Chris Wallace: Countdown 1960

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS AN OFFSITE EVENT AT STUDIO THEATRE!

One ticket includes admission to the event plus a single signed copy of the book. Additional copies of the book may be purchased at the event for $35 each. Doors open at 6pm. You may pick up your book at that time. The discussion will begin at 7pm.

Special guest moderator to be announced!

One of the most respected and revered journalists of our time, Chris Wallace has interviewed world leaders, moderated presidential debates, and received every major award in broadcast journalism, including three Emmys and a Peabody. Wallace has spent his storied career working across networks and is now a fixture at CNN, where he hosts Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? (on Max) and anchors The Chris Wallace Show (on CNN and CNN Max).

Suspenseful and revealing, COUNTDOWN 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America’s Politics Forever (Dutton, October 8, 2024) takes readers through the eleven months leading up to the consequential presidential election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, and marks the third installment of Wallace’s blockbuster, bestselling Countdown series—the first published by Dutton.

As Wallace demonstrates throughout the book, the election of 1960 holds stunning parallels to our current political climate. There were—potentially valid—claims of voter fraud and a stolen election. There was also a presidential candidate faced with the decision of whether to contest the result or honor the peaceful transfer of power.

People may think they know all that happened during the Kennedy/Nixon election, but in COUNTDOWN 1960, Wallace takes readers behind the curtain of history in a way only a journalist of his caliber can. A nonfiction political thriller filled with intrigue, cinematic action, and fresh reporting, Wallace unveils little-known events and details, all with gripping effect.

On January 2, 1960, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy declared his candidacy. From the challenge of primary battles in a nation that had never elected a Catholic president, to the intense machinations of the national conventions—where JFK chose Lyndon Johnson as his running mate over the impassioned objections of his brother Bobby—his road to the presidency was never a smooth one. Richard Nixon was the favorite to win, having served as Eisenhower’s vice president for two successful terms. Few would have guessed what was to come given Nixon’s mastery of foreign policy during the height of the Cold War and extensive experience at a time when global forces were changing—growing tensions with the Soviet Union, a nuclear arms race, and concerns over relations with Cuba.

Featuring some of history’s most remarkable characters, COUNTDOWN 1960 follows a group of extraordinary politicians, civil rights leaders, Hollywood stars, labor bosses, and mobsters during a pivotal year in American history. The election of 1960 ushered in the modern era of presidential politics, with televised debates, private planes, and slick advertising, all culminating in the night of the election, when the contest between Kennedy and Nixon was so close that Americans were glued to their televisions long after dawn to see who won.

In COUNTDOWN 1960, Wallace draws remarkable parallels, including:

• The election was plagued by accusations that the results had been rigged and many felt it should be contested—ultimately, Nixon had to decide which course to take. It was the first election in which national television networks used computers to tabulate votes and declare the winners in each state, and there were allegations of fraudulent votes all around the country.
• JFK’s father, Joseph Kennedy, had significant connections to mob bosses and used those connections to hand out millions in illegal campaign funds. The connections also went beyond politics; JFK shared a mistress with one of the top gangsters in America.
• 1960 was a time of technological change and introduced a new way for the public to consume news and information. It was the first election where both presidential candidates were born in the twentieth century, the first to feature debates between the two major party candidates, and the first to televise the presidential debates—70 million Americans tuned in to watch the first debate alone.
• 1960 marked a new era of campaigning and candidate funding. Kennedy’s election machine started campaigning earlier than ever before in the primaries and spent more money than ever in the process. The spending was shocking at the time, and it started a trend that continues to this day.
• There was a protracted battle over the candidates’ medical records—each of the candidates held information about the other’s health that may have had the power to sway public opionion. Nixon sought treatment for depression and Kennedy hid his Addison’s disease.
• 1960 was a time of social change and student protest. On February 1, 1960, in Greensboro, North Carolina, four Black students sat down at a segregated, whites-only diner counter and peacefully refused to leave. The day after there were 29 students, and five days later, there were 1,400. The protest grew and successfully drew the nation’s attention to the issue of segregation.
• 1960 marked a pivotal moment in the global arms race. On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Entering Soviet airspace was considered an act of war, thereby dashing all hopes of mutual goodwill between the nations. As Cuba aligned itself with the Soviet Union, the Soviets gained a beachhead a mere ninety miles from the U.S., leading to alarm over the threat of communism and nuclear weapons coming closer to shore, as well as who would lead the nation and control the nuclear codes.

Throughout COUNTDOWN 1960, Wallace makes clear the importance of understanding our past, so that we may look toward and choose the future of our nation. The year 1960 was a deeply contentious, perilous time for America, but, as Wallace shows, it was also a moment our nation survived due to courage, leadership, and patriotism.

Chris Wallace is anchor of CNN’s The Chris Wallace Show and host of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? on Max. Prior to CNN, Wallace was the anchor of Fox News Sunday for eighteen years, where he covered every major political event. Throughout his five decades in broadcasting, he has interviewed numerous U.S. and world leaders, including seven American presidents, and won every major broadcast news award for his reporting, including three Emmy Awards, the duPont-Columbia Silver Baton, and the Peabody Award. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World and Countdown bin Laden: The Untold Story of the 247-Day Hunt to Bring the Mastermind of 9/11 to Justice.

Mitch Weiss is a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter and New York Times bestselling author who’s part of the Associated Press global investigative team. He has launched projects exposing police misconduct, government corruption, war crimes, clerical abuse, and a politically connected cult with thousands of followers. He is the critically acclaimed author or co-author of ten books.

Photo by Sam Kittner

Event Venue

Studio Theatre, 1501 14th Street Northwest, Washington, United States