Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House - Hardcover

Sobel, David; Schlesinger Jr., Arthur M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1579124496 ISBN 13: 9781579124496

Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2005

Synopsis

Written by one of our foremost historians and published in 1965, A Thousand Days is still considered the most complete and definitive portrait of John F. Kennedy and his administration. Handpicked by Kennedy to serve as special assistant to the president, historian and Harvard professor Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. witnessed firsthand the politics and personalities that influenced some of the most important and dramatic events in modern history.

The hundreds of photographs and documents included here have been gleaned from such sources as the John F. Kennedy Library, the Library of Congress, the Associated Press, Life magazine, and more. The photos capture private meetings with the president, the Bay of Pigs, the Civil Rights movement, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, as well as official White House memoranda, public speeches, social occasions, and private moments with the Kennedy family. These powerful images add a new dimension to the award-winning text and introduce a new generation to some of the most important and visually iconic moments in our recent past.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.'s A THOUSAND DAYS: John F. Kennedy in the White House
has a very special meaning for me. In 1960, I was in the crowd on 39th St. and Broadway, in
The Garment Center in New York City, when Kennedy, his voice hoarse from relentless campaigning, addressed the crowd about his vision of a new America and a new generation taking charge.

As an important member of the Kennedy circle, a man who had Kennedy's ear, Schlesinger draws an unforgettable portrait of the man who captured the imagination and the hopes of people, not just in America, but all over the world. Standing in that crowd on 39th St., it was easy for me to believe that this man, seasoned by his experiences in World War II, his vision shaped by a knowledge of history and America's place in it, would not be beholden to the customs and beliefs of the leaders born in earlier generations.

Schlesinger makes this point emphatically. Kennedy was born later then Adlai Stevenson and later then Lyndon Johnson. Kennedy really believed, and communicated this belief eloquently, that men and women of his generation could really make a difference. Schlesinger's focus in A THOUSAND DAYS is the Kennedy Administration's role in foreign affairs. Even with that focus, what emerges is Kennedy's refreshing escape from the conventions of previous politicians. Kennedy's choice of Douglas Dillon as Secretary of the Treasury, was a choice that Schlesinger himself originally opposed. Kennedy chose Dillon because he thought he was the best man for the job, not because of his particular political persuasion. Shlesinger remarks that Nixon might have made Dillon his appointment had he won the election.

Kennedy's confrontations with Khrushchev, The Cuban Missile Crisis, the South American venture, the Alliance for Progress are presented clearly and convincingly.

We will never know what direction this country, or the world would have taken, had John Kennedy been granted another term in office. Surely, he would have learned from his mistakes, which Schlesinger reveals. The Kennedy imagination, intellect, and belief that his administration could really do something to make the world a better place will live with all of us as long as we live.

Another important record of this moment in history is David Halberstam's THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST, available in a Fawcett Columbine paperback edition.

George Davidson, Director of Production, The Ballantine Publishing Group

From the Inside Flap:

"Of all the Kennedy books . . . this is the best." Time Magazine
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, this is the classic study of the presidency of John F. Kennedy as told by a master historian who had the advantage of personally witnessing the great and tragic events of which he writes.

About this edition

• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1579124496
• ISBN 13: 9781579124496
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384