Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero

By: Chris Matthews

Narrated by: Holter Graham

Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

“What was he like?”

Jack Kennedy said the reason people read biographies is to answer that basic question. With the verve of a novelist, Chris Matthews gives us just that. We see this most beloved president in the company of friends. We see and feel him close-up, having fun and giving off that restlessness of his. We watch him navigate his life from privileged, rebellious youth to gutsy American president. We witness his bravery in war and selfless rescue of his PT boat crew. We watch JFK as a young politician learning to play hardball and watch him grow into the leader who averts a nuclear war.

What was he like, this person whose own wife called him “that elusive, unforgettable man”? The Jack Kennedy you discover here wanted never to be alone, never to be bored. He loved courage, hated war, lived each day as if it were his last.

Chris Matthews’ extraordinary biography is based on personal interviews with those closest to JFK, oral histories by top political aide Kenneth O’Donnell and others, documents from his years as a student at Choate, and notes from Jacqueline Kennedy’s first interview after Dallas. You’ll learn the origins of his inaugural call to “Ask what you can do for your country.” You’ll discover his role in the genesis of the Peace Corps, his stand on civil rights, his push to put a man on the moon, his ban on nuclear-arms testing. You’ll get, more than ever before, to the root of the man, including the unsettling aspects of his personal life.

As Matthews writes, “I found a fighting prince never free of pain, never far from trouble, never accepting the world he found, never wanting to be his father’s son. He was a far greater hero than he ever wished us to know.”

©2011 Chris Matthews (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Extremely interesting

The 1960 presidential election was the first one I remember. This book is an excellent biography of John F. Kennedy -- full of information I did not know. For example, I had no idea how sickly he was as a child and how many times he almost died from illness. Wonderful poliltical analysis. His early friendhip with Richard Nixon was unexpected as well. I highly recommend this book -- very well done.

The Jack Kennedy few ever knew - until now

Where does Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Despite over a thousand attempts, Matthews brings back Jack Kennedy's short life in stunning detail and with overwhelming empathetic appeal.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I urge you to research Lem Billings - always there for Jack - the most mysterious man in Jack's past..

What about Holter Graham’s performance did you like?

Graham took on and succeeded in bringing to life countless figures in John Kennedy's life.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Most motivating was Kennedy's ability to mask tortuously crippling pain for the benefit of a far greater good.

Any additional comments?

Despite the ever present trauma of death befelt by Kennedys, the solace of healing humor was never far away.

Excellent Book

This is the third book I have listened to by Chris Matthews. The other two were Tip and the Gip and Bobby Kennedy. Chris is a great author who makes you feel as if you are a part of the situations that the book centers on. Anyone who loves history should listen to this book. It is a great companion to Bobby Kennedy.

Good job Chris!

Skirts the edges of what people REALLY wanted

Jack was such a powerful man with MANY secrets. This book skims the surface of SOME of those secrets, but doesn't go into any great detail. I'm not even a Jack historian, and I knew 80% of what was in here. However, the book DID shed light on just how sick and (practically) paralyzed Jack was, for most of his life. That was somewhat interesting, but certainly not worth buying the book for. In fact, a more accurate title for this book would be: "Jack Kennedy had a terrible back since childhood, and crazy colored skin". If you feel like reading a book with THAT title, then buy this book.

Loved it.

While I thought everything that could be written about JFK was already in the library, I was really pleased by this book. I saw JFK when I was an 8th grader in Lancaster, Pa. during his tour of the state during the campaign and I have been his fan ever since.

The honesty of this book was remarkable and it held my attention throughout. The narration was excellent. And I particularly enjoyed Matthew's narration of the prologue.

I recommend this book with hesitation.

Superb Research & Writing / Mediocre Narration

Chris Matthews creates an excellent portrait of JFK with great nuggets of independent research. Well written, the book provides a superb view of a man and his time. Timeless political lessons are presented which have relevance in today’s “flat,” Internet fueled world. The blend of historical fact and appropriate interpretation makes for a story that can’t be put down. It is clear that the author knows his stuff . . . and how to tell a story. GREAT book.

Unfortunately the narration contains several “ouch” moments. It seems that nobody took the time to “proof” the final product. Butchering names such as Harold Stassen, Averell Harriman, and Bernard Baruch show that the narrator and production supervisor weren’t alive when these were household words. IMHO Chris Matthews would have been much better off reading the entire book himself. He did an excellent job narrating the introduction and should have finished the job. Certainly he’d have known how to pronounce the names properly.

Death

Wish they had discussed the death of the president and aftermath of his death more. It seemed they rushed at the end.

Elusive Hero

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both.

Any additional comments?

The author makes no bones about being a JFK fan and does a fine job explaining why.

General Portrait of JFK

Chris Matthews has produced in Jack Kennedy a general overview of the President’s life, a broad stroke portrait of the man. The book is okay for what it is. Young people, for example, who did not live through Camelot may be superficially informed. Those looking for a true biography will be disappointed. Matthews is not the historian that – say - Robert Caro is (who is a well known and recognized Presidential biographer). The biographical detail needed is not present and the necessary, in depth, historical research is not evident. For me, the book reads as though Matthews is an admirer of JFK and wrote a short book to please the family and other admirers. He has a nice little book, but has not done JFK justice. The reading of Holter Graham is good.

Learned something about JFK

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend the book, it took a different view on history. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Chris Matthews perspective.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

More than just hype

Any additional comments?

I heard a different side of JFK, the book was well done and an easy listen for the car.