A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House

History written by a participant in its making. This narrative is as objective as one could be given the close relationship the author had to President Kennedy. A perspective du jour doesn't lessen this review of a pivotal thousand days in American history.

Still the definitive political biography of JFK. As more recent evidence has emerged of Kennedy's decisions and actions as president (as opposed to his private life), Schlesinger's basic view, that Kennedy was an extraordinary man and the US was lucky to have had him as its leader (especially in October 1962) is increasingly confirmed. The absolute starting point for anyone even vaguely interested in the Kennedy administration or American political history.

The value of A Thousand Days is self-apparent to anyone who has ever attempted to seriously examine the policies of the Kennedy administration. Arthur Schlesinger Jr., with an undeniably skilled pen and an exhaustive eye for detail, compiled one of the most thorough accounts of the Kennedy administration. I don't see how it could be that surprising, at this point in time, that participants in an administration generally tend to write books that view their president in a favorable light. Is anyone really that shocked? Did he take an interest in JFK's love life or other prurient topics? No. Did he seek to write a definitive evaluation of the president? No. Schlesinger is honest - he is writing by and large as a participant and an observer and the value of this account is that it captures the outlook and motivations of the administration. He left it to other authors to write more critical accounts - the value his book holds comes from the personal observations he makes throughout it. You don't have to like Kennedy to find this book valuable. Plenty of people critical of the Kennedy administration have studied this book carefully. Its value as a firsthand account of the administration is self-apparent. If it happens to challenge the Limbaugh right's view of JFK . . . well, oh well. The rest of us can approach this book with care and real interest, allow for natural instances of human bias, and still come away better informed for the effort.

Mr. Schlesinger treats the Kennedy Administration in a time before Kennedy bashing was fashionable. He is certainly biased in the other direction; however, with all the negative information coming out recently, this is a good counterweight. There is much information and much insight, despite a slant. The inner workings of the Administartion become clear, and we are spared the stifling obsession with the President's personal life we often face in more recent accounts. We hear from a man who was intimately involved with the events he describes. Mr. Schlesinger does tend to see the positive side of events, but this does not prevent him from admitting his and others' mistakes. This is the definitive Kennedy history.