Kennedy

Ted Sorensen, who worked closely with John F. Kennedy for more than a decade, offers an account of the Massachusetts senator who became president. In January 1953, Kennedy took on a twenty-four-year-old from Nebraska as his second-ranking legislative assistant, initially on a probationary basis. The young man grew into one of the senator's most trusted policy advisers and, as the years passed, a close confidant who was in a position to understand Kennedy's character and reasoning. Sorensen later became known for drafting many of Kennedy's speeches, including the inaugural address.

Sorensen's vantage point spanned every stage of Kennedy's public life. He was present for the 1956 contest for the vice-presidential nomination, the launch of Kennedy's presidential campaign, the television debates with Richard Nixon, and election night at Hyannis Port. After Kennedy won the presidency, the first appointment he made was naming Sorensen as his Special Counsel. Sorensen remained at his side through the key crises and turning points of the administration until Kennedy's death in 1963.

Rather than presenting an idealized figure, Sorensen weighs both the setbacks and the achievements of Kennedy's career. He examines the mistakes made during the Bay of Pigs operation, Kennedy's approach to the press, Congress and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his actions during the Cuban missile crisis. He also traces how Kennedy's views on civil rights and arms control developed over time. The book is built on concrete detail, including anecdotes, conversations and specific incidents, and it is aimed at readers interested in an insider's view of American politics and the presidency in the early 1960s.

First published in 1965, the book has been reissued with a new preface.