The most famous inaugural speech that made history

books:

	• Ask Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America Thurston Clarke Henry Holt and Co., 2004 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Good But Biased Book

An enjoyable book on one of the most famous political speeches ever. It provides good insight into the development of "Ask Not," but there is an over-arching bias running through the book.

The reader gets the distinct impression that Clarke has decided that Kennedy is THE author of this famous speech and then crafts the evidence to support that theory. Given JFK's symbiotic relationship with special counselor Ted Sorensen, it is just not credible to believe that the tall man from Nebraska did not make the same type of contribution to this speech as he did to the rest of the Kennedy material.

Clarke has an annoying habit of assuming what people may have been thinking about some topic, e.g. Historian Michael Beschloss "presumably relied on Schlesinger" as a source for an anecdote or "White House aide Arthur Schlesinger may have been thinking of (James) Meridith when he concluded ... A Thousand Days, by saying that "the energies Kennedy released, the purpose he inspired, the goals he established would guide the land he loved for years to come." That, like much of his suppositions is quite a jump.

To be fair to Clarke, he does make an excellent effort to present the chronology of the speech development as he sees it. However, in presenting his thesis that Kennedy created the speech almost on his own, he suggests that people like Sorensen, private secretary Evelyn Lincoln and others misremember many of the relevant events. He gets totally hung up on "proving" that it was Kennedy who came up with the "Ask Not" phrase writing "We can assume ..... that Kennedy would have come across" similar historical references or "He must also have been familiar with" a similar exhortation from his prep school headmaster, a suggestion which Sorensen debunks in his 2008 book Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History

Give Clarke credit. A significant amount of research went into this book, but to this reviewer at least he fails to prove his key thesis. He also is not afraid to mention - shall we say, Kennedy's foibles and human weaknesses. I actually reference somewhat humorously (I hope) the brand image that JKF had back in my homeland Ireland when I was growing up in Why Ireland Never Invaded America At the end of the day, it hardly matters who contributed what. The thoughts and philosophy WERE Kennedy. It was a speech that lifted a nation that needed lifting and kudos to everyone involved in its development.

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A real belter!

This is a short, interesting, and satisfying read. It follows closely, and as factually as is possible, the development of this historic speech. I think it does a good job of finding and exploring the influences and authorship of the speech as well as the editing and construction of the speech - its amazing to see how much each word and phrase is considered, changed and laboured over.

Something which adds weight to the book, is the authors ability to depict the feeling and temper of the time. Kennedy obviously brought some new hope to America and was also just a very popular, charismatic figure. There are some good, revealing anecdotes which i have not come across in reading other kennedy books. The book goes into quite a bit of detail about a very short period of time which gives also a closer insight into their day to day lives and habits.

For mine, Kennedy comes across as an intelligent and sincere man. His ideals are admirable and i think he was the real author of this important speech. I'm not so interested in the complete and utter originality of Kennedy's ideas, what is more important is that he selected, developed and articulated them in a way that spoke directly to the world and will leave an indefinite mark.

Overall, a beaut little book, i really enjoyed it.

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The most famous inaugural speech that made history

This was one of the best books i have read about J.F.K. and was taken back in to the 60's and as if i was there.So uplifting.

Too small a book for what it wants to accomplish

If you are looking for a book which will use primary documents to discover if JFK did a large amount of the writing of his inauguration speech, then Clarke has written your wish. Well researched with excellent use of primary documents, Clarke asserts that JFK was indeed the author of his own speech.

However, Clarke's arguement is hurt on two fronts.

The first is that he is an obvious Kennedy worshiper. Though I agree that no historian is able to completely remove bias, Clarke's praise and defense of Kennedy in all aspects of life begin to wear thin on the reader. By the end of the book, one wonders if Clarke wrote the book not so much to discover who wrote the famous line "ask not." but rather to praise his role model.

The second is Clarke spends way too much time on other issues. From the writing of FDR's inauguration to JFK's relationship with Jackie, Clarke covers subjects that are not dealt with in depth due their importance or with any real link to the writing of ingaugural.

For those wanting to see excellent research on the speech, they do get a good book. However, they have to muddle through alot of unexplained Camalot praise.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

A close-up on one of American history's most magical events, JFK's inaugural week, and the creation of the speech that inspired a generation and brought hope to a nation

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." On the January morning when John F. Kennedy assumed the presidency and stood to speak those words, America was divided, its citizens torn by fears of war. Kennedy's speech-called the finest since Lincoln at Gettysburg and the most memorable of any twentieth-century American politician-did more than reassure: it changed lives, marking the start of a brief, optimistic era of struggle against "tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself."

Ask Not is a beautifully detailed account of the week leading up to the inaugural which stands as one of the most moving spectacles in the history of American politics. At the heart of the narrative is Kennedy's quest to create a speech that would distill American dreams and empower a new generation. Thurston Clarke's portrait of JFK during what intimates called his happiest days is balanced, revealing the President at his most dazzlingly charismatic-and cunningly pragmatic. As the snow covers Washington in a blanket of white, as statesmen and celebrities arrive for candlelit festivities, the perfectionist Kennedy pushes himself to the limit, to find the words that would capture what he most truly believed and which would far outlast his own life. For everyone who seeks to understand the fascination with all things Kennedy, the answer can be found in Ask Not.

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