It’s abridged!!

Nobody wants to read an abridged version of this book - it’s completely takes the guts out of it and renders Dallek’s prose and research impotent. There is simply no character in this book, it is literally just a longer Wikipedia entry. It sucked. Get the full version

27 people found this helpful

It's abriged and doesn't say so

I feel tricked out of my credit. This book is abridged and not labeled that way. I'm buying the Kindle ebook and reading it instead. Don't make the same mistake I did.

9 people found this helpful

A Great Biography

Dallek was my professor at UCLA and I read the book before listening to the audo - a great book, readable and compelling. Dallek illuminates how JFK's illnesses were a significant force in shaping his character for the better and for the worse. He documents in great detail some of the most frightening moments in the cold war, political machinations and intrigue, the early days of the civil rights movements and how JFK and the political establishment reacted to this new reality. There is just so much here - there are passages that will have people hitting "rewind" to play again. A great book!

6 people found this helpful

A Great Biography - Neccessarily Disappointing

Any biography of JFK is bound to be unsatisfying for the reason that is the title of this great biography, <U>An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963</U>. The abrupt nature of JFK's assassination in 1963 makes the hope and promise of his administration so much more frustrating for its loss.

Dallek provides an exhaustive, if fleeting in the abridgement, review of Kennedy's life, from the family dynamics that preceded his birth to the day he died. He reaffirms all of Kennedy's failings and celebrates is triumphs.

Narration provided by Richard McGonagle is very good, who when speaking lines by Kennedy, does so with the distinctive Massachusetts accent. This was actually annoying to me at first but I must say, grew on me to where I came to expect it as the book went on.

I would very much like the opportunity to hear the unabridged version of this book but doubt if it would provide any more answers to the unanswered questions of why?

Dallek deliberately avoids, to his credit but to my disappointment, any speculation about conspiracy theories with regard to Kennedy's death.

Most amazing to me about this book were the revelations about Kennedy's unbelieveable medical problems and the lengths he and those around him went to conceal them and treat them.

I highly recommend this book. Kennedy, whether you believe he was a great president or not, was a peacemaker and filled the world with hope for better days.

33 people found this helpful

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.

6 people found this helpful

Timeline bio which is fine

This biography lacks the insights one expects in such an interesting charter as JFK. Compared to coverage of JFK and RFK by Robert Caro in his LBJ bio, the depth of topics is skimmed way too quickly. Obviously this is an abridged version but I wonder if by the structure I would have found the unabridged that much better. If you are checking a president off the bio list, this does it. But I now need to read an analysis of Kennedy in one of the challenging situations he found himself to really understand him.

2 people found this helpful

Dry as a bone

Dallek's overview of the Kennedy legacy is a political, not personal one. He stays away from pretty much everything that made Kennedy a compelling figure, focusing on a cut-and-dried political biography. One wishes he'd linger a bit on Kennedy's persona, charm and wit, but he instead plows full steam ahead with a "just the facts" account of JFK's brief White House tenure.

4 people found this helpful

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.

5 people found this helpful

In depth view of Kennedy but jumps around

There was a lot of great background information but it would jump around towards the end of the book.

Abridged?

In my opinion, this is a good biography of JFK, but not a great one. This is the first major biography of JFK in thirty years. Dallek had complete access to the Kennedy family documents. There is nothing new in the book, except information about an affair with a White House intern. The book is well written and researched. The book appears to be unbiased. Dallek does mention JFK’s “Womanizing”. But most of the book is on his political career. About half the book is about the presidency. Dallek provides information on his medical conditions. There is very little information about Jackie, the children or his siblings. The book makes a good review of JFK. I remember his presidency as if it was yesterday. My how time flies! The book is nine hours and fifteen minutes. Richard McGonagle does a good job narrating the book. McGonagle is an actor, voice actor and well-known audiobook narrator particularly of presidential biographies.