Ease Reading-Find Your Next Favorite Book

Hot Search

An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963

robert dallek

... Show More
Drawing on previously unavailable material and never-before-opened archives, An Unfinished Life is packed with revelations large and small -- about JFK's health, his love affairs, RFK's appointment as Attorney General, what Joseph Kennedy did to help his son win the White House, and the path JFK would have taken in the Vietnam entanglement had he survived.

Robert Dallek succeeds as no other biographer has done in striking a critical balance -- never shying away from JFK's weaknesses, brilliantly exploring his strengths -- as he offers up a vivid portrait of a bold, brave, complex, heroic, human Kennedy.

849 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,2011

This edition

Format
849 pages, Paperback
Published
May 4, 2004 by Back Bay Books
ISBN
9780316907927
ASIN
0316907928
Language
English
Characters More characters
  • John F. Kennedy

    John F. Kennedy

    The 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his death in 1963. At 43 years of age, he was the youngest to have been elected to the office. Events during his presidency included the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the b...

More editions

About the author

Profile Image for robert dallek

robert dallek

... Show More
Robert A. Dallek is an American historian specializing in the presidents of the United States, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon.
In 2004 he retired as a history professor at Boston University after previously having taught at Columbia University, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Oxford University.
He won the Bancroft Prize for his 1979 book Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932–1945, as well as other awards for scholarship and teaching.

Readers also enjoyed

Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
34(34%)
4 stars
36(36%)
3 stars
30(30%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Mohamedou_33
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
I own the physical book, but found the audio available on the Ohio e-book project, so I thought, let's do this. I should have guessed when it was only 10 sections that this was an abridged version. They must have "bridged" this across a pond because the book is a heck of a lot longer.
The narration was good, by an actor who I recognize, but didn't know his name. I'm not sure I learned anything new, but it was still a good read.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Amyyfran
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
I was initially put off by one line describing JKF’s sister Rosemary - actually using the r-word to describe her. It was a side description of his family and wasn’t a huge part of the book (at all). [The special education teacher in me immediately bristled and had to make sure I heard the audiobook correctly.]

However, setting that aside, this is a very good book about JKF. While I have always liked and enjoyed history, I always struggled connecting events that occurred at the same time but not in the same area (or at all connected) around the world. This helped connect things on a timeline for me.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Ziote
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
This book on JFK by Dallek is a good read. It’s difficult to determine how exactly to feel about JFK. He is so romanticized by the boomers because of his assassination being a pivotal point in their early lives that it is hard to judge him. Dallek does a good job of that but I think he could have been more forceful in a few places.
The early life stuff for JFK was awesome. I usually don’t find the family history sections that interesting but Dallek did a good job of connecting the history of Kennedy’s family with his early life and later in his career. I had no idea he had a severely mentally handicapped sister that was basically banished to a convent in Wisconsin by their parents (though they did try to raise her at first which was commendable for a time when they would just institutionalize children like that immediately.) It was also interesting seeing the pressure for greatness and political office instilled into the Kennedy boys at such a young age. Kennedy’s mom seemed interesting and I would have liked more about her, but that really isn’t Dallek’s fault, he covers her well.
JFK’s presidency and political life are handled equally well and I found Dallek’s treatment of Kennedy’s civil rights stuff interesting. In some ways he was great in solidifying the work that was done under Eisenhower. In other ways not so much with the appointment of pro-segregation judges in the federal system that would bog down progress somewhat. A calculated risk at the time for sure due to the Democratic Party’s southern base of support at the time. But Kennedy went far in making inroads. I also appreciated what it had to say (or rather show) what Kennedy though of the growing situation in Vietnam. His heart was in the right places in some instances, like wanting to expose more of what was happening there to Americans, but he never really followed through.
Dallek also doesn’t hide the bad of Kennedy’s personal life. He was a womanizer and an adulterer and Dallek makes sure that you know the names of every woman he slept with. I think this is kind of where Dallek was weak because he basically takes the approach of saying, “oh this is fine because it didn’t hamper his work.” But I think that it’s effect on Jackie and on his children should have been explored. Not to mention the role of the press in covering it up for him. A modern book could probably get a lot of distance from looking at this through a Me Too lens, but I don’t hold Dallek responsible as that wasn’t really a thing of interest when he was writing this.
Overall, good but not great. It is well researched and the prose flows nicely enough, but it could have been deeper in a few places when it came to the moral questions surrounding his presidency. Regardless, good single volume work on the man.
On a totally separate note I sometimes like to get an audiobook as well as a print copy and read both together. Heads up the audiobook is abridged which sucks. But the voice actor did do a JFK voice whenever he was quoted so that was funny.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Leonmusc
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
I wanted to know more about JKF and I thought this was a fair and unbiased account of his life. I always want to categorize someone as "good" or "bad" (he was a good/bad president), but this book is yet another example that most people are both.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
NikoRobin
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
An Unfinished Life is a solid, lengthy and largely favourable account of John F. Kennedy. It is well researched and there can scarcely have been a biography of JFK that explores his medical history as thoroughly as this.

The book runs to just over 700 pages of text excluding notes, index etc in hardback with over half that number devoted to his presidency. Kennedy's meeting with Krushchev alone receives ten pages of analysis. The reader is provided with what seems an almost month by month commentary on his presidential term. If that amount of detail is too much then this title is not for you.

What Dallek achieves most I felt was demonstrating how difficult decision making was in the Oval Office. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, for example, Kennedy sought out the opinions of many advisors including past presidents and in the end, had to weigh up many options not knowing for sure what would result from each choice.

If you want a good long read on one of the most fascinating of American presidents then this is for you.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Mr_Skylight
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
Average. Dallek (Yes, pronounced like the pepper pot robot in 'Doctor Who') varies between praise i.e dealing with Russia, Cuban missile crisis Berlin to criticism (his womanising, and medical problems. Here is the problem: JFK is not perfect BUT British politicians are not perfect either. People will probably like this review but I was confused?????
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Mothmonsterman
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
This is an extraordinarily clear and detailed biography of the legendary yet all too human American president, John F. Kennedy. Robert Dallek, author of an acclaimed two-volume biography of Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson, has found, remarkably, untapped sources to bring additional life and light to Kennedy's story. Chief among these new resources are vast elements of Kennedy's medical records, which indicate both the excruciating pain and personal contortions JFK went through in an effort to serve well as president while also keeping his disturbing medical conditions from the public. Kennedy emerges from this book as not a great or epic president but as a very human being whose reach often exceeded his grasp and who sometimes did not reach far nor fast enough. The picture the reader is left with is of an admirable, physically brave and stalwart man, who had a genius for the subtleties of politics and an occasional, unfortunate penchant for learning from his mistakes only after making large ones. It is a fine book about a remarkable man.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Jackster27
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
Very satisfied with this one. A shorter biography for sure, but that’s obviously understandable, and it’s sweet nonetheless. Still, I’m docking a star due to a relative lack of analysis compared to other bios (especially other ones by this author). Looking forward to LBJ next!
0 0 Reply
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.