Book – The Kennedy Imprisonment

The Kennedy Imprisonment – A Meditation on Power by Garry Wills (1982) – Re-issued with a new preface, the book looks at the effect of the “Kennedy Mystique” on the President, his brothers and the Presidency itself.  The Pulitzer Prize winning author rolls back the mythology and takes a clear, unflinching look at the realities of the premiere political family of the second half of the 20th Century.

Originally published in the aftermath of Edward Kennedy’s lackluster run for the Democratic nomination in 1980, Wills carefully disassembles the myth of the American Camelot.  While few, if any, of the facts presented here, will come as a surprise, the author weaves them together in a way that shows a side of the late President and those who surrounded him that we rarely if ever see.  Working the story from the Kennedy patriarch, Joseph, Sr., through the thousand-day presidency of John, followed by the Presidential aspirations of Robert, and the burden of expectations on the youngest brother, Edward, Wills charts a fascinating tale.  But it is not only the Kennedy’s and their followers who are imprisoned by the mystique.  Johnson would be imprisoned just as much as he attempted to lead the nation in the aftermath of the assassination.  Surrounded by Kennedy appointees who had little respect for him, his presidency was hamstrung from the beginning.  Nixon was imprisoned as well because of the history between the two Presidents.  In fact, Wills implies that the Kennedy imprisonment wouldn’t be broke at the Oval Office level until Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980.

Wills has written extensively on American History, with a regular turn at examinations of the Presidents, including Lincoln, Nixon, and Reagan.  He has also written regularly on matters of faith, especially in respect to his own denomination, the Roman Catholic church.  What you can expect from him is excellent writing and a certain “outlaw” approach to mainstream topics.

Why re-issue this book now?  In “The Kennedy Imprisonment” Wills portrays JFK as a solitary, charismatic leader.  One who relied more on personal loyalty than deeply held policy.  As I continued to read the book a variety of similarities between the martyred President and the man currently holding that office.

Both were generally indifferent students at university, both had demanding fathers with somewhat checkered backgrounds, both lost older brothers, both have reputations for a cavalier treatment of women, both arrived in the nation’s capital with intense mistrust for government in general, and of the media in general.  Both surrounded themselves with people who are longer on loyalty (including family members) than on governmental experience.  Both center their power on a personal charisma rather than overwhelming competence.  The first inclination would be to say that JFK and Trump are mirror images of one another, meaning that they are exactly opposite.  In fact, the mirror image is exactly correct.  They are the same, merely reversed left for right.  Obviously, it is simple to carry that too far, but there is a frightening similarity in the image presented by Wills.

Kennedy fans will hate this book.  Kennedy critics will love it.  For the rest of us, it is a compelling look at a Presidency too often lost in the folds of mythology.  And it presents a fascinating comparison to the politics of today.

Why You Will Like It – A more starkly lit view of the Kennedys presented in a very readable fashion.  For those, like me, who grew up immersed in the mythology, the book is both challenging and disturbing.  For those who came later, it offers a deeper look at a pivotal moment in American history.

Rating – **** Recommended