As with all my work over the last forty years, no one has been more instrumental in making this book a reality than my wife, Geraldine Dallek. She is my toughest, most constructive critic and my best friend. Her insistence on clearer, more felicitous prose and fuller explanations of events now obscured to general readers by the pa.s.sage of time were essential in making this book comprehensible to that elusive character, "the general reader." She also suggested the t.i.tle of the book. I cannot imagine writing anything produced for public consumption without her sensible judgments on my always imperfect drafts.
It goes without saying, but I"ll say it anyway, any errors in this book are my sole responsibility.
Sources
The sources for the quotes and facts presented in the text rest on numerous ma.n.u.script collections, tape recordings, oral histories, interviews, conversations, and newspaper and magazine articles cited in the endnotes. Much of this material is housed in the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, but several other libraries and archives contain essential doc.u.ments for the study of Kennedy"s life and presidency. Some of this material has not been available to earlier biographers and helped provide a fuller, more accurate picture of the man and his times. Additional materials will become available in the future and will attract other biographers to build upon the work in this book, as I have built on the invaluable research of predecessors who have told the Kennedy story during the last fifty years. Books I have drawn upon are cited in the notes by the author"s name, and full publication details for these are provided in the Bibliography, which follows the notes. All the oral histories cited in the notes are from the John F. Kennedy Library unless otherwise indicated.
Notes
Abbreviations
AES Adlai E. Stevenson CEA Council of Economic Advisers CIA Central Intelligence Agency CR Congressional Record DDE Dwight David Eisenhower FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation FRUS Foreign Relations of the United States, by U.S. Department of State by U.S. Department of State HST Harry S Truman JEH J. Edgar Hoover JFK John F. Kennedy JFKL John F. Kennedy Library KK Kathleen Kennedy KKH Kathleen Kennedy Hartington JPK Joseph P. Kennedy LBJ Lyndon Baines Johnson LBJA: CF Lyndon B. Johnson Archives: Congressional File LBJL Lyndon B. Johnson Library LBP LeMoyne Billings Papers, at JFKL LC Library of Congress MHS Ma.s.sachusetts Historical Society NASA National Aeronautics and s.p.a.ce Administration NASM National Security Action Memorandum NHP Nigel Hamilton Papers, at MHS NSF National Security Files NSK Nikita S. Khrushchev O&C Official and Confidential File, FBI OH Oral History POF President"s Office Files, at JFKL PP Personal Papers, at JFKL PPP Pre-Presidential Papers, at JFKL PPP: JFK Public Papers of the Presidents: John F. Kennedy RFK Robert F. Kennedy
Chapter 1: Beginnings
p. 3: "good New Englander": Hugh Fraser OH.
p. 3: "Irishman": Collier and Horowitz, 7.
p. 3: "some disagreement": Notes for speeches for Irish trip, June 11, 1963, Speech Files, Box 45, POF.
p. 4: Lismore Castle and Kathleen"s letter: Doris Goodwin, 729.
p. 4: Kathleen asked Jack: KKH to JFK, May 21, 1947, Box 4A, PP.
p. 4: Dress and appearance and the quotes: Burns, 57, 63, 71, 98, 122, 259; Lasky, 101-2; Parmet, Jack, Jack, 84-85, 170; Blair, 511. 84-85, 170; Blair, 511.
p. 5: The quotes about his effect on women are from Lasky, 149, 205.
p. 5: "rather quietly": Doris Goodwin, 731.
p. 5: "Which Kennedys" and "looking just like": Ibid.
p. 6: "magic of the afternoon": Burns, 3-4; JFK to James M. Burns, Aug. 25, 1959, POF.
p. 6: "Did they have": Doris Goodwin, 732. For Kathleen"s description of JFK visit, see KKH to JPK, Sept. 18, 1947, JPK Papers, JFKL.
p. 6: Kennedy great-grandparents: Collier and Horowitz, 7-11.
p. 6: Fitzgerald great-grandparents: Doris Goodwin, chap. 1.
p. 7: "Irishness": Davis, 54. Also see Tamara Plakins Thornton, "Timely Reminders," Reviews in American History Reviews in American History (Dec. 1998), 795. (Dec. 1998), 795.
pp. 7-9: For the portrait of P. J. Kennedy, see Burns, 8-11; Collier and Horowitz, 11-17; Davis, 21-23, 27-32; Doris Goodwin, 226-32.
pp. 9-11: For the portrait of John F. Fitzgerald: Burns, 10-14; Collier and Horowitz, 18-20; Doris Goodwin, chaps. 4-7; Hamilton, 4-12.
p. 11: "a first hurrah": Collier and Horowitz, 20.
p. 11: Fitzgerald-Hannon marriage: Doris Goodwin, chap. 6.
p. 11: "There have been times": Rose Kennedy, 1.
p. 11: "a big, old rambling": Ibid., 11.
p. 11: "the absolute thrill": Doris Goodwin, 105.
p. 12: For the White House visit and horses and her own rig: Rose Kennedy, 33-34, 15-16.
p. 12: Old Orchard: Ibid., 17; Doris Goodwin, 123-25.
p. 12: "scrollwork porch": Collier and Horowitz, 28.
p. 12: "a hazy idea": Rose Kennedy, 24.
p. 12: "all manner" and Wellesley: Doris Goodwin, 130-33.
p. 13: For the Convent of the Sacred Heart, see Collier and Horowitz, 29.
p. 13: For the trip and schooling, see Doris Goodwin, 155-56, 158-59, 174-89; and Rose Kennedy, 29-33.
p. 13: Returned to Boston: Doris Goodwin, 197-98.
p. 13: Nothing more clearly: Ibid., 201-3.
p. 14: "mistrust" and "resentment" and other quotes in the paragraph: Rose Kennedy, 49-52.
p. 14: For social Darwinism, see Hofstadter, Social Darwinism Social Darwinism.
p. 15: Joe"s reading of Alger: Collier and Horowitz, 23.
p. 15: On rags to riches and mind power, see Weiss.
p. 15: Jobs: Collier and Horowitz, 23; Davis, 31.
p. 15: a.s.sumptions and "If you can"t be captain": Collier and Horowitz, 24; Davis, 32.
p. 15: For Joe at Boston Latin: Collier and Horowitz, 24; Davis, 31-33.
p. 16: "somehow seemed": Collier and Horowitz, 24-25.
p. 16: Special affection: Doris Goodwin, 227-28.
pp. 16-17: For Joe at Harvard: Ibid., chap. 13, especially 209 and 214.
p. 17: "basic profession": Collier and Horowitz, 26-28.
p. 17: For the power of the banks, see Brandeis.
p. 18: Joe"s apprenticeship: Doris Goodwin, 237-41.
p. 18: Joe and Columbia Trust: Collier and Horowitz, 27-28; Doris Goodwin, 253-58.
p. 19: Courtship and wedding: Rose Kennedy, chap. 6; Doris Goodwin, 124, 258-59; Hamilton, 15-23.
pp. 19-20: Beals Street house: Rose Kennedy, 71-72, 75; Hamilton, 23-24.
p. 20: Joe Jr."s birth: Ibid., 25; Collier and Horowitz, 32; Doris Goodwin, 261-62.
p. 20: JFK"s birth: Hamilton, 30.
p. 21: Joe and the war: Doris Goodwin, 267-76.
p. 21: Joe"s work for Bethlehem: Ibid., 276-81, 283-85.
p. 21: "for services rendered": Ibid., 292.
p. 22: Joe as stockbroker: Ibid., chap. 17; for Joe"s fortune, 339.
p. 22: The family: Rose Kennedy, 75-76.
p. 22: Naples Road house: Ibid., 75; Doris Goodwin, 313-14.
p. 23: "Now, listen Rosie": Doris Goodwin, 392.
p. 24: "I hope you": Quoted in ibid., 303-4.
p. 24: "were another thing": Interview with Frank Kent Jr. in David E. Koskoff Papers, JFKL.
p. 24: "And the old man": Blair, 318.
p. 24: Affair with Swanson: See Collier and Horowitz, 47-55; "the largest private" is quoted on 53. Also see Doris Goodwin, 389-97, 415-18; Hamilton, 63-68, 73.
p. 24: "Your father again": Rose Kennedy to Children, Feb. 2, 1942, Box 4A, PP.
p. 25: Rose"s return to her father"s home: Doris Goodwin, 301-8.
p. 25: Rose"s travels: Rose Kennedy, 94; Davis, 71; Doris Goodwin, 320-21.
Chapter 2: Privileged Youth
p. 26: And if Joe Kennedy were: "The Nine Kennedy Kids Delight Great Britain," Life, Life, Apr. 11, 1938. Apr. 11, 1938.
pp. 26-27: Early schooling: Rose Kennedy, 97; Doris Goodwin, 355-56; Hamilton, 52-53.
p. 27: Jack"s first ten years: JFK childhood medical record, Box 1, and Report of Physical Exam, Oct. 20, 1943, Box 11A, PP; Burns, 32-33; Rose Kennedy, 84, 110-11; Parmet, Jack, Jack, 17, 19; Doris Goodwin, 353-54; Damore, 19-21. 17, 19; Doris Goodwin, 353-54; Damore, 19-21.
pp. 27-28: "It was an easy" and Joe Jr.-Jack rivalry: Burns, 23, 28; Damore, 26-27; Collier and Horowitz, 59, 61.
p. 28: Jack"s affection for Joe Jr.: Doris Goodwin, 355; John F. Kennedy, As We Remember Joe, As We Remember Joe, 3. 3.
p. 28: "When Joe came home": JFK to Dad, Dec. 9 (probably 1929), Box 1, PP.
p. 29: "was no place": McCarthy, 42.
p. 29: Rose"s reaction: Doris Goodwin, 367-68; Rose Kennedy, 166.
pp. 29-30: Jack at Riverdale School and transfer to Canterbury, "Creditable": Upper School Scholarship Report, Box 1, PP; Notes on JFK"s Canterbury Attendance, Dec. 8, 1988, in NHP; Hamilton, 81-85.
p. 30: "It"s a pretty good place": JFK to Uncle Jack, n.d., Box 1, PP.
p. 30: "his average should be": Canterbury School, Record of JFK, Form II, Box 4B, PP.
p. 30: "a little worrying": JFK to Mother, n.d., Box 1, PP.
p. 30: Sports: Letter beginning, "I was certainly glad," JFK to Dad, n.d., Box 1, PP.
p. 30: "Please send me": Schoor, 37.
p. 30: Talk on India: JFK to Dad, n.d, Box 1, PP.
p. 30: "a desire to enjoy": Sorensen, 14.
pp. 30-31: "What do you remember": Hugh Sidey in Henderson, xxiv.
p. 31: "You watched these people": Charles Spalding quoted in Collier and Horowitz, 113.