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The Kennedy Half Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy

by Larry J. Sabato

Unless you have been living in a cave or missed the surfeit of books that were published, you know that last November 22 was the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Even the most diehard Kennedy acolyte must wonder if there is anything new left to say about the president or his family; at least two generations of Americans have no living memory of him or his short administration. Yet fifty years later JFK still has a tremendous hold on the American psyche, and each anniversary of his murder finds scholars and pundits puzzling over how and why this president, who only served for one thousand days, still captures our imaginations so.

If war were inevitable, there would be little point in trying to end it. If war were inevitable, a moral case might be made for trying to lessen its damage while it continued. And numerous parochial cases could be made for being prepared to win inevitable wars for this side or that side.