Imagined by one of the world's foremost JFK scholars, this fictionalised conversation presents the essential biography of America's most glamorous and mythologised president.

For many, the presidency of John F. Kennedy was a magic interlude in American history. His admirers saw him as a leader of intelligence and imagination, who wielded power with grace, courage and verve - although detractors have questioned the depth of his convictions and drawn attention to his serial philandering.

Kennedy's rise also marked the beginning of modern celebrity politics - a politician with film star charisma who proved ideally suited to the new age of television. Meet the man himself and he'll tell you how it felt to have his finger on the red button when the world teetered on the brink of nuclear war.

The book is divided into two parts: a biographical essay that provides a concise overview of JFK's life, achievements, scandals and controversies; and a Q&A dialogue based on rigorous research and incorporating JFK's actual spoken or written words whenever possible, along with rigorously researched biographical interpretations of his various views and positions.

Here you will find all the key moments in JFK's life and career: his early days at Harvard and the US Navy; his family background and the importance of his Catholic faith; running for office against Richard Nixon; his clashes with communist power in Berlin and Cuba; the Civil Rights movement; Vietnam; and the president's often scandalous personal life that was carefully concealed from an adoring public. Kennedy's assassination on 22 November 1963 marked the beginning of a tumultuous and bitterly divided decade, and birthed countless conspiracy theories that thrive to this day. These legacies of polarisation and suspicion of established authority have assumed particular salience in the 21st century.
About the Author: Michael O'Brien was Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley until his retirement. He has written numerous books on 20th-century political history, including McCarthy and McCarthyism in Wisconsin (1981) and John F. Kennedy: A Biography (2005). Gore Vidal was the author of 25 novels, six plays, many screen-plays, more than 200 essays, and the critically lauded memoir Palimpsest. Vidal's United States: Essays 1952-1992 won the 1993 National Book Award. Upon his death in 2012 he was described by the LA Times as among the most elegant [writers] in the English language.