A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House

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Summary: Love Letters to JFK
Review: A Thousand Days could hardly be classified as history and basically is an emotionally charged admiration of the 35th President. However, it is one of the classics that helped proliferate the Camelot myth that, unfortunately, continues to persist to this day.

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Summary: Undoubtedly, the foremost account of the Kennedy White House
Review: A Thousand Days: John Kennedy in the the White House has become, for me, the foremost account of the Kennedy White House. Mr. Schlesinger (whom I recently sought out at a book signing for another historian, for the express purpose of gaining his signature on my copy of A Thousand Days) has given those Generation X'ers, such as myself, with, what Mr. Schlesinger has defined as someone wanting to study history, "a curiosity," about the Kennedy Presidency, wishes to know from a first-hand account.

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Summary: Welcome to Camelot, American-style
Review: Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1917-) may well qualify as the most prominent American historian of the GI generation. The son of a famous Harvard historian, Schlesinger became a two-time pulitzer-prize winning biographer of liberal Democratic politicians and Presidents. Yet for all of his skills as a historian, Schlesinger wasn't satisfied with merely writing about history - he wanted to make it as well. A diehard, old-fashioned New Deal Democrat, Schlesinger wrote glowingly about Franklin D. Roosevelt and liberal Democrats and criticized their conservative opponents. In 1960 Schlesinger, to the anger of his liberal friends and allies, supported John F. Kennedy (whom many liberals regarded with skepticism) against his old boss, Adlai Stevenson (the Democratic presidential candidate in 1952 and '56, and the great hero of liberal Northern Democrats). He was rewarded when President Kennedy made him the White House's first "historian-in-residence". As such Schlesinger got to attend most White House meetings and conferences, send memos (usually ignored) to President Kennedy offering advice on the issues of the day, and being a general gadabout. In the process Schlesinger became little more than an employee of the Kennedys, a fact which earned him much criticism from not only conservatives, but also from many younger liberals who came to see him as a hypocrite and elitist who was willing to "sell out" his "liberal" ideals for power and prestige. When JFK was assassinated Schlesinger (who hated Lyndon Johnson) left the White House and wrote his "memoir/history" of the Kennedy Presidency - entitled "A Thousand Days". Although the book became a bestseller and earned Schlesinger a second pulitzer prize, it also has earned a good deal of criticism - much of it justified - for its' lack of objectivity and almost fawning praise of the Kennedys. Those who admire the Kennedys will probably love this book, as it rarely lives up to Schlesinger's promise in the prologue not to "hero-worship" Kennedy. The mythical, larger-than-life JFK who walks through these pages is well-nigh perfect - he is a wonderful family man, a committed liberal, a graceful intellectual - and probably bears only a slight resemblance to the real flesh-and-blood John F. Kennedy. Schlesinger also can't help but inject himself into the story as much as possible. Instead of describing Kennedy's efforts to nail down the Democratic presidential nomination at the 1960 Democratic Convention, Schlesinger chooses to describe his own (very) minor role in rounding up support for the Kennedys from liberal delegates. When JFK makes his fateful decision in early 1961 to allow a group of CIA-trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba to try and overthrow Fidel Castro (the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion), Schlesinger doesn't focus so much on the story behind the invasion or Kennedy's response to it as he does to his own (again, very minor) role in advising Kennedy through the crisis. From reading this book you get the impression that Schlesinger was a major player in the White House, when in fact numerous other books have pointed out that Schlesinger did little but take notes and attend Bobby Kennedy's pool parties. That isn't to say, of course, that "A Thousand Days" isn't worthwhile. It is extremely well-written - Schlesinger is a fine writer - and it does offer a favorable view of the Kennedys which is now out of fashion. Since the mid-sixties Schlesinger has written several books defending the Kennedy brothers from their many critics, and at a considerable cost to his reputation. If you want to read one of the first "insiders" accounts of a legendary American Presidency - and a book which played a huge role in the creation of the Kennedy "Camelot" myth - then you'll love this book. But if you want a more balanced and objective look at the Kennedy Presidency, then you'd be well-advised to look elsewhere - to Richard Reeve's "President Kennedy: Profile of Power", or to Herbert Parmet's "Jack: The Struggles of John F. Kennedy".

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Summary: Kennedy propaganda at its worst
Review: Arthur Schlesinger should be ashamed of this book, in its idealization of John F. Kennedy, easily the most over-rated President in modern U.S. history. Through this book and others Schlesinger and others of his ilk have helped perpetrate one of the greatest frauds in American political history. Kennedy was not morally fit or even physically fit to be President. History has shown that the election was stolen in Illinois through the help of the Mafia. Kennedy suffered from Addison's disease and became heavily dependent upon cortisone and amphetamines. And JFK's abuse of women, through almost daily "romantic" liasions, is also well-documented. All of these facts were known by Kennedy's inner circle, but the press and shills like Schlesinger covered them up. See A History of the American People by Paul Johnson. Finally, Kennedy's public record as President is also misrepresented in Schlesinger's book. The Cuban missile crisis was a failure, and not a triumph for the US. Kennedy made a pledge to the Soviets that the US would never invade Cuba, and without consultation with our Allies, agreed to remove Jupiter missiles in return for the removal of the missiles in Cuba. These details were covered up and kept secret from the American people for years. See, for example, On the Origins of War by Donald Kagan. In short, Schlesinger's book is yet another piece of propaganda about Camelot, and not the truth about JFK or his administration.

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Summary: Biased, but Great Read
Review: Before I type anything else, I will dispense with the obvious: this book is so pro- Kennedy that it makes people angry. The author hero worshipped the Kennedys, a fact that is not well hidden in any of his books. He also does quite a bit of name dropping, and he overplays his own importance in key events. No one denies this. In some of the reviews of this book, one can almost feel the flecks of spit coming from the mouths of the reviewer. I mean no offense with that remark, but I find it humorous that people can get so worked up about the Camelot myth.
Despite the bias, A Thousand Days is a valuable insight into the Kennedy administration. As one critic said: "the president walks through the pages, from first to last, alert, alive, amused and amusing." The way the members of the administration come alive in this book has been unequaled in any other book on the Kennedys. On top of that, it is incredibly well written, and very detailed. It is not the only book one should read on the Kennedys, but it should not be overlooked either.

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Summary: A Hagiography, Not a Biography...
Review: I read this "biography" years ago, and while I would agree that Schlesinger is a fine writer, I completely disagree with the views of several of the posters here. In my opinion, a biography should be as objective, impartial, and fair-minded as possible in examining its subject. Schlesinger, however, is about as biased as a biographer could possibly be. Schlesinger worked as a speechwriter for President Kennedy, and he has spent most of his career since the sixties as a Kennedy family flack and defender. He literally fawns over JFK in this book, and he also greatly overstates his own role in JFK's Presidency. As another reviewer noted, Schlesinger spends nearly as much time writing about himself as he does Kennedy. "A Thousand Days", however well-written, actually belongs to the mid-sixties wave of Kennedy "nostalgia" books which were rushed into print by JFK's former aides and supporters in the wake of the assassination. Today these books are referred to by most historians as the "court histories", because they overlook any flaws in JFK's Presidency and immortalize the man (and, as a more objective reviewer noted, the "Camelot" myth owes a great debt to this book). This book's defenders should read Gore Vidal's hilarious essay entitled "The Holy Family" in a 1967 issue of "Esquire" magazine. Vidal, the famed novelist, is a distant relative of Jackie Kennedy, yet this didn't stop him from referring to "A Thousand Days" as the "best political novel since Coningsby", and to the "court histories" books by Arthur Schlesinger and other Kennedy aides as "the Gospel according to Arthur, Paul, Pierre...and several minor apostles". And that assessment aptly sums up "A Thousand Days" - as a hagiography or publicity piece (for Schlesinger and JFK) it's marvelous. But as accurate, objective, and fair-minded history it's hopeless. In my opinion, the best book written to date on Kennedy's brief Presidency is Richard Reeves's "President Kennedy: Profile of Power". It shows JFK as he really was - warts and all - without the embarrassing sentimentality, biased reporting, and rose-colored glasses of Schlesinger and other Kennedy family flacks. Bottom line: if you read "A Thousand Days" be prepared for some excellent writing and moving passages, but please remember that what you're reading comes closer to historical fiction than historical fact.

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Summary: A very, very good book
Review: I really enjoyed this book. At over a thousand pages it offers plenty of detail. Written in 1965, it mainly covers Kennedy's policies (foreign and domestic) and avoids getting into any personal matters. It's a memoir, not a tell-all. My one complaint: Schlesinger's propensity to make Kennedy into a Saint. Any Kennedy error is almost always cast as him receiving bad advice, anything that turns out well is due to Kennedy's extreme intelligience. And Eisenhower is really mistreated in this book. All in all I highly recommend it!!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent read
Review: In A Thousand Days Schlesinger offers us a view of the Kennedy White House that few other authors can provide. He is able to give us his unique perspective on the actual inside workings of the Kennedy administration. This book does have its drawbacks. It is certainly not an objective look at the historical Kennedy, this being an issue that many take with the book. It does not pretend to be one however. Rather the book must be read while keeping in mind who the author is. Schlesinger, a life long admirer and defender of Kennedy, certainly puts his spin on the events mentioned in the book. If this book is read with that in mind it is possible to deepen your understanding of who Kennedy was and what he did, making this a book well worth a read.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent read
Review: In A Thousand Days Schlesinger offers us a view of the Kennedy White House that few other authors can provide. He is able to give us his unique perspective on the actual inside workings of the Kennedy administration. This book does have its drawbacks. It is certainly not an objective look at the historical Kennedy, this being an issue that many take with the book. It does not pretend to be one however. Rather the book must be read while keeping in mind who the author is. Schlesinger, a life long admirer and defender of Kennedy, certainly puts his spin on the events mentioned in the book. If this book is read with that in mind it is possible to deepen your understanding of who Kennedy was and what he did, making this a book well worth a read.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, even if no longer fashionable
Review: Mr. Schlesinger treats the Kennedy Administration in a time before Kennedy bashing was fashionable. He is certainly biased in the other direction; however, with all the negative information coming out recently, this is a good counterweight. There is much information and much insight, despite a slant. The inner workings of the Administartion become clear, and we are spared the stifling obsession with the President's personal life we often face in more recent accounts. We hear from a man who was intimately involved with the events he describes. Mr. Schlesinger does tend to see the positive side of events, but this does not prevent him from admitting his and others' mistakes. This is the definitive Kennedy history.