Customer Reviews

A Thousand Days

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

The value of A Thousand Days is self-apparent to anyone who has ever attempted to seriously examine 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.

This book has won a Pullitzer and National Book Award for good reason. Unlike most political biographers, Schlesinger provides a detailed and interesting analysis of his subject's policy decisions. We don't get a detailed accounting of what Kennedy has for breakfast, but we do get an understanding of Kennedy's decision making process and how it related to the numerous issues with which he was confronted.

Many of the customer reviewers criticized Schlesinger for his bias in Thousand Days. It is true that nothing that Kennedy does in Thousand Days is wrong, and nothing that Eisenhower did was right. In the 1030 pages of Thousand Days, the reader is hardpressed to find a single critical comment about Kennedy. There are certainly plenty of excuses, as well as repetitive references to the "seeds" of legislative programs sown by Kennedy that would inevitably (as implied by Schlesinger) revolutionized the US. However, Schlesinger did not attempt to hide this bias -- he was obviously star struck by the Kennedys and did not purport to give the Republican perspective on the Kennedy administration. In essence, the "bias" is so obvious it is easy to single it out and focus on what Schlesinger has to offer -- a studied and very inspiring first hand account of a presidential term from one of this country's leading historians.

I have read several dozen presidential biographies and can say that none have provided so much insight into presidential decision making. In a word, this book is "dense", full of ideas, theories and speculation about the workings of the executive branch when confronted with some of the greatest challenges of our time -- including the cold war, the Cuban missile crises, Bay of Pigs, civil rights and Vietnam. What's more, it was an absorbing and thought provoking read. A little more critical analysis of Kennedy may have been more illuminating, but this type of analysis may well have robbed Thousand Days of the passion that makes it so interesting and inspiring. Kennedy, after all, was an interesting and inspiring president. Perhaps the most effective way to portray the man, therefore, is with a biography that is interesting and inspiring.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1917-2007) may well qualify as the most prominent American historian of the GI generation. The son of a famous Harvard historian, Schlesinger became a two-time pulitzer-prize winning biographer of liberal Democratic politicians and Presidents. Yet for all of his skills as a historian, Schlesinger wasn't satisfied with merely writing about history - he wanted to make it as well. A diehard, old-fashioned New Deal Democrat, Schlesinger wrote glowingly about Franklin D. Roosevelt and liberal Democrats and criticized their conservative opponents. In 1960 Schlesinger, to the anger of his liberal friends and allies, supported John F. Kennedy (whom many liberals regarded with skepticism) against his old boss, Adlai Stevenson (the Democratic presidential candidate in 1952 and '56, and the great hero of liberal Northern Democrats). He was rewarded when President Kennedy made him the White House's first "historian-in-residence". As such Schlesinger got to attend most White House meetings and conferences, send memos (usually ignored) to President Kennedy offering advice on the issues of the day, and being a general gadabout. In the process Schlesinger became little more than an employee of the Kennedys, a fact which earned him much criticism from not only conservatives, but also from many younger liberals who came to see him as a hypocrite and elitist who was willing to "sell out" his liberal ideals for power and prestige. When JFK was assassinated Schlesinger (who loathed Lyndon Johnson) left the White House and wrote his "memoir/history" of the Kennedy Presidency - entitled "A Thousand Days." Although the book became a bestseller and earned Schlesinger a second pulitzer prize, it also has earned a good deal of criticism - much of it justified - for its' lack of objectivity and almost fawning praise of the Kennedys. Those who admire the Kennedys will probably love this book, as it rarely lives up to Schlesinger's promise in the prologue not to "hero-worship" Kennedy. The mythical, larger-than-life JFK who walks through these pages is well-nigh perfect - he is a wonderful family man, a committed liberal, a graceful intellectual - and probably bears only a passing resemblance to the real flesh-and-blood John F. Kennedy. The numerous, darker revelations which have been made about JFK over the last 45 years (his reckless womanizing, serious health problems and dubious treatments, etc.) are totally ignored here. No doubt JFK had many fine qualities, but anyone wishing for an objective and candid view of Kennedy's strengths AND weaknesses should look elsewhere. Schlesinger also can't help but inject himself into the story as much as possible. Of course, this is a personal memoir rather than a biography, but in my opinion Schlesinger seems to go out of his way to inflate his role in the Kennedy administration. For example, instead of describing Kennedy's efforts to nail down the Democratic presidential nomination at the 1960 Democratic Convention, Schlesinger chooses to describe his own (very) minor role in rounding up support for the Kennedys from liberal delegates. When JFK makes his fateful decision in early 1961 to allow a group of CIA-trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba to try and overthrow Fidel Castro (the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion), Schlesinger doesn't focus so much on the story behind the invasion or Kennedy's response to it as he does to his own (again, very minor) role in advising Kennedy through the crisis. Schlesinger repeatedly describes going to Kennedy to offer his advice on the major crises of JFK's time in office, and not surprisingly, Schlesinger seems like a prophet in predicting initiatives that would fail (like the Bay of Pigs) and those that would succeed (like the Cuban Missile Crisis). From reading this book you get the impression that Schlesinger was a major player in the White House, when in fact numerous other books have pointed out that Schlesinger did little but take notes, write movie reviews for magazines (with Kennedy's approval), and attend Bobby Kennedy's famous pool parties. That isn't to say, of course, that "A Thousand Days" isn't worthwhile. It is extremely well-written - Schlesinger is a fine writer - and it does offer a favorable view of the Kennedys which is now out of fashion. Since the mid-sixties Schlesinger has written several books defending the Kennedy brothers from their many critics, and at a considerable cost to his reputation. If you want to read one of the first "insiders" accounts of a legendary American Presidency - and a book which played a huge role in the creation of the Kennedy "Camelot" myth - then you'll love this book. But if you want a more balanced and objective look at the Kennedy Presidency, then you'd be well-advised to look elsewhere - to Richard Reeves' "President Kennedy: Profile of Power", Herbert Parmet's "Jack: The Struggles of John F. Kennedy", or Robert Dallek's "An Unfinished Life."

This book is one of the most thorough firsthand accounts of the Kennedy administration and takes an almost exhaustive look at many of the things that occurred during the administration. While some of the conclusions have been tempered with history and new evidence coming to light (particularly on the Bay of Pigs and the Civil Rights record) this is still considered the definitive book on the Kennedy years in the white house and should deserve that distinction. Schlesinger who served as a special advisor to the president (much like Ken O'Donnell of Thirteen Days fame) provides a unique view to a complicated man, politician, and president. Kennedy offered hope to a generation of Americans and by extension to many people of the world. He was firm yet promised compassion through his negotiations with the Soviets, Peace Corps and commitment to Civil Rights.

While there are a few points in the book where Schlesinger props up his own importance at a particular point and digresses for about 50 pages or so the remainder of the book is very spot on with what was occurring, why decisions were made and what the effects of those decisions were. Sadly Schlesinger was not as involved in the Executive Committee (Ex-Com) as other special assistants were so much of what has happened at that point was not related in this book and the role that the committee played is kept to almost a minimum. I will point out that even as a Republican I found the book fair and while lacking in detail at some points it is still the most complete work that is published on Kennedy and to those who claim bias: the man worked in the Kennedy administration so take that bias into account as you read and enjoy a firsthand look at a complicated presidency and pivotal point in American history. Overall well worth the time to read.

Schlesinger is a first-rate historian, and this book is not a compromise to his reputation. It contains great some great details about Kennedy's turmoils involving Cuba, the Soviets, and Vietnam. I do not rank it higher because: (1) It is excessively long. This book could have been edited down by at least 250 pages; (2) It contains no photographs; and (3) It makes no speculation about the assassination. Schlesinger only dedicates a couple of sentences to it, which suits the book's title fine but leaves a lot to be guessed. It would have been quite easy for Schlesinger to have laid some groundwork for the shooting. During the course of the book he could have pointed out the number of sources of power within America alone that did not like JFK and the change he brought with him. J. Edgar Hoover was not fond of the president (and hated Bobby), and at this point the tie between Hoover and the mafia is pretty solid. Schlesinger makes absolutely no comment about this, which made me wince while reading it. Overall it is a good book, however. An insightful view from an authoritative mind.

I had taken an interest in Arthur Schlesinger when he passed away. I picked up a copy of his book, "A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House" from a used book shop in NYC. I had known that this was an award winning book. After Mr. Obama's election, I decided to read this book to find common threads between the Presidency of JFK and Mr. Obama. I was suprised by the similarities of these two men and their message. I strongly urge that Mr. Schelsinger's work be read by the historian and the non-historian. Although it is a big book, it had a good flow.

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.

In A Thousand Days Schlesinger offers us a view of the Kennedy White House that few other authors can provide. He is able to give us his unique perspective on the actual inside workings of the Kennedy administration. This book does have its drawbacks. It is certainly not an objective look at the historical Kennedy, this being an issue that many take with the book. It does not pretend to be one however. Rather the book must be read while keeping in mind who the author is. Schlesinger, a life long admirer and defender of Kennedy, certainly puts his spin on the events mentioned in the book. If this book is read with that in mind it is possible to deepen your understanding of who Kennedy was and what he did, making this a book well worth a read.