Customer Reviews

Forty Ways to Look at JFK

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a fabulous read this book is! If you thought you knew about the Kennedy mystique, think again -- Gretchen Rubin gives us the whole story of Kennedy's presidency and Kennedy the man -- family man, political man, lover man and man's man. Best of all, she does it in witty and vibrant short essays (just as she did in her terrific "Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill"). The essays range from "Kennedy's Lies" (there are some real shockers here) to "Kennedy's Use of the Media" (he was way ahead of his time). For anyone who wants to know more about this period in American history, or this particular and still-fascinating American, "40 Ways" is a must.

Having read 40 WAYS... and some of these reviews, I'm compelled to respond Josesph Goodfriend's contention that the book is a "bizarre waste of time." The opposite is true. Unlike many biographers, Rubin presents different and opposing sides to her subject, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions rather than manipulating her research to shove a singular thesis down their throats. As for the idea that Rubin doesn't include endnotes or footnotes, THAT'S bizarre. There are 40 pages of endnotes, as well as an extensive bibliography. This book is an excellent, complex -- and incredibly well-researched -- portrait of JFK. Congrats to the author!

Thousands of pages have been written and thousands of pictures have been taken. We know all that there ever was to know about John Kennedy, right? Wrong! Once again Gretchen Rubin is teaching us something about a 20th Century Icon. As with Churchill in her previous book, countless works have been written about Kennedy that have discussed his accomplishments and dissected his personality. Rubin has once again masterfully put it all in one book. She has an enjoyable writing style and objectivity that is found in few biographers. She is a master of understanding human complexity and putting her protagonist in the context of the time that he lived. One of the most fascinating aspects of this book and her other works is that she understands that most larger than life figures work on their image constantly. For Kennedy, much of his career was about brand management. Rubin tells us what was real about the man and what he and his advisers created in their brand laboratory. Kennedy springs to life, you can feel his energy, his contradictions, the pressure that his father put on him. You can feel his physical pain and his pathos. JFK's sense of elegance, his style, his ability to respond to pressure, she captures it all.

What affected me most about this book was that for all of his privilege, Kennedy had a feeling for the poor, and they felt it. The Civil Rights Movement was already in full gear, but he legitimized it with the power of the presidency. Years ago, when I was in the Bronx visiting my little brother's apartment (little as in the Big Brother Program), his mom had President Kennedy's picture on top of her ancient TV. I asked her why. She said that "He and his brother Bobby wanted better lives for all of us, they were the first whites to really stick up for us." Whether or not that was true it always fascinated me that there was a feeling like that out there about a man who grew up with so much privilege. Gretchen Rubin nailed it in her book as to why. I would rather not give you the reason in this review. Go out and buy the book and enjoy it as much as I did.

Gretchen, why 40 ways? It seems the perfect number of angles in your objective prism to examine a life. I look forward to your next subject.

Gretchen Rubin's 'FORTY WAYS TO LOOKAT J F K' is a marvelous book. Having read more than20 books on John Kennedy Rubin tells us more about Kennedy the person- the good and the bad and there was some of both- than all the other books combined. Rubin's novel approach to writing biograohy makes one feel that they really knew J F K. She also makes us understand why, more than forty years after he left us, he continues to command tremendous interest both here and around the world. Gretchen Rubin is a winner. Lets hope we hear more from her.a m willis,jr

Gretchen Rubin has revolutionized the biography genre. She provides a analytical look at a huge historical figure, enabling the reader to gain real insight and understanding. With all the different perspectives, I am now able to determine for myself that JFK was a great leader. I just bought her book on Churchill as well!

Just when you think you know everything about JFK,comes along this book and it shattered that notion.Each chapter is no more than 4-5 pages long and it covers a different aspect of his life.A great intro book for the JFK novice.Also read her other 40 ways to look Churchill.

Not only an excellent and well written book but in a format which is groundbreaking. For a reader who would like a clear and consise understanding of JFK, the good and the bad I highly recommend you purchase this book. I have read much on the subject and Ms. Rubin will give the reader a very broad and yet specific understanding to JFK, his character, and the times in which he led the country. This book brings JFK to life in a manner, which no other book I have read has succeeded in doing.

This book takes 100 pages worth of material and expands it to 400 pages through reorganization, and even worse, repetition.

I read Ms. Rubin's Churchill book and loved the fresh way to examine an oft-examined leader. She does the same with Kennedy, and it's as entertaining and insightful as the first book. I'm a Churchill fanatic, so Kennedy as a person is less enthralling to me, but Ms. Rubin circles him as a subject nicely, looking at Kennedy from angles that let you get a firm grip in your mind of not only what he was like as a human, but what it was like to be around him. This is worth the read.

Gretchen Rubin has done it again. Her "Forty Ways to Look at Wiknston Churchill" was outstanding and she has topped that book now with "Forty Ways to Look at JFK". I teach at a Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri and I'm using Gretchen's new book in my Political Science classes. Gretchen uses the body of Kennedy biographical work to pose the reader with a dilemma: Was Kennedy an Ideal Leader or merely a Showy Opportunist. Learn who JFK wanted to play himself in "PT 109". Learn how Jackie was truly the Princess Di of the 1960s. Learn how JFK met Winston Churchill his hero once on the yacht of all people Aristotle Onassis. This book has it all and for the reader who wants to delve into an exciting new form of biography, Gretchen Rubin tells it all about JFK.