I was 16 when John F. Kennedy was assassinated and he's the second president I remember as having
impacted my life. To this day the great imponderable 'what if' of our history is what if Kennedy had
lived to serve two full terms or even one?

Without mythologizing Kennedy because enough of that has certainly been done, author Robert Dallek
gives us a warts and all portrait of Kennedy and concludes quite dispassionately that the world would
have been better off if he had lived. The promise was about to be fulfilled.

The bulk of the book concerns the presidency of JFK, the rest is preliminary from the day he was born
in 1917. He was quite lucky to make it until he did with the various health issues he had, Addison's
Disease and back problems that beginning oddly enough at his moment of personal heroism the
sinking of the PT 109 in the Pacific War and his saving of most of the crew.

The way was certainly paved by both his father Joseph P. Kennedy and his grandfather John F.
Fitzgerald the famous Honey Fitz, legendary mayor of Boston. Joe Kennedy wanted to be the first
Catholic president but he blew it and that story has been told elsewhere. But he had the money
and connections and Honey Fitz certainly had the political smarts. A seat in Congress from the
Boston area was obtained in 1946 and the defeat of Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. for the Senate happened
in 1952,

The 6 years in the House and the 8 in the Senate never brought Kennedy into the inner circle of
the Senate. But with his looks and the glamour of the closest thing America had at the time to a
royal family he was going to be president as if destiny willed it. Destiny got a lot of help from
the money of Joe Kennedy and the campaign organizational wizardry of brother Robert F. Kennedy.
He was a Roman Catholic and not one of that faith had ever been elected president. The only way
he was going to prove one could get elected is to demonstrate vote getting appeal in the far fewer
primaries we had back then. He made it on the first ballot for the nomination in 1960 and then
won a close race in the popular and electoral vote to become the 35th president.

Kennedy's main interest in the Senate was foreign affairs. His Catholic background and constituency in Massachusetts almost dictated a reflexive anti-Communist background. But he was
a man of growth and curiosity. Dallek makes a really good case that we might have pulled out of
Vietnam and let nature take its course. Kennedy could be tough when required as the Cuban Missile
crisis showed. The most dangerous time in the Cold War years were those 13 days of the confrontation between the USA and USSR over the latter placing ICBMS in Cuba.

Kennedy however wanted new approaches. In what I consider his biggest achievement he and
Nikita Khruschev negotiated the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This was a start to the thawing of the
Cold War and future negotiations with the Soviets. In his famous inaugural address Kennedy did
remark that we should never negotiate out of fear, but we should never fear to negotiate. He was
as good as his word with the test ban treaty.

Civil Rights was the main domestic issue of his times and civil rights leaders were mighty impatient
with the lack of haste Kennedy showed at first in dealing with southern massive resistance. When
the bombing of the Birmingham Church occured, Kennedy had one of his finest moments in speaking to the nation intolling in firm tones that the time for equality of the races to be codified
in law had come. Not since Reconstruction had a president spoken as such. One of the great
imponderables was would civil rights and a host of domestic initiatives that made up the Great
Society have passed without the Kennedy martyrdom? It might have been slower, I think it would
have.

If time stifled concrete legislative achievement the glittering years of presidential charisma seem
brighter with passing years. A beautiful and chic first lady in Jaqueline Kennedy was one of the
biggest assets the administration had. Can you see a group of Nobel Prize Winners gathered at
the White House today? Or a president who would remark on that occasion this was the greatest
collection of smarts ever assembled except possibly when Thomas Jefferson dined alone?

JFK certainly benefited from a less inquisitive press. His love life was something only whispered
about in hushed tones. That we have a more inquisitive press is something we owe to one of his
successors Richard Nixon.

All you might want to know about John F. Kennedy will be contained in Robert Dallek's excellent
book. The past couple of years have made him look better than ever.

'The Kennedys, with all their strengths and weaknesses, seem to fulfil an American longing for a royal family.'

In this fantastic and thorough biography of John F. Kennedy, Robert Dallek prioritises factual accuracy above all else. You will not find many biased arguments about Kennedy's presidency. Instead, you will appreciate the balance and consideration which Dallek applies when assessing the successes and failures of the 1,000-day presidency of JFK.

Kennedy's own exhaustive early career as a senator after serving in World War Two is matched by Dallek's meticulous approach in chronicling the life of the man from Massachusetts. Indeed, Kennedy's father had been eyeing up the White House for one of his sons since the 1930s. If Kennedy's brother Joe had not died during the war, he may have never got the chance. However, he maneuvered a position to run for election by 1960 and I believe that he grew brilliantly into the role of a senator and later, the leader of the free world.

Some of the most intriguing parts of the biography regard the campaigns for the nomination of the Democrat candidacy and the election for the presidency. The way in which Kennedy's entourage worked to try to win these elections is captured superbly by Dallek and with immense detail. These chapters are hugely interesting and written in a way which captivates the reader. How Dallek also captures the persona of JFK and his charismatic appeal is also fantastic, especially in contrast to Republican opponent in the 1960 election, Richard Nixon.

I did find that when Dallek began the chapters about the presidency itself, the foreign affairs were much more fascinating than the domestic affairs. I felt that the foreign issues carried more style and the domestic issues consisted of more density, but Dallek should not necessarily be penalised for this as it was Kennedy's choice to put foreign concerns to the forefront of his presidency for the most part.

How Kennedy acted as 'Crisis Manager' during the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Cuban Missile Crisis, in particular, is brought to life incredibly well by Dallek. He achieves in putting the reader right in the middle of the crises as if you were stepping into the White House, in many ways a testament to the access Dallek had the luxury of during his research.

Dallek demonstrated an excellent understanding of the tense and fractious relationship between Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev between 1961 and 1963. The Cuban crises including Fidel Castro, the Berlin Crisis and many other threatening 'proxy' conflicts had to be navigated with caution but firm deterrence by Kennedy, and how Dallek analyses the president's handling of these fiascos is superb.

Where I feel the biography could have been stronger is in the way Dallek wrote about domestic affairs and also Kennedy's final hours as president before his tragic death in November 1963. However, at the same time, I appreciate that Dallek wanted to write a biography purely about the life of JFK and this would naturally result in heavily focusing upon what he achieved as opposed to speculating about who really was behind his assassination and more widely, speculating about what he would have done about issues such as civil rights and the Vietnam War. Furthermore, although Dallek demonstrates a great understanding of Kennedy's many health problems and treatments, I felt that these were almost too fixated upon, but this is a minor criticism.

Overall, for any 20th-century American history student or anybody with a vested interest in these political years, you will not be left disappointed by Dallek's biography. Indeed, you could find material which is more revealing about the cultural implications and wider legacy of JFK, as well as his assassination (which is still a source of huge intrigue), yet Dallek offers a seminal and authoritative appraisal of not only Kennedy's presidency but his entire life.

Written with immense conviction and with a pronounced priority on detail in every way, this biography paints a complete portrait of the life of John F. Kennedy, from a young philanderer at Harvard to the president who came face-to-face with the prospect of nuclear war during the height of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.

A very interesting read about a man with mixed reviews! Made me love history even more!

John F. Kennedy is such an enigma. I’ve been reading about him for about thirty odd years and I still find him confounding. He’s morally messy, yet was able to harness many Americans via his mythic almost chivalric vision of nationalism. I’ve almost read An Unfinished Life a few times over the years, but a different book always held me back. This year I was determined to read what many claim is the definitive book on JFK. Having done so I’m left befuddled. Robert Dalleck, who is typically, a fine writer, has compiled a lot of traits, events and incidence and gone on for over a thousand pages yet to my mind never really captured much of anything about the subject.

I understand that one can debate whether JFK was an effective President, but can't most of us agree that he led one of the most fascinating lives of any 20th century American? Robert Dallek's biography also believes he was an effective President and I have to agree on many issues. Dallek outlines the decisions Kennedy made during his 1000 days along with reasons why.... His first challenge - the Bay of Pigs- was set up during Eisenhower, but Kennedy accepted blame for his incorrect decision to execute the invasion. Then comes the Cuban Missile crisis and it sure seems JFK deserves huge points for avoiding nuclear disaster. Throughout his presidency he (and mostly RFK) confront the issues of civil rights- Dallek's and JFK himself argued he was effective, but there is a successful argument that JFK could have and should have done more. There were many more complicated issues, but the most serious was Vietnam. Dallek states that "Kennedy now worried that a defeat in Berlin or over Vietnam,....could be a decisive blow to his Presidency." What would have happened with Vietnam if Kennedy had finished his own life? Dallek's analysis helps us reach our own conclusion.

Dallek's book is a satisfying biography (though its treatment of JFK's assassination is rather uncritical of the explanation arrived at by the US government). He deals forthrightly with Kennedy's strengths (his first-rate mind, his charm, his grit), his failings (his serial philandering and his father's machinations), and with the undecided areas (his rating as a president).

A cradle to grave biography of JFK that was well researched and made judicious use of JFK’s own words often showcasing his wry humor.

Overall an even handed book that fairly portrays JFK as a relentless womanizer and though a graduate of Harvard, a student with middling grades and only above average intellect. But despite these two deficiencies, Kennedy had genuine leadership skills and charisma, a bonafide passion about politics both globally and domestically, and the Kennedy drive. He even won a Pulitzer prize for Profiles in Courage in 1957.

Kennedy was also fortunate to have lived in era of early TV where he leveraged his charisma but in an era absent of the muckraking TV journalism of today that would have easily discovered and reported the secrets around his health, amphetamine addiction, elicit liaisons and tawdry affairs.

A single volume book is going to provide some cursory coverage and the author chose to minimize discussion on policies, campaigning and his relationship with his young family.

The book has been faulted for not covering much new ground on JFK and for discussing his medical issues too much but the book is also lauded by the NYT as the go to biography on JFK. I think all of these opinions are correct. The section on the Cuban Missile crisis was really informative.

I would give the writing 3.5 stars, the insights and research into JFK 5 stars, and the pace of the read 4.5 stars.

So in summary, this is a solid 4 star biography. Not at the level of a Robert Caro or David McCullough bio but I am happy to have read it.

Took quite a while to read this but it was worth the effort. Very detailed on policies etc and how they were made but little mention of more sensational elements such as JFK's affairs, Jackie Kennedy or the assassination. It is quite enthralling, although quite a commitment to read, in its description of policy on eg: the Berlin Wall, Cuban missile crisis, the Cold War in general, the beginnings of Vietnam and civil rights. Also interesting for its description of JFK's life before he became president (his older brother was always the more likely candidate until killed in WW2) and his health issues that were largely hidden at the time.

This is a book written by a good historian. It is the story of JFK all way through ending sadly in Dallas 1963. To become knowledgeable about the life of JFK you can read this one. There is much about politics in this book but also what made JFK tick. He loved being a president but he also became sad at times. That and much more while reading 718 pages.

This took me longer than I thought it would. Loads of stuff on JFK’s medical history to sift through but overall probs a must-read.

Spoiler - he dies at the end.

I am biased. I am always fascinated by all things Kennedy. This was no different. His life although scarred and smudged with terrible choices was and always will be far beyond interesting. He is fascinating. All of his choices and to analyze how and why they developed is the most interesting part for me.

I thought it was pretty good. I learned a lot about John F. Kennedy that I never thought I would know. For example, I didn't know that he had so many affairs. I thought that in the book it would talk about how he was assassinated or at least mention it, however it didn't say anything about that and it just mentioned his life before the presidency. It was interesting to learn about how his father was so involved in the government and I think that really helped him become president. I gave this book three stars because I didn't find it to be the most interesting and it was a very long book and I felt like I was more forcing myself to read it and not wanting to read it. I recommend this book to people who are interested in learning more about him and what he has done before the presidency, like how he was in one of the World Wars.