The staffs of the various libraries and archives cited in the notes were uniformly helpful, but none was more essential to the study of Kennedy’s personal life and public record than the exquisitely located John F. Kennedy Library at Columbia Point, overlooking Boston Harbor. The staff was consistently helpful, but I am particularly grateful to Megan Desnoyers, who worked so diligently to arrange my access to Joseph P. Kennedy’s papers and, most important, the Janet Travell collection of medical records that had been unavailable to biographers until the donor committee agreed to open them to me in 2002.
I also wish to thank Kai Bird for access to Averell Harriman correspondence; the Clark Clifford executors for access to his oral history; Adam Clymer for sharing his interviews with Senator Edward M. Kennedy; George Eliades for providing transcripts of difficult to understand JFK tape recordings; Paul Fay for access to his papers and oral history; Barbara Gamarekian for opening previously closed pages in her oral history; Elizabeth Hadley and Geri Dallek for photo research; Nigel Hamilton for making the large collection of materials he assembled for his book JFK: Reckless Youth, available at the Massachusetts Historical Society; Maxwell Kennedy for opening Robert Kennedy’s confidential files (and to Ted Widmer, who helped arrange this); Robert Kennedy Jr. for providing access to additional LeMoyne Billings letters supplementing those in the Hamilton collection; Christopher Matthews for use of taped interviews; Race Matthews for giving me a copy of Bruce Grant’s book; Paul H. Nitze for his oral history; Kenneth O’Donnell Jr. for letting me listen to his father’s taped recollections; and Abraham Ribicoff’s executors for permitting me to read his Columbia University oral history.
Sven Dubie and Chissy Kopp, graduate students studying for Ph.D.’s, helped by making copies of documents I identified in my research at the JFK Library. Chrissy also helped by checking some of my notes and by selecting photos for the book from the collection of visual materials at the library.
The many people who spoke with me about Kennedy have been cited at relevant points in the notes to the book, but I am particularly grateful to Elias P. Demetracopoulos, Philip J. Kaiser, and Marianne Means for sharing information with me, and to Peter Kovler for lending an ear and offering wise comments on my ideas.
Wayne Callaway, Robert Morantz, Judith Nowak, and David Schurman lent their medical expertise to the analysis of JFK’s many health problems. No one, however, was more instrumental in helping me understand and formulate conclusions about Kennedy’s ailments than Jeffrey Kelman. It is no exaggeration to say that I could not have made sense of JFK’s complicated medical history without him. He read the Travell files with me at the JFK Library and checked my descriptions of Kennedy’s medical woes to assure their accuracy. His contributions to this historical reconstruction were given as an act of friendship, for which I am most grateful.
Sheldon Stern, who served at the John F. Kennedy Library for twenty-three years, gave me the benefit of his expertise by reading the entire manuscript. He not only saved me from a number of errors, he also made excellent suggestions for additions and revisions, which significantly improved the manuscript.
Geoffrey Shandler at Little, Brown is as fine an editor as an author could hope to have. My hopes for the kind of thoughtful editing Geoff provided sank after the first two editors on the book moved on to other positions. But Geoff more than made up for their departure with two careful readings of the manuscript that confirmed me in the conviction that an author’s best friend is a devoted editor insistent on making writers push to outdo themselves. Elizabeth Nagle, his assistant, also read the full manuscript and made several excellent suggestions, for which I am grateful. Peggy Leith Anderson, Peggy Freudenthal, Steve Lamont, Pamela Marshall, and Betsy Uhrig added greatly to the readability of the book with their super copyediting skills.
My agent, John W. Wright, has been an indispensable supporter of this book from its inception. He helped me formulate the proposal, arranged for publication, encouraged me along the way, read the entire manuscript, and made excellent suggestions for its improvement. He has been a wise adviser and friend. His courage and strength in response to the tragic loss of his son on September 11, 2001, have been an inspiration to everyone who knows him.
Matthew Dallek, Rebecca Dallek, and Michael Bender, my son, daughter, and son-in-law, cheered me on with words of encouragement and critical reviews of what I said and wrote. They helped me understand what young people born in the years after 1963 need to learn about Kennedy if his life and times are to have special meaning to them.
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 passage of time were essential in making this book comprehensible to that elusive character, “the general reader.” She also suggested the title 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 manuscript 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 documents 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
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 Massachusetts Historical Society
NASA National Aeronautics and Space 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: 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, 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 (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.
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: Assumptions 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, 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, 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, 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.
p. 31: Arrogance: Damore, 20-21, 36-41.
pp. 31-32: Indifference to money: Ralph Horton OH; James Rousmaniere interview in NHP.
p. 32: “They really didn’t have”: Collier and Horowitz, 62.
p. 32: “Jack, I sent for you”: Smith, 161.
p. 32: “Mind your own business”: Boston Globe, Nov. 19, 1964.
p. 33: Jack’s admission to Choate: Hamilton, 84, 88.
pp. 33-34: JFK medical record, including Rose Kennedy’s card file on JFK’s childhood illnesses; JFK undated letters to “Mother” and “Dad” in Box 1, PP; Doris Goodwin, 309-312; Hamilton, 87-88.
p. 34: “probably very homesick”: “Notes on John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s Canterbury Attendance” provided by the school, NHP.
p. 34: “a mild cold”: Secretary to Mrs. Kennedy, Nov. 24, 1931; also see exchanges between Rose Kennedy and Mrs. St. John for Jan. 18, n.d., 19, 20, 21, 22, 1932, Box 1, PP.
p. 34: “quite a cough”: Jan. 23, 25, 1932, Outline of JFK Choate Letters, Box 1, PP; JPK to Mr. St. John, Dec. 3, 1931, and Clara St. John to Mr. Massie and to Mrs. Kennedy, Feb. 8, April 28, 1932, NHP.
pp. 34-35: “flu-like symptoms” and “Jack’s winter term”: Quoted in Hamilton, 98. Also see Secretary to Mrs. Kennedy, Jan. 10, Feb. 14, 17, 18, Mar. 3, 9, 10, Apr. 13, 1933; Rose Kennedy to Mrs. St. John, Jan. 17, Mar. 9, 1933; Mrs. St. John to Mrs. Kennedy, Jan. 23, 1933; Mrs. St. John to Paul Murphy, Jan. 30, 1933; Paul Murphy to Mrs. Ke
nnedy, Jan. 28, 1933, Outline of JFK Choate Letters, Box 1, PP.
p. 35: On his weight: George St. John to Mr. Maher, quoting JPK, Oct. 10, 1933, NHP.
p. 35: “We are still puzzled”: Mrs. St. John to Mrs. Kennedy, Feb. 6, 1934, NHP.
p. 35: “I hope with all my heart”: Mrs. St. John to Jack, Feb. 5, 1934, NHP.
p. 35: “It seems that I was”: JFK to Billings, Feb. 1934, JFKL. Also see Mrs. St. John to Jack, Feb. 8, Mar. 6, 1934; George St. John to JPK, Feb. 8, 1934, NHP; George Steele to Masters, Feb. 14, 1934; Secretary to JPK, April 25, 1934, Outline of JFK Choate Letters, Box 1, PP; Maurice “Maury” Shea OH.
p. 35: “one of the ‘big boys’”: Clara St. John to Rose F. Kennedy, Oct. 7, 1931, NHP.
p. 35: Rose had already signaled: In letter to George St. John, July 3, 1931, NHP.
p. 36: “Jack sits at”: G. St. John to JPK, Oct. 20, 1931, NHP.
p. 36: Rat Face: Meyers, 15.
p. 37: Jack told Billings: Doris Goodwin, 465-66.
p. 37: “stressed to his children”: Ibid., 351.
p. 37: “Jack was sick,” “Why don’t you,” and “Everybody wants to”: Hersh, 16.
p. 37: “very frame”: Quoted in Hamilton, 358-59.
p. 37: His schoolwork continued: JFK Choate School Records, Box 2, PP.
p. 37: “what concerned us”: Rose Kennedy, 176-77.
p. 38: “conspicuously failed”: Quoted in Hamilton, 107.
p. 38: Information Please: Horton OH. Reading the New York Times: Meyers, 15; Horton OH. On Churchill, Kay Halle OH.
p. 38: “most likely to succeed”: Horton OH.
p. 38: “I’d like to take”: John J. Maher Report of JFK, in Meyers, 14.
p. 38: “I can’t tell you”: JPK to G. St. George, Nov. 21, 1933; JPK to JPK Jr., Nov. 21, 1933; JPK to G. Steele, Jan. 5, 1935, NHP.
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