B - My books/videos related to JFK Life

In the turbulent times of a young man's high school experience, one must find his way, make himself known to his peers, and most of all, establish himself in the oftentimes hostile world he is trapped in. JFK & the Muckers of Choate takes a look at John F. Kennedy's time in high school at Choate, a preppy, Waspish, all-boys boarding school.
As a Catholic at a time when anti-Catholic sentiment was rampant, JFK finds that his four years in this Connecticut institution are much more jagged, complicated, and high-stakes than he expects. Why? It turns out that the future president actively defied Choate's sometimes authoritarian rulers and, in his own personal rebellion, associated himself with, and led, a number of similarly-minded iconoclasts who wind up as his closest companions, both then and afterward.
JFK's chaotic and adventure-filled high school days, as narrated by JFK himself, not only tell us a great deal about an important, yet largely unchronicled, stop on his rapid journey to the presidency, but, because it's entirely based on real events, offer us a thoroughly enjoyable and illuminating look at a charismatic American icon whom most readers will adore, many for the first time.

Did John F.Kennedy oppose-or promote- American intervention in Vietnam? What course did he pursue and why did he hide it from the public? What really happened on the battlefield and why did senior officials hide the facts from him?
In what may well be the most shocking and historically important work on the Vietnam War ever written, "JFK and VIETNAM" answers these questions and lifts the veil surrounding the struggle over intervention in the pivotal Kennedy years.

He was the most beloved president of modern times, with an approval rating as high as 83 percent. Yet few of us fully understand the presidency of John F.Kennedy.
Supporters hail him for the vision, vigor and compassion that he brought to the White House. They yearn for the "next John Kennedy" - as if he is the standard to which all presidents should aspire. Others mock his presidency, claiming he offered more flash than substance and that he accomplished little during his 34 months in office.
What is the truth?
"JFK Day by Day" brings us closer to that answer. The running timeline inside recounts the highlights of each of his 1,086 days in office. Longer stories detail and analyze the most important issues, events and decisions of his presidency - from inauguration to assassination. And other features cover events from his family life during his term. Hundreds of select images from the John F.Kennedy Presidential Library complement this visual chronology of his days in office.

The Film Legacy of John F.Kennedy's Presidential Reign.
96 mins of Camelot in one DVD.

Conover Hunt dedicates this book to people born after 1960 who not remember John Fitzgerald Kennedy. But in this volume Hunt provides valuable insights for readers of ALL ages into the origins of one of the nation's most powerful myths, the nature and chronology of the debate about Kennedy's accomplishments, and the birth of the controversy over his assassination in 1963.

This book has been a gift from my Irish collegue Maureen O'Shea. THANKS Maureen!

Italian Version.
Very detailed analysis, with many, many authoritative references footnoted, about JFK's political career in Congress and as President. Written and published before JFK's assassination on 11/22/1963 - so it is not influenced by "what could have been". A fascinating look at the other side of Camelot and a sobering read. regardless on one's opinion about JFK.
After his death, it was pulled off library shelves and out of bookstores.
The Italian version was published in 1964 in Italy.

This eBook is a commemorative collection of photos, documents and speeches that outline the positive influences and tragic events that chronical Kennedy's life.

A Special television series : "Presidential Libraries - History uncovered" on C-Span TV.
A first person view of the modern presidency from the men who held the office and those who served around them. With never- or rarely-seen film, video, recordings, and artifacts from inside the Presidential Libraries' vaults.
This is the complete episode dedicated to "JFK Presidential Library" in Boston.
John F.Kennedy : secretely recorded White House conversations on civil rights, the space race, and the Cuban Missile Crisis; rare films of JFK's early political career.

“I’d rather win a Pulitzer Prize than be President of the United States,” John F. Kennedy confided to author Margaret Coit shortly after his election to the Senate in 1953. Kennedy got his wish four years later, when his book Profiles in Courage was awarded the Pulitzer for biography—even though it wasn’t among the finalists for the prize. Furthermore, the role of Ted Sorensen in drafting the main chapters in the book was never acknowledged by Kennedy’s inner circle, and Kennedy himself was hyper-sensitive until his dying day about rumors that cast doubt on his ownership of Profiles in Courage. Still, Jack Kennedy the writer is part of the Kennedy narrative that helped propel his political career. And he did indeed work for a time as a journalist, and brought a measures of erudition, wit, and charm to his speeches. But if the rumors surrounding authorship of Profiles in Courage were proven to be true prior to his ascendance to the Presidency, there might have been no brief and shining moment in America called Camelot.

Reflecting rare autobiographical moments in John Kennedy's administration and the political events of the early sixties, this book outlines the education of a young president. From January 1961 to November 1963, John F. Kennedy offered a hope that postwar America could be both strong and considerate, pragmatic and visionary - the the United States could provide leadership for the world and the highest quality of life for its people. The official Kennedy writings presented here are those to key members of his administration.

John F. Kennedy

The young president who brought vigor and glamour to the White House while he confronted cold war crises abroad and calls for social change at home
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a new kind of president. He redefined how Americans came to see the nation's chief executive. He was forty-three when he was inaugurated in 1961the youngest man ever elected to the officeand he personified what he called the "New Frontier" as the United States entered the 1960s.
But as Alan Brinkley shows in this incisive and lively assessment, the reality of Kennedy's achievements was much more complex than the legend. His brief presidency encountered significant failuresamong them the Bay of Pigs fiasco, which cast its shadow on nearly every national-security decision that followed. But Kennedy also had successes, among them the Cuban Missile Crisis and his belated but powerful stand against segregation.
Kennedy seemed to live on a knife's edge, moving from one crisis to anotherCuba, Laos, Berlin, Vietnam, Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama. His controversial public life mirrored his hidden private life. He took risks that would seem reckless and even foolhardy when they emerged from secrecy years later.
Kennedy's life, and his violent and sudden death, reshaped our view of the presidency. Brinkley gives us a full picture of the man, his times, and his enduring legacy.

John F. Kennedy [Quotes/Trivia]

A mini-book, with short biography and quotes from JFK.

John F. Kennedy American

In this biography of President Kennedy, Charles Dollen shows the forces that shaped the mind and heart of John Kennedy and his family and friends. The "real man" is presented top the reader along with an analysis of the important event of his life. 

John F. Kennedy and PT109

Before he was President of the United States, John F.Kennedy was a lieutenant in the U.S.Navy during World War II. As young captain of PT109 he had to deal with the dramatic night when his boat was sunk.  Kennedy's actions during this crisis changed him from a PT-boat skipper into a war hero. This book explores one of the most dramatic events of WWII : how John F.Kennedy saved his crew.

John F. Kennedy and PT-109

Before he was President of the United States, John F.Kennedy was a lieutenant in the U.S.Navy during World War II. As young captain of PT109 he had to deal with the dramatic night when his boat was sunk.  Kennedy's actions during this crisis changed him from a PT-boat skipper into a war hero. This was the book about that experience, published in 1962, when JFK was President.

John F. Kennedy and the politics of arms sales to Israel

This book draws upon the collections of documents available in the Kennedy Presidential Library and the Israeli State Archives, many of which have only recently been declassified. It is a well-researched analysis that expertly fills an historical gap, provides rich theoretical insights beyond the case and has important implications for ongoing debates about US-Israeli relations.

John F. Kennedy on Leadership

Perhaps no figure in recent memory more fully personifies leadership than President John F.Kennedy. Leading the nation in a time of unprecedented turbulence, challenge and opportunity, Kennedy led his administration (and the country) with a courage and determination that even his harshest critics respected.
This book identifies eleven core principles that made Kennedy, both before and during his presidency, a unique and dominant force who would serve as the standard by which future leaders would measure themselves - and by which they would be judged.

John F. Kennedy - A Life in Pictures

A celebration, in photographs, of the life of John F.Kennedy (1917-63), the thirty-fifth president of the United States. This is the first book to extensively illustrate the man as well as the icon, and to cover the glamour and success of his life from childhood and student days to congress, fatherhood,  presidency and the tragedy of his untimely death.

John F. Kennedy - America's Youngest President

Book of the series "Childhood of Famous Americans".
One of the most popular series ever published for young Americans, these classics have been praised alike by parents, teachers and librarians. With these lively, inspiring, fictionalized biographies - easily read by children of eight and up - today's youngster is swept right into history.

John F. Kennedy - Biography

In this book, Joyce Milton presents an insightful assessment of the 35th President's life and legacy.

John F. Kennedy - Commander in Chief
[A profile in Leadership]

John F.Kennedy's presidency has been well examined, but a frequently overlooked yet crucial component of it was his leadership of the United States armed forces.
In this book Pierre Salinger, press secretary and confidant to the president, provides an insightful view of this side of John F.Kennedy. He shares his unique understanding of all the major events of the Kennedy administration that had a military component.

John F. Kennedy - His Life and Legacy
[Introduction by Caroline Kennedy]

A voracious reader of biographies, President Kennedy has fittingly been the subject of many volumes himself. When asked why he enjoyed reading biographies, President Kennedy replied it was because they answer the question "What's he like?".
In attempting to answer that question, author Shelley Sommer presents John F.Kennedy in his many roles - as a boy, a young man, a war hero, a politician, a husband, a father, and finally a President.
This look at John F.Kennedy, illustrated with photos from the Kennedy Family Collection and the Kennedy Library, gives young readers a look at a dynamic man whose personality and politics helped to shape the twentieth century and continue to influence American life today.

John F. Kennedy - Portrait of a President

This dramatic study had almost been completed when Kennedy was assassinated. Written without the piety of mourning or the wisdom of hindsight, by Time Magazine's correspondent at the White House, it details the three dynamic years which crowned a short but fruitful life and conveys, with the immediacy of a dispatch from the front, the image of one man opening up a New Frontier in government.

John F. Kennedy Quotes
[100 Thoughtful Quotes By US President John F. Kennedy]

100 Thoughtful Quotes By US President John F. Kennedy (Kindle edition).

John F. Kennedy - The Making of a Leader

"TIME for Kids" Biographies.
Take a close-up look at John F.Kennedy, America's youngest elected President. Interviews with experts and lively writing deliver the accurate reporting you expect from "TIME for Kids".
Historical and contemporary photographs capture the life of this popular leader and show how he influenced our world today.

John F. Kennedy - The London Story

Two months after his twenty-first birthday, a young Harvard student arrived to join his father the American Ambassador in London. Jack, as he was known to family, had no idea how his journey to England on the eve of war would come to change and shape his life. Jack’s beloved sister Kick was presented at Court that summer and hailed by the Press as ‘most exciting debutante’ that year. She introduced her brother to a small circle of young aristocrats, all descended from families that had long ruled England. Fascinated by books on Britain’s history and tales from the Court of King Arthur, Jack felt immediately at home.

The eager student from Boston was soon sharing tea with a thirteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth, partying at Blenheim Palace and speeding across Europe as the borders were closing. Amongst the last to escape Berlin he would return with a secret Embassy note predicting hostilities ‘within a week’. With sister Kick and brother Joe he raced to Parliament to see Chamberlain declare war and Churchill rise to inspire a nation in its hour of need. Jack was spell-bound. He would forge lifelong bonds of friendship sharing such dramatic times with his young aristocratic circle. This family circle, after Kick’s marriage, would then come to play an astonishing role in shaping Jack’s actions from the Cuba Missile Crisis to Berlin when the free world came close to nuclear Armageddon.

In John F. Kennedy: The London Story, the author reveals the extraordinary role Britain came to play in Jack’s life. By looking at his early life, we see how he became the man to lead and inspire the free world. Ideal for any history or politics enthusiasts, or anyone with an interest in how early events shape a life.

John F. Kennedy visto da vicino

Italian book, written from Italian journalist Francesco Rossi, after years of research on John F. Kennedy's politics and history of United States after second world war.

John F. Kennedy : War Hero

In 1943, Lieutenant John Fitzgerald Kennedy, skipper of PT-109, was on night patrol when a Japanese destroyer crashed into his boat and cut her in two. Alone and adrift in enemy waters, Lieutenant Kennedy repeatedly risked his life to save his surviving men from capture or death.
Here is a magnificent and inspiring story : a full and authentic account of the World War II service of the future President of the United States, and the heroic action for which he received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy reads the "Declaration of Independence"

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum released a 1957 recording of Senator John F. Kennedy reading the Declaration of Independence in full, which was made exclusively for New York radio station WQXR's 1957 July 4th observance.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy 's Birthplace
[A Presidential Home in History and Memory]

John F.Kennedy National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts preserves and interprets the 1917 birthplace of the nation's 35th President. The house was the first home shared by President Kennedy's father and mother, Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, from 1914 to 1920. The historic house, grounds, collections and neighboring Brookline community document the formtive years of the prominentKennedy family and permit exploration of the early influences which shaped the character and ambitions of John F.Kennedy.
The site was repurchased by the family as a memorial to President Kennedy in 1966 and refurnished to its circa 1917 appearance under the close supervision of the rpesident's mother, based on her recollections. Many pieces in the collection are original to the family's tenure in the house; other are Kennedy family pieces, appropriate antiques, or period reproductions selected for interpretive value.
Following the refurnishing, the Kennedy family donated the birthplace to the National Park Service in 1969. (In 1967 Congress passed legislation authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to acquire te Brooline property.
The National Park Service commissioned this book for two reasons. The first was to situate Joe and Rose Kennedy within Brookline's Beals Street neighborhood to provide a better understanding of the spheres in which the Kennedy family members lived, worked and played. The second was to analyze the significance of the creation of the site as a memorial to the recently assassinated president.

John F.Kennedy's North Carolina Campaign

On September 17, 1960, Sen.John F.Kennedy, the Democratic nominee for president, flew to Greenville for a campaign rally on the campus of East Carolina College. Kennedy's ECC rally was part of a marathon daylong blitz that continued statewide through Greensboro and Charlotte.
The campaign intended to go as far west as Asheville but due to inclement weather concluded with dinner at the governor's mansion in Raleigh and a rally at Reynolds Coliseum.
With photographs as key primary sources, this book explores what happened that day, why it happened, and its significance in North Carolina's political history.

"Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye"

Millions of Americans respected and loved President Kennedy. Kenneth O'Donnell and David Powers not only loved Kennedy, but knew him better for a longer period of time than almost all of the other men and women involved with his political career. This is  a record of the affection and devotion of two men to one of the most important figure of our time . 

Kennedy

As The New York Times wrote "This book is the nearest thing we will ever have to the Memoirs Kennedy intended to write".
And Theodore C. Sorensen, special counsel of the late President, said "I have tried to tell the story of JFK as I know he would have liked to tell it himself".

Kennedy

As The New York Times wrote "This book is the nearest thing we will ever have to the Memoirs Kennedy intended to write".
And Theodore C. Sorensen, special counsel of the late President, said "I have tried to tell the story of JFK as I know he would have liked to tell it himself".

Kennedy

Italian version (1977) of Kennedy's biography (1976) by Lord Longford.
Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham, KG PC (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to family as Frank Longford, and known as Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and social reformer. A member of the Labour Party, he was one of its longest serving politicians, and was a cabinet minister on several occasions between 1947 and 1968.
In the book KENNEDY, Lord Longford, who was considered Anlo-Irish aristocracy rather than British, found a subject that combined several of his interests -Ireland, America and religion.
"I was fascinated first because Kennedy was a Catholic who had at last broken through, and that intrigued me as Catholic convert. And I have always been interested in American history.Form me it's romantic" Lord Longford said in 1976, when his book was published.

Kennedy

In this book and in the major television series of the same title, Reg Gadney, who has researched the Kennedys for several years, scrupulously and accurately tells the story of the thousand days of Kennedy presidency.

Kennedy

In Italian.
Italian version of the book  "Jack a life like no other".
Geoffrey Perret's book is both the first comprehensive one-volume biography of JFK and the first account of his life based on the extensive and important documentary record that has finally become available, including Kennedy's personal diaries, hundred of hours of taped conversations from the White House, recently declassified government documents, extensive family correspondance, and crucial interviews sealed for nearly 40 yrs.
 

Kennedy

In Italian.
Biography of the Presiden who has become the myth of all young generations.
Introduction by Carlo Rossella.

Kennedy

In French.
' A man does what he has to do , despite the impact on his life, obstacles, dangers and pressure , which is the basis of all human morality . '
Heroes of the Second World War,  Massachusetts senator at the age of thirty-five years , John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) , who invented a new form of leadership, and whose presidency marked by the missile crisis Cuba, the involvement in Vietnam and the rise of the civil rights movement was that of a tilt between two worlds and two political orders , remains , even today, one of the most charismatic figures of the twentieth century.
Teaching that ' lead and learn are inseparable ' , he never sacrificed his political beliefs as that "mankind should put an end to the war , otherwise it would put an end to mankind ". 
Vincent Michelot , professor of political history of the United States at Sciences Po and author of numerous books on the United States , is one of the great commentators of contemporary American politics.

Kennedy

In Spanish.
Spanish Biography of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of United States of America.
Thanks to my Chinese friend and collegue Yu Zhou who gave me this book as a gift for my Kennedy collection.

Kennedy

In Italian.
"Mondadori Comics- Historica-Biografie"
Kennedy's biography in comics.

Kennedy - La più grande biografia illustrata   [2 vol.]

One of the best illustrated Biography of John F.Kennedy and his family.  [in Italian]

Jacques Lowe's book begins with the early days of the Kennedy and Fitzgerald clans in America and ends with the assassination of the second Kennedy brother, Robert F. Kennedy ('Bobby') on June 6,1968. Based on the personal photographic archives of the author and those of the Kennedy family and the White House. The book is a true evocation of the Kennedy Years, from Camelot through to America's darkest hours. It is a powerful and inspiring memoir.

Academy Award winning Martin Sheen takes the title role in KENNEDY, the 2 part mini series that has been seen in over 65 countries. Filmed entirely on location in America, KENNEDY looks at the Presidential years, from the night before his election in November 1960 to the afternoon of his assassination on 22nd November 1963. The series not only examines the political events of Kennedy's years in the White House but also looks at his family and private life during the same period.

The Italian Chamber of Deputies has dedicated an exhibition to the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, on the fortieth anniversary of his tragic death. This book is the official catalogue of the exhibition, focusing on the Italian trip that President Kennedy made in July 1963, to Rome and Naples.

Everyone knows that politics makes strange bedfellows, but in the case of John F.Kennedy, no one knew those bedfellows included Marilyn, Jayne, Mariella, Judy, Joan, Nancy, Inger, Mary and more. For the charismatic President had some amazing domestic affairs - and they have become the talk of every columnist from coast to coast.
Tony Sciacca, long time Kennedy observer, reveals in this book the intimate details behind the headlines and tells all the stories - even those the press hadn't dare to uncover.

This book explores life in America during that brief promising moment in the early sixties when John F.Kennedy was President.  The early sixties were a period of marked political, social and cultural change. The old was swept away, and the United States began to become the country that it is today.

It was the Cold War, the world was divided into warring camps and Cuba was the flashpoint that could ignite World War III.
Fidel Castro was everything the United States feared, a revolutionary leader just 90 miles from the coast of Florida. He was teh Soviet bloc's toehold in the Western hemisphere adn the Americal government were intent on overthrrowing the Cuban regime. In fact, they even plotted to assassinate Castro.
President John F.Kennedy was obsessed with Cuba. His administration suffered its most humiliating defeat in 1961 when CIA backed Cuban exiles invaded the island in a vain attempt to topple castro's government. Later, Kennedy approved Operation Mongoose, a huge secret programme to destabilise Cuba through propaganda and sabotage. However, even as Kennedy was trying to destroy Castro, newly uncovered documents reveal that  secretely he was reaching out to him. Behind their hostile public face, the two leaders were eager to create peace and had secret negotiation to that goal.
The catalyst behind the whole process as Lisa Howard, a pioneering ABC television journalist all but forgotten today.
Only now, has this Secret History been revealed and Lisa Howard can begin to claim her legacy.

 Italian book.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy is the President of the United States par excellence. A figure of great charisma of the American Democratic party, killed on November 22, 1963 in Dallas while on an official visit to the city. Bruno Vespa recounts the myth of the Kennedy presidency that lasted just over two years. Sixty years after the assassination in Dallas, a critical reconstruction, between public and private, of one of the most important figures in American history, from the swearing-in of 1961 to the fateful day in 1963 that changed the country forever. That of “Jack” Kennedy was a parabola that was interrupted at its highest point, causing America to sink into its dark side. Vespa retraces the story in its lights and shadows, with the experience of a great journalist and the ability of a fine analyst of history.