海角大神

John F. Kennedy books are at flood tide this year, the 50th聽anniversary of his assassination in Dallas.

To name a few, there are good new volumes about his years in Congress (鈥淛FK in the Senate,鈥� by John T. Shaw), about the final months of his presidency (鈥淛FK鈥檚 Last Hundred Days,鈥� by Thurston Clarke), and even his general White House glamour (鈥淐amelot鈥檚 Court," by Robert Dallek). There are books about JFK and Jackie, and JFK and Reagan, and JFK and the possible impact of his stillborn son. There鈥檚 a great book about Kennedy鈥檚 overall impact: 鈥淭he Kennedy Half Century,鈥� by Larry J. Sabato.

There鈥檚 even a book by former pro-wrestler and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura titled, 鈥淭hey Killed Our President: 63 Reasons to Believe There Was a Conspiracy to Assassinate JFK.鈥澛�

Count us among the unconvinced. By Mr. Ventura, anyway.

That said, Decoder still believes in the Kennedy classics. We鈥檝e had to touch on the Kennedy era numerous times in our career, and there are three JFK books on our shelf we could not do without.

鈥淛FK Reckless Youth,鈥� by British journalist Nigel Hamilton. Yes, it鈥檚 kind of a salacious title, and it delves much into the young Kennedy鈥檚 romances 鈥� such as his affair with Inga Arvad, a Danish journalist whom the FBI suspected was a German spy.

But this 1992 classic is great on JFK鈥檚 troubled prep school years, the difficulties of his relationships with father, Joe, and older brother Joe Jr., and the general angst of his teen and early adult life. This puts the cool, unruffled fa莽ade of his political years in a whole different context. And where else will you read that he and a pal got in so much trouble at Choate that they sent a letter to the French Foreign Legion, asking to join?

鈥淎n Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy 1917-1963,鈥� by now-retired Boston University historian Robert Dallek. This is the definitive one-volume biography so far. It鈥檚 where we go to find pithy, accurate summaries of all JFK鈥檚 adult highlights, from his 1946 congressional race, to the 1960 presidential campaign, to the Cuban Missile Crisis, to his final 100 days.

This was the 2003 book that brought the full extent of JFK鈥檚 health problems to public view. Again, it sheds a different light on the calm, cool JFK demeanor, showing it often hid physical pain and frustration.

鈥淭he Death of a President, November 1963,鈥� by William Manchester. This is a famous book that in our view is not famous enough. It is an extraordinary accounting of the basic facts of the trip to Dallas, the assassination, and the aftermath, as known in the mid-鈥�60s. To read it is to see where so many of the authors of today get their basic framework for the same material.

And it is gripping. Consider this, Manchester鈥檚 description of the post-assassination instant:

鈥淟ee Oswald, watched by the stupefied [street-level witness Howard] Brennan, steps back into the shadows in the deliberate lock step of a Marine marksman retiring from the range. Below him he leaves madness. The plaza resembles nothing so much as a field which has just been swept by a mighty wind.鈥�

Manchester鈥檚 book was initially authorized by the Kennedy family, and he had access to Jackie Kennedy and other key witnesses. They later deemed it unseemly and wrestled with the author over its publication. Though hard to find for many years (our copy came from a used book sale), it鈥檚 now available again in a 50th聽anniversary edition.