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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?????

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.

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!

A great book about a great man. My interest has been recently been re-aroused by watching the movie based on him/this book. I am looking for books on his son who so much reminds me of my own recent biographical subject: HARRY The People's Prince.

A book focused heavily on the political events of his time- less so about the true personality and “who” JFK was as a man.

https://bestpresidentialbios.com/2017...

When it was published in 2003, Robert Dallek's "An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963" was the first full-scale, single-volume biography of JFK in over three decades. Dallek is a presidential historian and former professor of history at Boston University, Columbia University and UCLA. He is the author of nearly two-dozen books including a two-volume series on LBJ and "Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power."

Dallek's book benefits enormously from his having been granted almost unprecedented access to Kennedy family documents including newly-revealed information relating to JFK's seemingly endless array of medical ailments. He also convinced a former Kennedy administration press aide to release new information concerning an affair between JFK and a White House intern.

Some of this fresh primary source material underpins the book's earliest chapters which describe Kennedy's youth: his fascinating family lineage, his privileged childhood, his persistent medical issues and his unwavering penchant for "womanizing." But readers seeking a sensational JFK exposé are likely to be disappointed.

While the early narrative provides a devastating indictment of Kennedy's ill-formed moral core, Dallek is predisposed to focusing on politics over prurient predilections. This biography is long on hard history and avoids allowing Kennedy's indiscretions to hijack the narrative. The author's skillful dissection of JFK's complex medical situation, however, does pervade the text.

Once Kennedy begins his political career in 1946, the spotlight shines brightest on his "public" rather than "private" life; his family recedes into the background and there is surprisingly little coverage even of Jackie. More than half the book is reserved for Kennedy's 1,036-day presidency and Dallek's style is consistently serious, sober-minded and impressively objective.

Not surprisingly, discussion of Kennedy's presidency is dominated by US-Soviet relations, Cuba and Southeast Asia. With the exception of civil rights (where the author is often critical of Kennedy's leadership failures), domestic issues receive significantly less focus. But this is reflective of Kennedy's own interests and emphasis.

The most interesting chapters are those dealing with Kennedy's relationship with Nikita Khrushchev (their meeting at the Vienna Summit, in particular) and the Bay of Pigs debacle. The book ends with an interesting "Epilogue" considering Kennedy's reputation, assessing his legacy and briefly pondering what "might have been."

While the biography is almost always engaging there are occasions during Kennedy's presidency when the narrative bogs down and becomes tedious. But this is generally the fault of cumbersome foreign policy issues facing Kennedy at the time rather than with the author's writing style.

In addition, JFK's assassination is described in just a single paragraph with no lens on the transition of power to LBJ. The ensuing pages consider the impact of Kennedy's death on his family and on the country but, for many readers, history will seem to stop too abruptly at the moment of Kennedy's death.

Overall, Robert Dallek's "An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963" proves an excellent introduction to the life and death of the thirty-fifth president. Some readers will find discussion of Kennedy's medical afflictions strangely pervasive; others will be surprised not to read more of his lewd behavior. But, in general, Dallek's biography covers John F. Kennedy's life thoroughly, thoughtfully and with extraordinary balance and objectivity.

Overall rating: 4¼ stars

The health problems that John F. Kennedy had were quite incredible, and it is hard to read them without having sympathy and awe for Kennedy's perseverance. Historian Robert Dallek was the first to have access to Kennedy's health records, though Seymour Hersh detailed many of Kennedy's ailments through anonymous sourcing in a book he wrote.

Dallek is a good writer and presents Kennedy well. That said, this biography didn't change my own view that JFK is perhaps the most overrated president in U.S. history. His achievements seem to be more style and hype -- like his supposed vibrancy -- than reality. Meanwhile, he was Cold War warrior whose handling of civil rights, Vietnam and Cuba all left a lot to be desired.

I'm also often skeptical of accounts of Kennedy's life, since it is clear that his followers have been selective over the years in the release of information about him.

For instance, the deal he cut with Khrushchev during the Cuban missile crisis would certainly have been criticized at the time. It became public only years later that the U.S. agreed to remove missiles from Turkey, when the popularity of detente gave that decision a far different cast.

Similarly, Kennedy's health problems, now sure to win sympathy, would have dealt a serious blow to his career if they had become known contemporaneously.