THOMAS C. REEVES - A QUESTION OF CHARACTER: A LIFE OF JOHN F. KENNEDY

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For some time now, many Americans have silently wondered what to think of the disquieting stories that have surfaced about the morally suspect personal conduct of John F Kennedy. It is difficult for us to reconcile the image of a president whose vision and bearing dazzled the world and whose death seemed to impoverish us all, with the persistent revelations of deception and dishonesty which challenge his reputation as leader and exemplar of a nation. Now, an experienced and respected historian and biographer, Thomas C. Reeves, confronts this question and, with scrupulous scholarship, elucidates the discrepancies between Kennedy's public life and private behavior.

With extraordinary thoroughness, Reeves locates the origins and development of Kennedy's character in his family, school, and military experiences, and traces the manifestations of these influences in his political assent to the presidency. He reveals the effects of Joseph Kennedy's ruthless imperative to win at any cost and his tutelage in moral compromise, and follows JFK through a career marked by contradiction: the carefully embellished public image of a courageous and caring intellectual leader vs. the private reality of his apparent indifference to the values of fidelity, compassion, and concern which he so convincingly evoked.

Lacking the consistency derived from a deeply grounded moral authority in his decision-making, Kennedy's presidential conduct reveals a chilling gap between rhetoric and reality. As Reeves examines some of the most pressing issues of Kennedy's 1,000 days, including civil rights, the Cuban missile crisis, and the Administration's dedication to culture and learning, he illuminates the Kennedy behind the Camelot. In his tantalizing conclusion, Reeves suggests that despite Kennedy's flaws of character, the later days of his presidency nonetheless showed signs of a man growing into his office.

Reeves has provided the most truthful and balanced assessment of John F. Kennedy to date. Written more in sorrow than in anger, A Question of Character explores the sensitive and difficult question of how a people, and history itself, ought to judge the relation between personal character and national leadership.

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