An Unfinished Life

John F. Kennedy 1917-1963

By: Robert Dallek

Narrated by: Richard McGonagle

Drawing on previously unavailable material and never-before-opened archives, An Unfinished Life is packed with revelations large and small -- about JFK's health, his love affairs, RFK's appointment as Attorney General, what Joseph Kennedy did to help his son win the White House, and the path JFK would have taken in the Vietnam entanglement had he survived.

Robert Dallek succeeds as no other biographer has done in striking a critical balance -- never shying away from JFK's weaknesses, brilliantly exploring his strengths -- as he offers up a vivid portrait of a bold, brave, complex, heroic, human Kennedy.©2003 Robert Dallek; (P)2003 Time Warner AudioBooks. A division of the AOL Time Warner Book Group.

Great listen

I’m a sucker for Kennedy info and this was a solid balance of facts and storytelling. A nice walk through a brief but obviously impactful life. I found myself wondering how my life (Born in’85) would be different if things went differently for this family in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.

Great starter to Kennedy for me

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

I would definitely recommend if you wish to gain an unbiased timeline on JFK

Have you listened to any of Richard McGonagle’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I enjoyed the reading

Just nthe facts

As some other reviewers said, this narrative is just the facts, the details of Kennedy's political carrier for the most part, with about half devoted to his presidential years. Good but not great. Narrator Richard McGonagle is very good in his narration and doing Kennedy's Boston accent without going over the top, He was better then the book was.

greatly enhanced my knowledge of his story!

greatly enhanced my all around knowledge of JFK, his upbringing, and his vision for America and why he might have been killed for standing FOR Americans, in the warpath to usurp our natural liberties.

boring

narrator excellent, story dragged. I did like some of the private items. kind of boring

good but not great book kinda like Kennedy himself

good book to listen to but the voice switching to emulate accents and the music between chapters was a little much

A mediocre telling

The narration was good, except for the between-chapter musical interludes, which seemed silly, considering the content. I was disappointed in a lack of more personal history leading up to the presidency. I just didn't learn much than I already knew, though the detail on his handling of the Cuban crises was interesting.

Good informative book

Overall I really enjoyed this book and felt as if I came away knowing more about the time in which Kennedy lived.

Remembering Kennedy

My 8 year old received an assignment to do a biography on a famous person. Of course looking to Mom for direction I search my memory for a name and a face of a person I would consider a hero...ah John Kennedy. I listened to the book and gave my daughter tibbits, and then at the end Robert Dallek answered a nagging question for me... Why would I choose Kennedy? (I barely knew him, and I was only three years old when he died.) I enjoyed this book...and my daughter talked about him like an uncle.

Outstanding Bio. A must for all Americans .

Goos for the best historians of this particular period. "So do not ask what your contry can do,but ask what you can do for your country" JFK.