John F. Kennedy, President [antikvár]

AUTHOR'S NOTE THIS BOOK was to have been the beginning of the story. Now, tragically, it covers, in time, the entire span of John F. Kennedy, President. What I wrote is an attempt to record honestly the major events of the New Frontier's three years as I witnessed and understood them. I was granted a rare privilege by President Kennedy. In times of calm and of crisis he often talked to me as a journalist, explaining his ideas and reflecting on the state of the nation and the world. I took detailed notes of these meetings, and when I got back to my typewriter, I recorded much of what he had said. He never established any formal rules about how I might use this material. I had covered this extraordinary man for more than six intense years—first as a senator, then as a candidate, and finally as president—and we had reached an understanding without ever having talked about it. If there was a question in my mind, I checked back with him. If I had no question, he accepted my judgment. And so it was when I came to write this book. We made but one agreement: I would check all direct quotes with him, and he would turn over to me no secret files. When the manuscript was finished, and he reviewed the direct quotes, he asked for only one change. In my last interview with him before that time, I had asked him if he intended to run for re-election in 1964. It was a rather unnecessary question, I admit, but nevertheless he had never answered it on the record. He looked at me with near annoyance, and said: "Of course I am." I quoted this sentence in my final chapter, and when he came to it, he looked up from his rocking chair and grinned, "Let's change that. I'd like to be the one who makes the announcement." He thought a moment, with his fist raised to his chin. "Let's make my answer, 'What do you think?' " he said. "Then go on with the rest of the sentence, 'Politically the country is closely divided, so it will be tough. But then everything is tough.' " This book is not intended as an analysis. It is rather a jour-