A little too obsessed with JFK's sex life to the expense of any real analysis of the more important and major events of his time in office.

If you have an affinity towards JFK you'll like this book. It is a lighter read than "The Kennedy Men" but still gives a good look into his life.

Insight into who Jack Kennedy was beyond the public persona. Validated the stories about his sexual escapades and revealed his extremely poor health. Still a favorite icon for me.

A fantastic read that is both compelling and revealing of a man that did much to shape the course of history in this century. Through well written prose and insightful revealing of JFK's personal life we learn about the man as a whole; his greatest qualities, and his worst.

really enjoyed this,changed my view of Rose and Jackie Kennedy, it ends very poetically for something so violent.it pulls no punches about JFK but you still like him...recommend to anyone to read

A broad brush of a biography that does a nice job of summarizing the highs and lows of Kennedy's life, from his courage in war to his marital troubles to the mixed record as president.

A bit of a tough read if you are a JFK fan, and most of my generation probably are. I was 13, in 7th grade art class, when the news came over the school public address system that JFK had been shot. Almost everyone alive that day remembers where they were and what they were doing when the news was announced. After that, it seems like everyone just accepted that he was a great man and a great president. This book exposes much of that myth, and the conflicted and complicated man that JFK was. His health issues were far more varied and serious than I had known. The rumors of his sex life have always been around, but whoa, I had no idea. His presidential legislative accomplishments were few, but thank God he was president in October, 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crises. One wonders what would have happened had someone else been president at that moment in history. The world was literally at the brink of catastrophic nuclear war, and but for his leadership it could have, probably would have, turned out very badly. Maybe for that alone he deserves the reputation of a great president. (Some argue, not without a modicum of justification, that the Cuban Missile Crises arose in the first place due to missteps by JFK early in his presidency, but that is for a whole different discussion.)

But if you decide to read this book, beware that it was not the intent of the author to place JFK on a pedestal. JFK had many flaws, and almost certainly would not be electable in today's political age; not from either party. Would he be held in such high esteem had he not be assassinated? After reading this book, I have some thoughts on it. But I will leave it to other readers to make their own decisions on that question.

I felt that the book was well-written and contained many seemingly well-researched facts. But I prefer history that focuses on the person and their relationships with others rather than the events that surround them. I skimmed through some sections in the beginning because they were rather dry and bogged down with tedious facts. The chapters dealing with Kennedy and his immediate family were very interesting.

This would be a great book for someone who is very interested in Kennedy's public and foreign policy. A good deal of the book focuses on politics and life in Washington.

I'd say JFK and the other players are depicted fairly and accurately. At times, dialogue is presented that gives insight to JFK's sense of humor. I wish there was more of that so I could get a better sense of him as a person. Joe, Rose, and Jackie are sometimes painted in an unfavorable light.

This is a more academic biography than others books I've read on the Kennedys. Some read like tabloid tell-alls. This one has footnotes that list many reputable sources, including Kennedy's own writings.

I was a little bothered by the last couple of paragraphs that briefly described the assassination. I find it hard to believe that a person, who obviously has devoted a great deal of time researching Kennedy, seems to fully embrace the "magic bullet" theory. Perret even goes on to write that Oswald was "doing this for Cuba." Of course, I understand this was not a book on the assassination conspiracy, but on his life.

The book leaves little out of his life. It truly is womb to tomb.

One of my favorite JFK biographies. He had quite a life and people forget that there was a complex person who existed long before he ever ran for office. Oh, and he was an introvert. Ha! Score one for my side.

It's okay. The prose is a little purple on occasion and the bias is really obvious, plus the treatment of communists whenever they show up is juvenile, but thorough on the details about Jack's life.

I found the book very enjoyable and easy to read

Biography of JFK based on & taped conversationsa & personal diaries.