Presidential Chronicles

John Kennedy #13: The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962); Begins with the lead-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis and then a day-by-day account of the crisis. Key people include: Nikita Khrushchev, John McCone, McGeorge Bundy, Dean Rusk, Robert McNamara, Bobby Kennedy, Andrei Gromyko, Curtis LeMay, Ted Sorensen, Anatoly Dobrynin, Adlai Stevenson, Valerian Zorin, and Harold Macmillan For more information on t...

John Kennedy #12: Life in the White House and Second Year Begins (1961-1962); Topics covered include: Joe Kennedy's strike, medical treatment for Kennedy as President, Kennedy's ongoing womanizing as President, the role of Jacqueline Kennedy as First Lady, second State of the Union Address, showdown over prices with the steel industry, Kennedy's cautious approach on civil rights, and h...

John Kennedy #11: Learning on the Job Part II: Khrushchev and the Berlin Wall (1961); Space Race and the pledge to land an American on the moon before the end of the decade, trip to Paris on the way to Vienna, two-meeting meeting with Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna, Kennedy's strong stand re: the future of Berlin, the Soviets construct the Berlin Wall, and a difficult end to a difficult first yea...

John Kennedy #10: Learning on the Job Part I: Laos and the Bay of Pigs (1961); Topics covered include: First State of the Union Address, domestic agenda (and difficulties with Congress), Civil Rights and the Freedom Riders, crisis in Laos along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the Alliance for Progress with Latin America, the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba and the aftermath of the failure of the mission Key p...

John Kennedy #9: Inaugurating a New Generation of Leadership (1960-1961); Topics covered include: President-elect, transition meetings with President Eisenhower at the White House, Cabinet selections, Inaugural Address, and assignments for personal staff and friends Key people include: Dwight Eisenhower, Robert McNamara, Dean Rusk, Allen Dulles, J. Edgar Hoover, McGeorge Bundy, Douglas Dillon, Wal...

John Kennedy #8: 1960 Campaign: Convention and the Race Against Nixon (1960); Topics covered include: 1960 Democratic Convention, Kennedy wins the nomination on the first ballot, Lyndon Johnson selected as VP nominee, addresses the Greater Houston Ministerial Association on the religion issue, televised debates against Richard Nixon, introduces the Peace Corps, provides aid to Martin Luther King,...

John Kennedy #7: 1960 Campaign: Seeking the Democratic Nomination (1956-1960); Topics covered include: Pre-election campaigning, birth of Caroline Kennedy, becomes a political celebrity, speaks out for Algerian independence, serves on the Senate Rackets Committee, campaign strategy: focus on the primaries, formally announced candidacy, the contested primaries in Wisconsin and West Virginia (includ...

John Kennedy #6: Searching for Courage (1953-1956); Topics covered include: U.S. Senator, St. Lawrence Seaway, Joe McCarthy and McCarthyism, back surgery and painful recovery, researches and writes "Profiles in Courage," wins the Pulitzer Prize, controversy over authorship and the Pulitzer, controversy over the censure vote on Joe McCarthy, 1956 presidential election, JFK seeks Democrati...

John Kennedy #5: Moving on Up, Politically and Personally (1952-1953); Topics covered include: Campaign for U.S. Senate against Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., victory, picking his Senate staff, dating Jacqueline Bouvier + engagement, wedding, and honeymoon Key people include: Paul Dever, Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr., Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., Dwight Eisenhower, Joe Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Ken O'Donnell, Larr...

John Kennedy #4: Taking Joe's Place (1945-1952); Topics covered include: End of World War II, JFK as a journalist, decision to enter politics, runs for Congress (and wins), role in the House (extremely limited), social life in the House, extensive travels, and relationship with brother Bobby Key people include: Joe Kennedy, Sr., Joe Kennedy, Jr., Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, Harry Truman...

John Kennedy #3: The Skipper of PT-109 (1940-1945); Topics covered include: World War II, peacetime draft, more physical ailments, enlists in the Navy, trained to be a PT boat skipper, deployed to the Solomon Islands, assigned the PT-109, the fateful mission of PT-109 and Kennedy's heroics in saving most of his men, his reaction to the incident, physically unfit for duty, rotated back to the S...

John Kennedy #2: Harvard (and the World) (1936-1940); Topics covered include: Attends Harvard, JFK's social life, trips to Europe during college, JFK's health, father's government jobs including Ambassador to the UK, rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany, tensions in Europe, Munich Agreement, appeasement, JFK's senior thesis which he turns into a book ("Why England Slept"), and...

John Kennedy #1: Privileged Youth (1917-1936); Topics covered include: Ireland's Potato Famine, Kennedy's family's transition from Ireland to Boston, Marriage of Joseph Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald and the start of their family, sibling rivalry between John (Jack) Kennedy and older brother Joe, Joseph Kennedy's business success and womanizing, JFK's education, JFK's friends,...

Dwight Eisenhower #16: Public Servant No More (1960-1969); Topics covered include: Election of 1960, end of Eisenhower's presidency including his farewell address, retirement to Gettysburg (PA), writes presidential memoirs, Bay of Pigs, assassination of John Kennedy, 20th anniversary of D-Day, 50th class reunion (West Point), 1964 election, 1968 election, marriage of grandson David to Nixon&#3...

Dwight Eisenhower #15: Final Face-off with Khrushchev (1957-1960); Topics covered include: Arms races, Soviets launch Sputnik satellite, U-2 spy planes, creation of NASA, suffers a stroke, NATO Summit in Paris, Eisenhower Doctrine, intervention in Lebanon, Nikita Khrushchev's ultimatum over Berlin, Khrushchev's visit to the United States, U-2 plane shot down over Soviet Union, and the fail...

Dwight Eisenhower #14: Ike and Civil Rights (1953-1960); Topics covered include: Eisenhower's approach to civil rights, Earl Warren succeeds Fred Vinson as Chief Justice, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Plessy v. Ferguson, "separate but equal," bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, lunching of Emmett Till, efforts to admit the "Little Rock Nine" to Central High School,...

Dwight Eisenhower #13: International Crises, Health Scares, and Re-election (1954-1956); Topics covered include: Conflict between Formosa (Chinese Nationalists) and Mainland China (Chinese Communists), Formosa Resolution, Geneva Summit, Ike's Open Skies proposal, suffers heart attack, agrees to run for re-election, agreed to retain Richard Nixon on the ticket, Suez Canal Crisis, and the result...

Dwight Eisenhower #12: Covert Action and Domestic Successes (1953-1956); Topics covered include: U.S. sponsored coup in Iran, U.S. sponsored coup in Guatemala, French battles in Vietnam/Indochina, difficulties of the presidency, Ike as a golfer (including criticism of), 1954 midterm elections, and civil works projects: St. Lawrence Seaway and the National Interstate Highway System Key people inclu...

Dwight Eisenhower #11: Beginning to Govern: The 'Middle Way' President (1952-1954); Topics covered include: Cabinet selections, fact finding trip to Korea, inauguration as President, death of Joseph Stalin, "Chance for Peace" speech, end of the Korean War, dealings with Congress including conflicts with Republicans, his "Middle Way" as President, McCarthyism (and Ike&#3...

Dwight Eisenhower #10: The General Agrees to Run (1951-1952); Topics covered include: Election of 1952, efforts to convince Eisenhower to run, agrees to run, wins the Republican nomination, general election campaign, scandal of VP candidate Richard Nixon's so-called "slush fund," conflict with Senator Joe McCarthy regarding George Marshall, makes commitment to got to Korea if he wins...

Dwight Eisenhower #9: Interim Postings (1945-1951); Topics covered include: Named Army Chief of Staff, end of relationship with Kay Summersby, death of mother, marriage of son, denies interest in politics (1948), becomes President of Columbia University, serves as Acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, begins to paint, Korean War, and becomes Supreme Commander of NATO Key people include: Ma...

Dwight Eisenhower #8: Victory in Europe (1944-1945); Topics covered include: Liberation of Paris, Strategy to end the war, liberation of Paris, promoted to General of the Army (5 stars), Battle of the Bulge, Franklin Roosevelt's fourth inauguration, Yalta Conference, capture of the Ruhr, death of Franklin Roosevelt, Ike visits a Concentration Camp, Germany surrenders, speech at Guildhall, and...

Dwight Eisenhower #7: Supreme Allied Commander - OVERLORD (1943-1944); Topics covered include: Named Supreme Allied Commander, trip to the States, planning Operation OVERLORD, weather issues and go/no-go decision, visiting soldiers before D-Day, D-Day landings, and battles in the immediate aftermath of D-Day Key people include: Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, George Marshall,...

Dwight Eisenhower #6: Supreme Commander - Sicily, Italy … and Kay (1943-1944); Topics covered include: Wartime relationship with Kay Summersby, Campaigns in Sicily and Italy, slapping incident with George Patton, and look ahead to Operation OVERLORD Key people include: Kay Summersby, Mamie Eisenhower, Richard Arnold, Omar Bradley, Benito Mussolini, Bernard Montgomery, George Patton, Charles Kuhl,...

Dwight Eisenhower #5: Supreme Commander - North Africa (1942-1943); Topics covered include: Establishes himself as Commander of U.S. forces in Europe, North Africa Campaign (Operation TORCH) (including planning and execution), time at Telegraph Cottage with personal staff, gets a dog (Telek), relationship with French re: North Africa, battle for and victory in Tunisia, and victory parade Key peopl...