The Promise and the Performance: The Leadership of John F. Kennedy

In this penetrating analysis, Lew Paper assesses John Kennedy's presidency on the basis of four basic criteria derived from a history of American presidents. The criteria concern the president's concept of the office, his approach to decision-making, his role as a public leader, and the image the president forges among the people. Relying on meticulous research, including interviews with members of Kennedy's administration, the press, and other political analysts, as well as new material from the Kennedy Library, Lew delves into the personalities and events that dominated Kennedy's one thousand days in the White House -- including the Bay of Pigs Fiasco, the Berlin crisis, conflicts in Laos and Vietnam, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Civil Rights movement, the tax cut, and the Test Ban Treaty. It is, in short, a balanced critique which compares John F. Kennedy's performance in the White House against the promises he made to secure his election.