Ex Libris: John F. Kennedy

In this latest installment of our ‘Ex Libris’ series, we look at the books that shaped and influenced a leader of the free world at the height of the Cold War.
Ex Libris: John F. Kennedy
President John F. Kennedy reading during his downtime. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Jeff Minick
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Before his assassination and afterwards, John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) was lauded by his admirers for reasons running from his policies as president to his charm and good looks. Some even associated his administration with a popular musical of the time, “Camelot,” with that play’s glamour and idealism transported from Broadway to the White House.

Over the last 50 years, other biographers and historians have taken the shine off this romance, exposing Kennedy’s personal flaws and hashing out the mistakes made by his administration. Today, he is probably better remembered, especially among the Gen Z crew, more for his assassination than for events like the Cuban Missile Crisis or American achievements in space.

Jeff Minick
Jeff Minick
Author
Jeff Minick has four children and a growing platoon of grandchildren. For 20 years, he taught history, literature, and Latin to seminars of homeschooling students in Asheville, N.C. He is the author of two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust on Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning as I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.” Today, he lives and writes in Front Royal, Va.