Conversations with Kennedy

New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1975. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Good. Cecil Stoughton (front of jacket photograph) and M. 251, [7] pages. Illustrations. Index. DJ has some wear and soiling and areas of discoloration. Inscribed by author on the fep to Arthur Ellis, longtime chief photographer at the Washington Post. The inscription reads For Arthur Ellis One hell of a photographer & my friend for a long, long time Ben Bradlee. Arthur Ellis was a Washington Post staff photographer for nearly a half-century. Mr. Ellis began his career at The Post in 1930. Over the years, he not only took many memorable pictures, but also served as photo editor of this paper in the early 1950s, and was the author of feature stories and book reviews. He had a 47-year career that was interrupted by service in the Army during World War II. At his retirement, he was The Post's chief photographer. Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (August 26, 1921 - October 21, 2014) was an American journalist who served as managing editor, then as executive editor of The Washington Post, from 1965 to 1991. He became a public figure when the Post joined The New York Times in publishing the Pentagon Papers and gave the go-ahead for the paper's extensive coverage of the Watergate scandal. After his retirement, Bradlee continued to be associated with the Post, holding the position of Vice President at-large until his death. In retirement, Bradlee was an advocate for education and the study of history, including his role as a trustee on the boards of several major educational, historical, and archaeological research institutions. Ben Bradlee first came to know John Kennedy well when they were Washington neighbors in 1958. They remained good friends and off-the-record confidants until President Kennedy's death. They also had a more professional relationship governed by Bradlee's job covering the capital for Newsweek. Bradlee and his wife Tony participated in the parties at the White House and in more private moments when the president and Jacqueline were relaxing with friends. With Kennedy's knowledge, Bradlee kept notes of their intimate conversations. These records are the basis for this behind-the-scenes record of the human side of the JFK presidency. For the first time, all the conflicting elements of Kennedy's personality are seen at the closest possible range. Here was a politician of the South Boston stripe who also was at home among the WASP intellectuals he brought into government, who loved the sick old tiger who was his father and yet would not be dominated by him, who understood his brothers' every quirk and strength, admired women, and had few illusions about human nature but nursed dreams all the same. From one of America's most distinguished journalists, the story of his time with Jack Kennedy as both reporter and friend. Conversations with Kennedy is legendary reporter and executive Benjamin C. Bradlee's account of his intimate dialogues with JFK - a man he counted as a confidante and friend. Beginning in 1958, when Kennedy was a US senator running for president, and continuing until 1963, the year that Kennedy died, Bradlee shared a close professional and personal relationship with the charismatic politician. Both men were war veterans, idealists, and up-and-coming American leaders, and they shared values that drove their friendship. Kennedy was a politician equally at home with the bruising intellects he appointed to government posts and his working-class constituents. He respected his complicated father, understood his brothers, admired women, and had few illusions about human nature. Bradlee's eye for detail reveals JFK's views on everything from Communism to conservatism to freedom of the press. From parties at the White House to weekends at Palm Beach to JFK's enduring influence on Bradlee's own life, this is an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the man behind a myth, written by a giant of American journalism.