A Question of Character: A Life of John F. Kennedy

Rating:
Summary: No hero worship, but not a chop-job either
Review: As he cuts through the myths of Camelot, Thomas Reeves could have been content with dragging the name of JFK through the mud. That certainly would have been easy enough to do; all the affairs, the dubious origin of the family fortune, the murky ties with organized crime...it all has the makings of a wonderful chop-job, a character assassination.

However, Reeves rises above this. He acknowledges that good morals do not necessarily make for a good president, and that an effective president does not always have a scandal-free private life. This book was written before the Clinton presidency, which would have made for an interesting comparison.

Reeves is not content to throw one prurient revelation after another at the reader; that is Kitty Kelly's job. He is interested in good history. How did these moral defects apply to the man's ability to be an effective president, and how did the president's effectiveness have an impact on the course of our nation's history?

Reeves believes that important theme here isn't the questionable behavior in and of itself, but the fact that Kennedy's lack of any real commitment to anything but the acquisition and wielding of power ultimately made him an overall weak president. Despite Democratic control of Congress, Kennedy could get barely 25% of his legislation passed in Congress in 1962-63. Members of Congress had little regard for the man as a leader, and his luke-warm commitment on various issues did little to induce the Congress to act on his legislation. Compare that with LBJ, whose legislative success rate and mastery of Congress between 1963 and 1966 stands in stark contrast.

Reeves does observe that JFK was beginning to grow into the office by the time of his death, but stops short of predicting a glorious Kennedy legacy had the man lived. It was far from a given that JFK could have won re-election in 1964, and Reeves knows this.

Overall, this is an excellent example of a measured, critical biography that contributes to the scholarly dialogue, rather than simply being a "tell-all" book.

Rating:
Summary: A Question of Reeve's Motives
Review: Emotive language, ridiculous assumptions, damning with faint praise--it's all in this book. Thomas C. Reeves fancies himself a historical biographer. He couldn't be more wrong. He's a muck-racker, a false accuser, an executioner of someone who was already murdered. This is character assassination at its worst. The Kennedy estate should sue this writer's pants off.

He claims that JFK was a speed addict and that his doctor was shooting up both John and Jackie with 'speed-balls' to the point where they were both addicted. But they had good company, Reeves explains--because their doctor himself was an addict!

If you read carefully, you'll find that every damaging statement is carefully worded and qualified so that if he were to be sued, Reeves could claim that he only wrote that "it appeared that..." or "many believed that..." or "it was as if..." or "they were probably..." He could claim he didn't write that they *were* this way or that they *did* do this.

If you want to read an excellent book on JFK, try Robert Dallek's 'An Unfinished Life.' Immaculately researched and beautifully written, Dallek paints a realistic and accurate portrait of this country's 35th President.

But skip Reeves. This book is a waste of time and money.

If I could give it zero stars, I would have chosen that. One star is way too generous.

Rating:
Summary: Demystifying Camelot
Review: Reeves provides a probing analysis of the Kennedy presidency that challenges the warm and fuzzy imagery often associated with "Camelot." Reeves, an academic historian, has written a serious book that may turn off some casual readers. Yet this is the best analysis of John F. Kennedy's character and leadership style.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Amount of Detail
Review: The title of the book says it all, A Question of Character. This is one author's attempt at looking at the political life of President John F. Kennedy's, before and during his time in the White House. It details the differences in what the spin is and the private life that is described as being close to Hugh Hefner's. We also get a very detailed and for me, somewhat troubling, view of the constant controls his father, Joe Kennedy's had of JFK throughout his career. Not that comforting given the somewhat dubious reputation of Joe.

The author came close to a Kitty Kelly sex scandal tell all, but did not completely let himself drop that low. I thought the author was almost sad to be telling me, the reader, some of the less then faltering truths here. Almost if he was a firm believer in Camelot and this book and research pained him. Overall this is a well-written book that has some interesting conclusions. The author could have spent more time on the domestic policies and international issues that faced JFK to make the account better rounded. I do not think it is the one-volume definitive story of JFK, but it is a very good start.