Fredrik Logevall

JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956 by Fredrik Logevall is the first volume in what will be a two volume biography. This is an excellent example of what a biography of an iconic figure can be, a story of both the individual and of the world within which the person became an icon.

Though a great deal of the "facts" here will be familiar to many readers who have made a point of reading about JFK and the Kennedys, there are still some new pieces of information (no matter what show more the self-proclaimed "history buffs" claim). The thing is that the new information is not really what makes this book essential reading, it is the style in which Kennedy is presented to the reader. This is about the many influences on him and his responses to those influences.

The historical contextualizing here makes for a much more holistic view of why he became who he became. The family, especially his father, influence is of course prominent but the events taking place around him also played a vital role. His privilege allowed him to witness many things close up, thus giving him a more nuanced perspective at times. That said, he still was primarily motivated by personal gain, so some of his compromises and some of his silences can be irritating. That, however, is not unique to Kennedy, there are no altruistic politicians, especially those groomed from youth for higher office. The disconnect, then, is that the reader knows JFK was as human as any of us but we also know all of the mythology around what he represented and accomplished.

If you read this primarily because you like to read about any or all of the Kennedy clan, you won't be disappointed. This is a wonderful read from that perspective. If you read this because you like history and the Kennedys are a major part of 20th century US and world history, you will be very well rewarded for you time. This places his actions within the bigger pictures both internationally and domestically. If you fall into this latter category of reader, I would also suggest two other recent books that dovetail nicely with this one (while we wait for the second volume of this biography). First is Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy by Larry Tye. The second is The Last Brahmin: Henry Cabot Lodge Jr and the Making of the Cold War by Luke A Nichter. It was particularly interesting to read the two different accounts of the senatorial race between Kennedy and Lodge.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less

This is one of the best works of history I've read in a long time! It shines a useful, timely, and comprehensive light into a largely ignored part of our history.

This work is incredibly deep and detailed! But unlike so many histories of similar scope and depth, it never felt dense to me. I didn't have any problems keeping track of names/dates/places/events, the way I usually do when I read big historical tomes.

Mr. Logevall's writing style is engrossing and sweeps you along - at times, it show more almost felt novelistic for the ease with which it reads. I never felt lost or bogged down. At the same time, I never felt that anything was being glossed over. It's a stunning stylistic achievement in a work such as this! show less

Volume one covering the life of this iconic statesman from 1917 to the 1956 election. The book begins by giving us a brief ancestral profile of the Kennedys and Fitzgeralds. These ties are important as it builds the foundation of how wealth and political connection eventually steers and propels young Jack into his own career.

So much has been written on the Kennedy family arguably in some aspects our royalty, on the political scene anyway. This book adds to much we knew and some interesting show more and even tantalizing things we probably didn't. The enormity of Joseph seniors influence of course is known, but the enormity of the wealth he created I didn't. In todays dollars certainly a billionaire. Though we can't buy elections, well to a certain extent anyway, it certainly helped Jack Kennedy immensely in paving the way to his early political success. Kennedy did not have to work his way up from the bottom rung financially but he did have to earn his stripes in the rough and tumble of Massachusetts machine politics; and he certainly did knocking off a powerhouse in Henry Cabot Lodge Sr. for the Senate seat.

It was interesting to learn how Jack really did seem to be his own man in his political views, so unlike his businessman father who couldn't cut it on the political scene despite his driven attempt. Much like another well known businessman we all know who found the political terrain not as malleable as business turf. Joe Kennedy struggled and Jack not so much as he steered a different direction from his father; and surprisingly Joe allowed this independence in thought and direction.

We also get many insights here to the human side of the man. A personality profile that may not have been quite so obvious in the political masquerade and the media adulation. Jack was no doubt a complex man. Simplistic and unrelenting in his personal needs and drives coupled with an almost introspective nature that was so unlike his rowdy family members. We also get a good dose of how his older dominant brother overshadowed him, yet Jack outdid him in his own ways. The competition certainly could have contributed to Joe Jr's demise in the war. And how different would things have played out if he had lived. There is a good perspective laid out on his fragile health and the serious conditions and treatments that would have caused anyone pause had the full extent been known.

Here too we get a fairly good read on his marriage and the similar complexity of his relationship with Jackie. How she complimented him with her social graces yet suffered through his unremitting womanizing that got a pass from the media that covered political events not so much personal events.

On balance a very good insightful read and I should mention much to add on how Kennedy the politician formed his views particularly on the international arena. And yet leaves open the question we will ever ponder; how would he have handled the Vietnam quagmire? This first volume was first rate and made me note to watch for the conclusion of this most fascinating man and the political footprint he left that never has been quite filled. show less

My first biography of John F. Kennedy was a comic book. One image that has always remained in my memory is of the Kennedy family at the dinner table, father Joe quizzing his children on current events.

My family never talked about current events or politics at the dinner table. When my school friend Christine asked if my family was going to vote for Kennedy I was clueless. I had never heard of him. Then she asked if we were Democrats, but I had never heard of them either. Finally, in show more exasperation, she asked if we were Catholic or Protestant, because if we were Catholic we were voting for Kennedy, and if we were Protestant we were going to hell.

In great duress, I ran home to ask mom these vital questions. In one moment I learned of our politics, our religion, and eternal damnation.

I was in sixth grade when my teacher took told us the president had been shot and sent us directly home. All those long blocks I fretted, feeling vulnerable, wondering if the Soviets could take over since we had no president to protect us. I remember gathering in my grandparents' living room, watching the black horse and carriage as it passed Carolyn and John and black-veiled Jackie.

Every home had Kennedy souvenirs, a book, a photograph.

Over the years his image was tarnished. We doubted his authoring of his Pulitzer Prize winning book Profiles in Courage (which I unsuccessfully tried to read as an early teen). There was his multitude of affairs before and after marriage. We heard that his daddy bought his political offices. We doubted his leadership, blamed him for Vietnam.

Who was the real John F. Kennedy?

I opened volume one of Fredrik Logevall's biography JFK hoping to understand this man, this icon, this American president.

It is a marvelous study of the man in context of his times and his family, from his childhood to his decision to seek the presidency.

Plagued with health problems, careless about his person, a man of great intelligence and inquisitiveness and charm, a womanizer, a workaholic, a man of unquestionable courage, a family man who did not hesitate to veer from his father's beliefs, the real Jack Kennedy was complicated and everything you thought he was and somehow more than what you thought he was.

Believe the hype about this book. I enjoyed it as a biography and as an exploration of the times and the political process. I look forward to reading the next part.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. show less