Hunt, project director and chief curator of the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas, remembers well that awful day in Dealey Plaza 33 years ago, but she worries about those who, born after 1960, can only relate to those four days in November as history. Though she takes us through familiar ground, Hunt elevates the details and provides a framework to judge why JFK's life and memory matter so much to the American psyche. Heavily illustrated with contemporary photos and illustrations, the book creates a collective memory of the youngest U.S. president. Kennedy, his promise cut short, became myth and symbol. That day ended our national innocence and changed forever the way we look at the presidency, politics and the media. What Kennedy might have become is at the heart of this tribute. Kennedy's funeral was the country's funeral, and those four days left us with images of youth and glamour, images that today are more real than the truth of Kennedy's thousand days in office. In spite of academic revisionists and such recent controversies as Oliver Stone's 1991 film JFK, Hunt's book stands as a powerful attempt to place a larger-than-life figure in the context of his own and the nation's life.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
YA. Hunt brings a sense of immediacy to the Kennedy assassination and the period in U.S. history known as Camelot. Minute by minute, hour by hour, the stage is set and the events of that fateful day emerge. The author describes with precision what was on the news that morning, what the radio stations were playing, how Dallas had prepared for the president's visit, what Jackie wore, and even the weather. This is not a biography; instead, it is a commentary on how the myth of JFK was created, developed, and even nurtured, by an entire nation. Kennedy's years as president are included as background, giving an understanding of how the myth of JFK overcame the reality of his accomplishments. The author also offers explanations of the many theories regarding the assassination that have come and gone. Documentation to support, or disprove, each theory is presented. Photographs, diagrams, and results of scientific testing are included to demonstrate the validity of various theories. Extensive notes and bibliography aid further research.?Beth Devers, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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