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Title details for JFK's Last Hundred Days by Thurston Clarke - Available

JFK's Last Hundred Days

The Transformation of a Man and The Emergence of a Great President

by Thurston Clarke
Malcolm Hillgartner
Audiobook
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A revelatory, minute-by-minute account of JFK’s last hundred days that asks what might have been

Fifty years after his death, President John F. Kennedy’s legend endures. Noted author and historian Thurston Clarke argues that the heart of that legend is what might have been. As we approach the anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination, JFK’s Last Hundred Days reexamines the last months of the president’s life to show a man in the midst of great change, finally on the cusp of making good on his extraordinary promise.
Kennedy’s last hundred days began just after the death of two-day-old Patrick Kennedy, and during this time, the president made strides in the Cold War, civil rights, Vietnam, and his personal life. While Jackie was recuperating, the premature infant and his father were flown to Boston for Patrick’s treatment. Kennedy was holding his son’s hand when Patrick died on August 9, 1963. The loss of his son convinced Kennedy to work harder as a husband and father, and there is ample evidence that he suspended his notorious philandering during these last months of his life.
Also in these months Kennedy finally came to view civil rights as a moral as well as a political issue, and after the March on Washington, he appreciated the power of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., for the first time.
Though he is often depicted as a devout cold warrior, Kennedy pushed through his proudest legislative achievement in this period, the Limited Test Ban Treaty. This success, combined with his warming relations with Nikita Khrushchev in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis, led to a détente that British foreign secretary Sir Alec Douglas- Home hailed as the “beginning of the end of the Cold War.”
Throughout his presidency, Kennedy challenged demands from his advisers and the Pentagon to escalate America’s involvement in Vietnam. Kennedy began a reappraisal in the last hundred days that would have led to the withdrawal of all sixteen thousand U.S. military
advisers by 1965.
JFK’s Last Hundred Days is a gripping account that weaves together Kennedy’s public and private lives, explains why the grief following his assassination has endured so long, and solves the most tantalizing Kennedy mystery of all—not killed him but who he was when he was killed, and where he would have led us.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 16, 2013

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781101928288
      • File size: 426341 KB
      • Duration: 14:48:12

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 3, 2013
      Set to coincide with the 50th anniversary of his assassination, this intimate look at J.F.K.’s last 100 days makes the case that had he survived that fateful November afternoon, his political star would’ve only continued to rise in a seemingly assured second term. Clarke (Lost Hero) contends that Kennedy’s successful resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, as well as his popular stances on civil rights, lunar exploration, arms reduction, and tax cuts would’ve overshadowed his romantic scandals, tensions relating to Vietnam, and the public’s frustration with Jackie’s exotic European vacations. Clarke’s portrait of the president is highly favorable; plenty of background information is provided, but many unsavory—and well-known—facts are excised. Effusive encomiums on Kennedy’s charm and pithy anecdotes from big-name admirers take the spotlight, leaving the president’s iciness, penchant for sporadic cruelty, and mercurial tendencies to flit about the wings. Still, Clarke has a taste for a good tangent, and Camelot devotees will relish insider details, from descriptions of an obviously depressed Vice President Johnson “growling at anyone who disturbed him” to dismissive jabs at Sen. Barry Goldwater taken from the president’s official diary. Agent: Kathy Robbins and David Halpern, Robbins Office.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      larke's examination of John F. Kennedy focuses on the fall of 1963, making the point that after almost three years in the White House, JFK was finally hitting his stride as president. Malcolm Hillgartner narrates the book and also serves cheerleader-in-chief. He does a great job. His voice has the authoritative, assured presence necessary for a story that presents Kennedy as a man, a leader, and a tragic figure. Hillgartner's deep tone and sure pacing grab our attention from the opening music. The book is an exercise in hero worship and lamentations of what might have been, and Hillgartner channels that message, making this an impressive listening experience. R.I.G. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      November 15, 2013

      Clarke (The Last Campaign) here has written a precise and detailed account of the last hundred days of the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Well read by Malcolm Hilgartner, the audiobook weaves together the narratives, personal and political, of a president who had grown into the job. Kennedy's last 100 days began just after the death of his two-day-old son, Patrick; during this period, the president made decisions that affected the Cold War, civil rights, and Vietnam, as well as his personal life The book attempts to settle the question of where President Kennedy would have led the country had he lived. Thoughtful and well researched, Clarke's account is a memorable addition to the Kennedy canon. VERDICT Of interest to Kennedy aficionados and fans of Clarke's earlier works.--Pam Kingsbury, Univ. of North Alabama, Florence

      Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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