the truth.
Review
"An informative analysis of the ways in which J.F.K. did indeed evince his conservative side—he was very religious, open to a free market unencumbered by governmental interference, and staunchly anti-Communist." -
Publishers Weekly "Insightful and well-researched...This volume will appeal to readers seeking an unvarnished appraisal of Kennedy policymaking." -
Library Journal "Stoll makes a solid case by carefully scouring the record. A compelling textual study of how JFK became all things to all people." -
Kirkus "A wonderfully mischievous analysis...Stolls lively disputation offers a distinctive contribution to the debate." -
New York Times Book Review "Provocative and compelling...Ira Stoll has succeeded in changing our very perception of Kennedy as one of liberalisms heroes." --
The Weekly Standard "Stoll convincingly argues that the president - despite his iconic status among liberals - had more in common with Republicans of the Reagan era." -- The Brooklyn Eagle
"All the more brilliant, then, is JFK, Conservative, Ira Stolls new biography. Stoll cracks the surface of progressive nostalgia and digs up facts that others have left covered over. He shines his miners flashlight on material that challenges the progressive stereotype and brings to light nuggets of information and resources that no one else has retrieved." -- Forbes
"Mr. Stoll makes a strong case that in 1960 ‘the anti-Communist, anti-big government candidate was John F. Kennedy. The one touting government programs and higher salaries for public employees was Richard Nixon, he writes.” -- The Wall Street Journal
"Stoll, author of a fine biography of Samuel Adams and former managing editor of the New York Sun, makes a strong case that conservatives should stake a claim to President Kennedy as one of their own. JFK, Conservative is a finely crafted brief for this interpretation — and it comes close to winning the case… Stoll makes a strong case that JFK was neither the idealistic liberal of legend nor even the pragmatic liberal that the historical consensus suggests he was…[An] excellent study." -- The National Review
"Loony" -- The New Yorker
“[Stoll] assembles sufficient evidence that his books title is not merely provocative.” -- George Will, The Washington Post
“JFK, Conservative is an eminently readable book, providing substantial and convincing evidence, both pro and con, as to how we should judge Kennedys politics. Stoll does a particularly admirable job in his devils advocacy, bringing forth much source material from Kennedys liberal supporters as a counter-balance to his thesis...Stolls book proves eye opening and enjoyable in showing that there were aspects of JFKs ideology worth admiring, much to the chagrin of his leftist champions.” -- The Blaze
“I guarantee you this one's not going to be studied at the universities any time soon, so we need to study it in our own life.” -- Glenn Beck
“It is the best book of nonfiction I have read this entire year. It is provocative. It makes you rethink a lot of things. It changes what you thought you always knew.” -- Jack Riccardi, KTSA Radio, San Antonio
“Its overdue…Im surprised no one has written this directly about JFK until now...Great book.” - Howie Carr, WRKO Radio, Boston
Review
The forgotten Kennedy is forgotten no longer. ROSEMARY is a rare thing, a book about the Kennedys that has something new to say.
andmdash;Laurence Leamer, author of The Kennedy Women
and#160;
In her engaging and compassionate ROSEMARY: THE HIDDEN KENNEDY DAUGHTER, Kate Larson illuminates the poignant story of a resolute girl falling behind in a glamorous and competitive family. Rosemaryand#39;s own story comes alive against the broader and often shocking background of 20th-century attitudes toward the intellectually disabled, and sheds fascinating light on how the characters of Rose Kennedy, Joe Kennedy, and Rosemaryand#39;s famous siblings were indelibly shaped by her determined yet tragic life.
andmdash;Will Swift, author of The Kennedys Amidst the Gathering Storm
Kate Clifford Larson delivers an engrossing portrait of Rose and Joe Kennedyandrsquo;s tragic misunderstanding of their oldest daughterandrsquo;s capabilities, and of how her fate changed the Kennedy family forever.and#160; And yet it is Rosemary herself who shines from the pages of this profoundly revealing family story.
andmdash;Marya Hornbacher, author of Madness:and#160; A Bipolar Life
Synopsis
After 40 years of silence and reflection comes a deeply personal and emotionally charged memoir of a woman's 18-month relationship with President John F. Kennedy when she was a college intern at the White House.
Synopsis
The revelatory, poignantand#160;story of Rosemary Kennedy, the eldest and eventually secreted-away Kennedy daughter, and how her life transformed her family, its women especially, and an entire nation
Synopsis
They were the most prominent American family ofand#160;the twentieth century. The daughter they secreted away made all the difference. Joe and Rose Kennedyandrsquo;s strikingly beautiful daughter Rosemary attended exclusive schools, was presented as a debutante to the Queen of England, and traveled the world with her high-spirited sisters. And yet, Rosemary was intellectually disabled andmdash; a secret fiercely guarded by her powerful and glamorous family.and#160;and#160;Major new sources andmdash; Rose Kennedyandrsquo;s diaries and correspondence, school and doctorsand#39; letters, and exclusive family interviews andmdash; bring Rosemary alive as a girl adored but left far behind by her competitive siblings. Kate Larson reveals both the sensitive care Rose and Joe gave to Rosemary and then andmdash; as the familyandrsquo;s standing reached an apex andmdash; the often desperate and duplicitous arrangements the Kennedys made to keep her away from home as she became increasingly intractable in her early twenties. Finally, Larson illuminates Joeandrsquo;s decision to have Rosemary lobotomized at age twenty-three, and the familyand#39;s complicity in keeping the secret.and#160;and#160;Rosemary delivers a profoundly moving coda: JFK visited Rosemary for the first time while campaigning in the Midwest; she had been living isolated in a Wisconsin institution for nearly twenty years. Only then did the siblings understand what had happened to Rosemary and bring her home for loving family visits. It was a reckoning that inspired them to direct attention to the plight of the disabled, transforming the lives of millions.
Synopsis
For the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy comes a sure-to-be-controversial argument that by virtually any standard, JFK was far more conservative than liberal.
Synopsis
A startling reconsideration of John F. Kennedy’s record and achievements
John F. Kennedy is lionized by liberals. He inspired LBJ to push for landmark civil rights laws. His “New Frontier” promised new spending on education and medical care for the elderly. His champions insist he would have done great liberal things had he not been killed by Lee Harvey Oswald.
But what if we judge him by the lengthy record of his actual political career, in historical perspective? What if this hero of liberals was, in fact, the opposite of a liberal?
As Ira Stoll convincingly argues, by the standards of both his time and our own, John F. Kennedy was a conservative. His two great causes were anticommunism and economic growth. His tax cuts, which spurred one of the greatest economic booms in our history, were fiercely opposed by his more liberal advisers. He fought against unions. He pushed for free trade and a strong dollar. And above all, he pushed for a military buildup and an aggressive anticommunism around the world. Indeed, JFK had more in common with Ronald Reagan than with LBJ.
Not every Republican is a true heir to Kennedy, but hardly any Democrats deserve that mantle. JFK, Conservative is sure to appeal to conservative readers — and will force liberals to reconsider one of their icons.
About the Author
KATE CLIFFORD LARSON is the author of two critically acclaimed biographies: Bound For the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero and The Assassinandrsquo;s Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln. She has been a consultant and interpretive specialist for numerous museum and public history initiatives, focusing on the lives and contributions of women in the making of our national identity.
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Table of Contents
Prelude ix
Introduction 1
1. PT 109 9
2. Congressman 17
3. Senator Kennedy 38
4. Presidential Campaign 53
5. Transition and Inauguration 80
6. The New Frontier: Domestic Policy 94
7. Tax Cutter 122
8. The Cold War and the Freedom Doctrine 140
9. The Death of a President 181
10. Passing the Torch 197
Acknowledgments 231
Notes 234
Bibliography 257
Index 263