American History Book Club

Part 2

An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 is a 2003 biography of the 35th president of the United States, John F, Kennedy (JFK), who was assassinated in 1963. It was written by Bancroft Prize-winning historian Robert Dallek, a prominent History professor at Boston University. The author is a presidential historian who taught at Columbia University and UCLA prior to accepting his professorial role in Boston, and was the author of nearly two-dozen books. Dallek researched JFK for five years, using National Security Srchives, oral histories, White House tapes, and medical records in his preparations. Dallek contends that historians have underestimated JFK’s achievements, especially in regards to his impressive accomplishments in foreign policy, including his averting nuclear war during the Cuban Missle Crisis and his early steps towards detente with the Soviet Union, which began with his Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of August 5, 1963