John F Kennedy: An Unfinished Life [Paperback]

Dallek's 'An Unfinished Life' has become the favoured biography of JFK since its publication in 2003. The biography (the second Dallek book I've read, the first being the helpful 'FDR and American Foreign Policy 1933-1945') casts itself above its predecessors through its sterling and objective account of JFK up to his assassination, focusing largely on the determination of JFK's environments (his parents, his WWII experience), his fire to become something extraordinary (rooted in his rivalry with older brother Joe Jr.) and his medical history.

Dallek's unprecedented access to JFK's medical records inevitably leads to his medical history being detailed in great length. It is illustrated very well not just how many frustrating problems JFK suffered from but how sick he became at times almost to the point of death in the mid 1950s. While it is always important to understand the health of any president, his chronic health problems were however not serious enough during his presidency to affect his performance therefore maybe there was too much emphasis given to this topic.

Focus on JFK's philandering maybe a little ill-fitting in the book too, often it is thrown into the mix almost as if the author felt he needed to mention it a certain number of times. If Dallek had left it out of the epilogue (or even reduced the focus on it) it would have been better.

Dallek's writing style, while it is always clear and informative, sometimes lacks passion or skill. This is something I believe he knows himself and alludes to in his acknowledgements. This does not affect a dedicated reader but it certainly does a more casual one (I would not be surprised if some people bought this book but never finished it). Also the referencing system maybe should have utilised numbered endnotes, not quotations.

However my main criticism of Dallek's biography is his handling of JFK's murder. It is a given that readers will already know about November 22nd so it requires a special skill and insight to cover what is undoubtedly a very important and serious topic. Dallek unforunately rushes into it and asserts that the "official" account of the assassination (according to the Warren Commission) is the correct account. I am not a fan of conspiracies and would be more inclined to debunk them rather than consider their possiblities but JFK's murder almost certainly involved more than just Oswald (almost in that there is no hard proof to determine it as certain, just a plethora of circumstantial evidence). Whatever about the assassination itself, the handling of the autopsy and other events to "cover up" in the days following JFK's death is not touched on at all. This is probably because Dallek did not have enough confidence and/or interest in detailing it, if this is the case he may have done the right thing as it is bad ground for a writer to talk about something he/she does not want to. Dallek talks about the effect of JFK's death as a tragedy of losing the future, which is very apt and a necessary point to make but his account of the assassination does not do JFK justice. (Another point to make is that Dallek mentions and approves only Gerald Posner's 'Case Closed' as an authoritive understanding of the assassination, Posner's book is far from such and Dallek should not have mentioned the book at all if he was not going to counter it with equally if not more acceptable accounts of the topic.)

I have focused on criticisms for this review as it is important for any reader to know of these points before buying it. To add something positive I must say Dallek must be commended for a thoroughly researched (albeit on the aspects he concentrated on) and well delivered book. He successfully paints JFK as a very humane figure who had to fight many battles (health and political) but didn't give up. Kennedy ultimately is distinguished among other American Presidents, not only for his youthful allure, but for maintaining an intellectual understanding and foresight whilst not being stagnated by "academic" inaction

This book is an in-depth portrayal of John F Kennedy and I think you would be hard-pressed to find a more detailed account of his life.

The book explains JFK’s beginnings and leads us through his privileged childhood and early adult-hood before embarking on his political career. As a youth and into his early adulthood JFK was over-shadowed by his older brother who his father had decided was destined for politics from day 1. When his brother was killed in battle the shadow moved and JFK moved to the forefront.

I was aware of JFK’s back problems but I didn’t realize the extent of his ailments until I read this book. JFK’s determination to be the best propelled him to overcome the prejudices he faced as a Catholic Irish American and become the first Catholic President of the USA. The pain he suffered throughout his life is testament to his steel will.

While this book focuses on his political life there is little or no mention of his private life which disappointed me slightly. His relationship with Jackie is given a fleeting mention while his relationship with John Jr and Caroline is not mentioned at all. I found this lacking somewhat disappointing. But don’t let this steer you away from buying this book.

This is a fascinating read which shows JFK as a President who always felt that there was a way to talk problems through even when his closest advisors were trying to steer him into all out war. His determination at being his own man and making his own decisions is what took the USA away from the brink of war on so many occasions. A weaker leader would have succumbed to the pressures put on him and marched the country into a conventional or, God forbid, nuclear war.

This is a rather dry and academic account of JFK's life. There are a few passages and parts of chapters that are genuinely exciting and fascinating to read (the Cuban missile crisis being one of them) but generally this book goes into too great a depth of information about things that you don't want to know that much about. This is a good read to learn about JFK's politics, but useless to learn about the man. It barely mentions his children and his relationship with his wife is only written about in relation to his womanising (which again isn't explored too much) or her dislike of white house life. I felt like I came away knowing a great deal about his political life and policy decisions, but sadly lacking any real insight into his character. Although this aspect was mentioned at times and especially in the first part of the book, it wasn't to any degree that you feel you know what motivated him and it was written in a very dry way. Worth a read if part of an overall study of the man, but look elsewhere for a more rounded biography.

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