JFK: A complete biography 1917-1963 by William H. A. Carr

There is no available picture for this book.

255 Pages (Biography)

My grandmother gave me this book. As you can probably guess it is about John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s life. It starts with a little family history. It moves on to his childhood. His education is mentioned and little bit about who he is as a person is revealed. It focuses a lot on his rise in the political arena. His older brother was supposed to be the political man, but he died young; John took his place. Using the family fortune, they put more money into buying elections than ever. The family helps Kennedy rise through the political machine to eventually become President.

I felt the book was very poorly written. Carr is a journalist. It reads like a 200 page newspaper column. Just the facts. But then occasionally he would add something like “they were so nervous, their hearts beat quickly” How does he know this? Seems as if the author is attempting to bring story to the book, but fails. This would happen every so often and feel jarring and fake.

4 Emotional/Intellectual: Intellectually this book gives you the facts, 0 emotional content.

1 Readability/ Style: The book is easy to read, but the style is so uninspired.

1 Longterm: This book probably had been in a box in my grandparents place for 50 years. That is where is belongs.

6/13 -I am sure 100’s of books about Kennedy are readily available. Read any of those. I am sure almost everyone would be a better read.

Keep Turning Pages