John F. Kennedy: The Life and Death of a US President

The year 2017 is the centenary of the birth of John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States (1961-1963) and the youngest man ever elected to the office. Sworn in as president on January 20, 1961, the famous patriotic words of his inaugural address come ringing down through the years, Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. Kennedy and his wife were younger than previous presidents and first ladies, more like glamorous movie stars than politicians and they featured in numerous popular magazines. As president, Kennedy faced mounting international tensions with the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis, and a world of change at home with the civil rights movement and the space program. His assassination on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, sent shockwaves around the globe and turned the all-too-human Kennedy into a larger-than-life super-hero. Many of Kennedy’s speeches are considered iconic; and despite his 3 short years in office, Americans regularly vote him as one of the best presidents. Charlotte Montague has written an intriguing biography of one of the most famous men of modern times demonstrating all too clearly that while Kennedy’s presidency may have lasted only 1000 days, his unfinished life and violent death are forever etched on the pages of American history.