JFK
Volume 1: 1917-1956
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JFK
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Narrated by:
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Mark Deakins
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By:
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Fredrik Logevall
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian takes us as close as we have ever been to the real John F. Kennedy in this revelatory biography of the iconic, yet still elusive, 35th president.
By the time of his assassination in 1963, John F. Kennedy stood at the helm of the greatest power the world had ever seen. Born in 1917 to a striving Irish American family that had become one of Boston's wealthiest, Kennedy knew political ambition from an early age, and his meteoric rise to become the youngest elected president cemented his status as one of the most mythologised figures in modern history. And while hagiographic portrayals of his dazzling charisma, reports of his extramarital affairs and disagreements over his political legacy have come and gone in the decades since his untimely death, these accounts all fail to capture the full person.
Beckoned by this gap in our historical knowledge, Harvard Professor Fredrik Logevall has spent much of the last decade combing through material unseen or unused by previous biographers, searching for and piecing together the 'real' John F. Kennedy. The result of this prodigious effort is a sweeping two-volume biography that for the first time properly contextualises Kennedy's role in the international events of the 20th century. This volume spans the first 39 years of JFK's life - from birth through his decision to run for president - to reveal his early relationships, his formative and heroic experiences during World War II, his ideas, his best-selling writings, his political aspirations and the role of his father, wartime ambassador to Britain. In examining these pre-White House years, Logevall shows us a more serious, independently minded Kennedy than we've previously known.
In chronicling Kennedy's extraordinary life and times, with authority and novelistic sensibility, putting the listener in every room where it happened, this landmark work offers the clearest portrait we have of a remarkable figure who still inspires individuals around the world.
©2020 Fredrik Logevall (P)2020 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about JFK
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jay dee
- 25-01-21
Great insight into before he was president
Best history book I’ve had for a long time, good narrator, very easy listening considering it’s not a “page turner”.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- E P
- 29-09-20
Warts and all biography
Lots of information about JFK that I was not aware of. His treatment of Jackie is shocking early in their marriage. Joseph Kennedy gets a more gentle treatment than that old rouge is entitled to. He Author assumes the reader has no knowledge of WW2, so there are superfluous passages explaining the course of the war, that are not always accurate. However, when the book comes to describe Boston politics, McCarthyism, his Senate Race and the failed attempt to get the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination this book goes up several gears. I am looking forward to Volume 2.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Mrs L. Modlock
- 19-11-21
Excellent.
This biography is so informative. The portrait of Kennedy is well drawn and his family life and wartime experiences are well told against the background of American politics.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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- peter b
- 21-06-21
Really poor narration
I really enjoyed the book but the dreadful narration made the listening experience painful.
The narrator managed to mispronounce almost every French or German word, quite some achievement. He even struggled with English names and places. Very poor indeed.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- McDermoV
- 06-02-24
A philanderer's progress.
Detailed well written account of the passage of a charming entitled somewhat narcissistic young brahmin through early life. People loved JFK but his treatment of some of the people in his life was terrible.
There is a gothic element to the terrible striving of the Kennedy clan fueled by the obsessive ambition of a loving but overbearing father. Old Joe's behaviour towards his sons' girlfriends was positively creepy.
My mother once met JFK on a dias in Limerick. I asked her did she shake his hand. "I couldn't be bothered."
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Dr Raat van Housse
- 07-12-23
Superb insight into an extraordinary life
Easy to read and follow. Fascinating insights. A superb overview of the formational years of John F Kennedy.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- gareth hughes
- 08-01-22
Great Listen. Lots of detail and insight.
Very well researched and written. Narration was solid and engaging. Recommended if interested in JFK and the history he lived through. Covers all major historical events of his lifetime. Insightful on his character and person. Family personalities, relationships and upbringing very well contextualised.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- CATRIONA SYME
- 29-06-21
A comprehensive part 1 biography on JFK
Despite being nearly 30 hours long the story zips along nicely. You can tell the author is a JFK supporter, a more critical approach in some sections would be good. Also, he was a great man and I knew he was a womaniser but didn't realise that he was an obsessive womaniser. He never even tried to be faithful to Jackie which I find dad and very disrespectful, completely hypocritical while pretending to be a good Catholic. Not an admirable trait in any person.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Keith
- 19-03-21
Wonderful
Epic biography. The degree to which he gets under the skin of JFK, particularly his early years and this volume is almost in addition a biography of Joseph P Kennedy and their ancestors. You really get a sense of who Jack is, in all his genius, his familial sensibilities, his friendships and of course his negatives.
Didn’t want it to finish and can’t wait for volume 2. Brilliantly read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rev. Charles Coyle
- 06-04-24
superb
A superb piece of work about an extraordinary family and man. a great insight into a fascinating period of history.
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