Letters to Kennedy - Hardcover

Galbraith, John Kenneth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674528379 ISBN 13: 9780674528376

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1998

Synopsis

A unique document in the history of the Kennedy years, these letters give us a firsthand look at the working relationship between a president and one of his close advisers, John Kenneth Galbraith. In an early letter, Galbraith mentions his "ambition to be the most reticent adviser in modern political history." But as a respected intellectual and author of the celebrated The Affluent Society, he was not to be positioned so lightly, and his letters are replete with valuable advice about economics, public policy, and the federal bureaucracy. As the United States' ambassador to India from 1961 to 1963, Galbraith made use of his position to counsel the President on foreign policy, especially as it bore on the Asian subcontinent and, ultimately, Vietnam.

Written with verve and wit, his letters were relished by a president who had little patience for foolish ideas or bad prose. They stand out today as a vibrant chronicle of some of the most subtle and critical moments in the days of the Kennedy administration--and a fascinating record of the counsel that Galbraith offered President Kennedy. Ranging from a pithy commentary on Kennedy's speech accepting the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination (and inaugurating the "New Frontier") to reflections on critical matters of state such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the threat of Communism in Indochina, Letters to Kennedypresents a rare, intimate picture of the lives and minds of a political intellectual and an intellectual politician during a particularly bright moment in American history.

About this title

About the Authors

John Kenneth Galbraith was Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Harvard University.

James Goodman is Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University.

From the Back Cover

A unique document in the history of the Kennedy years, these letters give us a firsthand look at the working relationship between a president and one of his close advisers, John Kenneth Galbraith. In an early letter, Galbraith mentions his "ambition to be the most reticent adviser in modern political history". But as a respected intellectual and author of the celebrated The Affluent Society, he was not to be positioned so lightly, and his letters are replete with valuable advice about economics, public policy, and the federal bureaucracy. As the United States' ambassador to India from 1961 to 1963, Galbraith made use of his position to counsel the President on foreign policy, especially as it bore on the Asian subcontinent and, ultimately, Vietnam. Written with verve and wit, his letters were relished by a president who had little patience for foolish ideas or bad prose. They stand out today as a vibrant chronicle of some of the most subtle and critical moments in the days of the Kennedy administration - and a fascinating record of the counsel that Galbraith offered President Kennedy. Ranging from a pithy commentary on Kennedy's speech accepting the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination (and inaugurating the "New Frontier") to reflections on critical matters of state such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the threat of Communism in Indochina, Letters to Kennedy presents a rare, intimate picture of the lives and minds of a political intellectual and an intellectual politician during a particularly bright moment in American history.

Reviews

This title is quite honest: although there are a half dozen or so letters from JFK, everything else is from Harvard economist Galbraith, JFK's friend, adviser and his ambassador to India from 1961 to 1963. The book is broken into three sections: Politics, Economics and Foreign Affairs. Much of the Politics section is given over to such mundane things as civil defense and a Department of Defense pamphlet on home bomb shelters, which Galbraith describes as designed "for saving Republicans and sacrificing Democrats." There is also pedestrian economic advice to candidate Kennedy and comments on Nixon's book, Six Crises, describing ways "one could shove him over" the edge. The section on Economics is eye-glazing at best, with policy chats about gold prices, tax cuts and unemployment that have been forgotten for nearly 40 years. Things pick up, however, in Foreign Affairs. Here, Galbraith offers candid evaluations of the dangers of Vietnam ("drop Diem" and do not import troops); of old New Dealers such as Dean Acheson ("he will be a source of trouble for he wants the policy that serves his ego not your needs"); and of the women in various countries?"the more under-developed the country the more over-developed the women" he says of India, while reporting that Saigon's women are "tall with long legs, high breasts." They are, he reports, "very compelling," but "an Ambassadorship is the greatest inducement to celibacy since the chastity belt." Ultimately this is a slim, dated volume that may be of most interest to scholars of the New Frontier.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Collections of letters are precious when the correspondents are prominent and the content is of enduring value, for example the Adams/Jefferson letters. In this volume the correspondents are certainly important people, but its hard to find additional justification for publication. Veteran economist Galbraith's letters to John F. Kennedy, from 1959 through mid-1963, are grouped by editor Goodman (History/Rutgers Univ.) into three sections: politics, economics, and foreign affairs. The last is by far the meatiest; the first two are brief and seemingly padded by trivial notes communicating pleasantries or future intentions and are included only to display a clever phrase in the prose. However, Galbraith's commentary on taxation does provide striking examples both of how things never seem to change and of how thoroughly they can change. On one hand, he notes the existence of ``a large part of American conservative and business opinion'' that favors tax cuts no matter what the consequences to the budget or the country. On the other hand, in warning against a tax cut, Galbraith claims that ``the worst tag of all'' is ``irresponsibility,'' a seemingly archaic view now, when irresponsibility on tax cuts (in relation to budget demands) is apparently a requirement for election to public office. The letters relating to foreign affairs are more substantive, reflecting Galbraith's posting as ambassador to India. From this vantage point he felt free to comment on south and southeast Asian affairs in general, and notable among his observations are repeated warnings against relying on Diem in Vietnam, an assessment that proved accurate but went unheeded. Reports on politics in India and a military clash with China will be of moderate interest for students of south Asian politics, but ultimately there is little here to capture the attention of the general reader. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Given Seymour Hersh's sensational attempt to rewrite (or right) history with The Dark Side of Camelot (1997), it is clear that John F. Kennedy continues to command attention. In contrast to Hersh's controversial effort, Galbraith offers up this simple, personal footnote to the Kennedy presidency. Galbraith, the renowned social philosopher and economist, served as Kennedy's ambassador to India from 1961 to 1963. This compilation of letters starts with one Galbraith wrote in 1959 announcing his support for Kennedy as the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Over the next four years, Galbraith wrote dozens of letters to the president, offering counsel on matters of politics, economics, and foreign affairs. Galbraith presses his brand of liberal, post-Keynesian economics and anticipates the debacle in Vietnam, arguing that Communism cannot be a real threat to capitalism in undeveloped countries that lack a capitalist economy. Galbraith notes that Kennedy was a demanding reader, and he proudly asserts that some of his own best writing appears in these letters. David Rouse

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674528379
• ISBN 13: 9780674528376
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 168
• Editor: Goodman James