Jack Kennedy

August 22, 2011
Out of his gut interest in politics and love of reading biographies of American heroes, Matthews, host of MSNBC’s Hardball, probes the details of the 35th president’s life and career to find out what Jack was like. He begins this book wanting to discover how Kennedy became the leader who, at a moment of national fear and anger (the Cuban missile crisis), could cut so coldly and clearly to the truth. Drawing on interviews with friends and former staffers, as well as on such familiar biographical incidents as Kennedy’s rescue of the PT-109 crew and his resulting back injury, Matthews reveals a man who through inner direction and tenacious will created himself out of the loneliness and illness of his youth and who taught himself the hard discipline of politics through his own triumphs and failures. For example, from the Bay of Pigs—considered one of Kennedy’s failures—JFK learned that there must be both clarity and completion when the stakes are highest and most desperate; know your enemy and your goal; and hold fast to what you’re attempting. With this resolve, Kennedy reacted to Khrushchev during the Cuban missile crisis with a detachment that resisted the easy path of war that others recommended. Matthews’s stirring biography reveals Kennedy as a “fighting prince never free from pain, never far from trouble, and never accepting the world he found.” Photos.

September 15, 2011
Given his Catholic background and love of history and politics, it's not surprising that Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball, has a fascination with the nation's first Catholic president, who also had an outsize love of history and politics. For years, Matthews has collected stories of Kennedy from the president's friends and colleagues. The result is an intimate look at a man Matthews thinks was more heroic than most Americans really knew. Kennedy was in nearly constant agony from a life-threatening disease, wrestling with his own ambitions and the manipulation of an even more ambitious father. Close friends assert that, despite conventional wisdom, Kennedy didn't go into politics because of his brother Joe's death, which cleared a path, or because of his father's insistence. Given his love of history and politics, Kennedy was destined for it. Matthews examines Kennedy's war heroism and less-than-heroic handling of Joseph McCarthy, his image as rich dilettante, his seriousness as a thinker, the self-invention element in his marriage to Jackie, his political acumen, and his genuine friendship with Richard Nixon. A fascinating look at an ultimately elusive man. HIGH DEMAND BACKSTORY: Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball, best-selling author, and longtime Kennedy follower, offers a personal portrait of JFK.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2011

Matthews (Kennedy and Nixon), host of MSNBC's Hardball and former aide to the late Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, has come to know many JFK insiders. Here he uses to excellent effect his conversations and interviews with those officials and friends as he seeks the real John F. Kennedy, that "elusive man," as JFK's own wife called him. Using the first person as he seeks out a full portrait of JFK, Matthews gives us an eminently readable biography, following Kennedy through his sickly and less-than-happy youth, his wartime heroism, and his presidency during the most perilous years of the Cold War. Although Matthews's coverage of Kennedy's pre-presidential career and the 1960 election is nearly as long as that devoted to the presidency, his most significant conclusion is that Kennedy's decision not to invade Cuba in 1962 likely saved the world from nuclear annihilation and at the very least stopped Soviet premier Khrushchev from invading West Berlin. VERDICT Robert Dallek's An Unfinished Life and Richard Reeves's President Kennedy provide in-depth investigations of Kennedy's politics, but readers wanting a lively overview of Kennedy, the flawed man and inspiring leader, should turn to this poignant study. [See Prepub Alert, 5/23/11.]--Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2011

Hardball host Matthews (Life's a Campaign: What Politics Has Taught Me About Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation, and Success, 2007, etc.) blends tributes and chastisement in this highly personal account of John F. Kennedy's career.

The author begins with his earliest memory of JFK--his failed 1956 attempt to gain the vice-president spot with Adlai Stevenson. From a Republican family, Matthews gradually moved the other way, and JFK was a major factor. Throughout the narrative, the author combines political biography with personal reflection. Repeatedly, he narrates a key event in JFK's career (e.g., the Bay of Pigs debacle), and then raises questions about why the president behaved as he did. Matthews praises Kennedy's heroism during World War II, his determination to excel despite his medical conditions and his recognition of the moral aspects of politics. The excerpt Matthews includes from a JFK civil-rights speech delivered after the crisis at the University of Alabama remains stirring today. The author also lauds JFK for his ability to turn from his strong-willed father, his devotion to old friends, his speaking and debating skills and his resolution in the face of the dire threats issued by the Soviets. Despite his obvious emotional attachment to JFK, Matthews does not neglect his negative character traits. He reminds us that Kennedy was not a devoted husband--not just because of his serial infidelities but also in his casual, even cruel, treatment of his wife--and he questions JFK's support of Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his appointment of his own brother Robert as Attorney General--"sheer, unadulterated nepotism," writes the author. Matthews also recognizes that the Kennedy charm lay on a hard foundation of political savvy, even ruthlessness.

Matthews' admiration and gratitude for JFK trump his disapprobation.

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