Despite only serving most of two years, JFK has loomed large in the memories of Americans, and his brutal assassination has much to do with that. His presidency was potential cut short; hope, aborted. In John F. Kennedy, Brinkley writes: “What made Kennedy’s image so powerful and so enduring was not the product of his own achievements; it was that so many people have imagined what might have happened had he lived.” This is a short but servicable biography of our 35th president, a man who served through the Cold War’s most dramatic moments — a man who still haunts Americans, whose life still inspires volume after volume written on what he did, what he might have done, and who killed him before he could do more.

In looking at my Hail to the Chief series, or project, ordinarily I would not be content with using this slim volume from the American Presidents series to address Kennedy. However, I have read so much around Kennedy this summer that it seemed time for more of an overview, and Alan Brinkley’s book provides that handily. The first quarter concerns his early life and rise to power; the middle half concerns his presidency; and the last quarter focuses on how he is remembered. I was pleasantly surprised by Brinkley as an author, because he does not shy away from Kennedy’s moral failings, particularly his womanizing and utter betrayal of his wife. This evidently ran in the family, with the possible exception of Bobby. (I say possible exception because the only book I’ve found that hints toward RFK having an affairs had to settle for “he was a flirt and probably had affairs”, which is about as credible as a campaign promise after the election.) That said, Brinkley is also not writing a gossip column, and keeps the focus squarely on JFK’s role as an administrator and leader. While he frequently fumbled there — the Bay of Pigs and early inaction on Civil Rights — he did have an enormous charisma that inspired people to hope for the future, despite the gloom of the Cold War. His speeches are far and and away the most recognizable in 20th century American political rhetoric.

If you are looking for an introduction to JFK, this was both well-written and quite fair.

For those weary of Kennedys, I’m presently finalizing a review that has nothing to do with them at all, and one of my Kennedy books that is forthcoming will introduce MLK Jr. I haven’t read anything on King since 2010, and since my library has a new biography on him I may check it out.