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An Unfinished Love Story  By  cover art

An Unfinished Love Story

By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Narrated by: Doris Kearns Goodwin, Bryan Cranston
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Publisher's summary

Narrated by Doris Kearns Goodwin with the star of Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston! The audio edition also includes archival recordings of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Robert F. Kennedy.

An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin, one of America’s most beloved historians, artfully weaves together biography, memoir, and history. She takes you along on the emotional journey she and her husband, Richard (Dick) Goodwin embarked upon in the last years of his life.

Dick and Doris Goodwin were married for forty-two years and married to American history even longer. In his twenties, Dick was one of the brilliant young men of John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier. In his thirties he both named and helped design Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society and was a speechwriter and close advisor to Robert Kennedy. Doris Kearns was a twenty-four-year-old graduate student when selected as a White House Fellow. She worked directly for Lyndon Johnson and later assisted on his memoir.

Over the years, with humor, anger, frustration, and in the end, a growing understanding, Dick and Doris had argued over the achievements and failings of the leaders they served and observed, debating the progress and unfinished promises of the country they both loved.

The Goodwins’ last great adventure involved finally opening the more than three hundred boxes of letters, diaries, documents, and memorabilia that Dick had saved for more than fifty years. They soon realized they had before them an unparalleled personal time capsule of the 1960s, illuminating public and private moments of a decade when individuals were powered by the conviction they could make a difference; a time, like today, marked by struggles for racial and economic justice, a time when lines were drawn and loyalties tested.

Their expedition gave Dick’s last years renewed purpose and determination. It gave Doris the opportunity to connect and reconnect with participants and witnesses of pivotal moments of the 1960s. And it gave them both an opportunity to make fresh assessments of the central figures of the time—John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, and especially Lyndon Johnson, who greatly impacted both their lives. The voyage of remembrance brought unexpected discoveries, forgiveness, and the renewal of old dreams, reviving the hope that the youth of today will carry forward this unfinished love story with America.
©2024 Doris Kearns Goodwin (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Interview: "An Unfinished Love Story" is Doris Kearns Goodwin’s most personal history yet

'But more importantly, I really began to realize that all my life as an historian, it's to keep people alive...'
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  • An Unfinished Love Story
  • 'But more importantly, I really began to realize that all my life as an historian, it's to keep people alive...'

Editorial Review

Doris Kearns Goodwin like we’ve never seen before
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is always an immediate add-to-Library, and An Unfinished Love Story is by far her most personal work to date. Simultaneously a reflection of the final years spent with her late husband, Richard, and a look back at the history of the 1960s, Goodwin’s latest offers an intimate take on the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Based on more than 300 boxes of personal documents and memorabilia, it’s also incredible in audio—with a performance led by Goodwin herself, intertwined with passages from actor Bryan Cranston and archival audio excerpts. It’s the perfect blend of history, biography, and memoir, and offers a totally new side to Goodwin that I am so grateful she’s chosen to share with her listeners. —Michael C., Audible Editor

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What listeners say about An Unfinished Love Story

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All the detail we never knew

I liked all the information and feelings exhibited. I did get confused at times with the going back and forth in time periods.

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Great story id the ‘60’s & true love

Great story! Well read. Good perspective on history. Gives me hope for the future. Phew!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Respect and love for their country and each other.

Beautifully written about their lives together personally and professionally during the time of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
A history lesson for ALL.

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An additional view of history

I am usually afraid of authors reading their own works, but DKG warm and familiar voice alleviates that concern. Another hit for DKG

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Touching review of the 1960s

Brought the 1960’s alive through the eyes of the Goodwins. Doris Kerns Goodwin’s narration was perfect.

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Love shows through

The story rekindled much of my youth from the 60s as well as refreshing my memory of the things I had forgotten. Beautifully done by DKG.

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A Great Listen

One of the best I’ve ever listened to, full of history and an endearing love story.

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6 people found this helpful

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Audio Better than Print

The audio of JFK , LBJ, and RFK enhance the audio over the print edition. Highly recommended!

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I love first person history

I saw the author on a talk show. I loved the entire story. The how & why. & the first person accounts of some of the most historical moments of the 1960’s

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It has it all

This has got to be one of my favorite reads. Doris, I can call her that since we’ve become so close through the book, tells an amazing story. The story of her & Dick’s love. Their work together & apart. What an amazing life they led & she is continuing to lead.
Thank you, Doris, for sharing your life & love with us.

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