A Thousand Days

John F. Kennedy in the White House

By: Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

Narrated by: Adam Verner

Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner: "Of all the Kennedy books . . . this is the best."—Time

Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. served as special assistant to President John F. Kennedy throughout his presidency—from the long and grueling campaign to Kennedy's tragic and unexpected assassination by Lee Harvey Oswald. In A Thousand Days, Schlesinger combines intimate knowledge as one of President Kennedy's inner circle with sweeping research and historic context to provide a look at one of the most legendary presidential administrations in American history.

From JFK's battle with Nixon during the 1960 election, to the seemingly charmed inaugural days, to international conflict and domestic unrest, Schlesinger takes a close and fond, but unsparing, look at Kennedy's tenure in the White House, covering well-known successes, like his involvement in the Civil Rights movement; infamous humiliations, like the Bay of Pigs; and often overlooked struggles, like the Skybolt missile mix-up, alike.

Praised by the New York Times as "at once a masterly literary achievement and a work of major historical significance," A Thousand Days is not only a fascinating look at an American president, but a towering achievement in historical documentation.

(P)2024 Tantor

One Thousand Days; Millions of Details

I loved JFK and all he represented: legislation passed to raise up the people most in need as well as all other Americans, and hope given to the hopeless as well as to those doing all right. In this book, in every chapter, I became bogged down by the details and began to lose hope of getting through. I set my audio timer to fewer and fewer amounts of time per listen. I skipped a few ‘pages’ here and there. At times the narrator seemed to become maudlin or perhaps It was the author. But all as redeemed with the magnificent final chapter!

the inside struggles of leadership

the narrative is excellent in it's details but the story as a whole is way too long for me!

First hand account of history

Behind the scenes information was great. It’s a long book but the reader will learn details that other wise get left out of textbooks.