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The surprising story of how John F. Kennedy’s obsession with Winston Churchill defined his life, transformed his politics, and helped elevate him to the nation’s highest office.A Cappella Books and Georgia Center for the Book welcome author and Foreign Affairs assistant editor Joel Nelson in honor of his new book, “Kennedy’s Only Hero: How JFK’s Obsession with Winston Churchill Defined His Presidency.” He will appear in conversation with Joe Crespino, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty, Divisional Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Jimmy Carter Professor of History at Emory University.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the venue.
This event is free and open to the public. It will be in the Auditorium of Decatur Library, on the Ground Floor. Due to new security protocols, guests must enter the building through the upper level, rear doors, and then take the elevator to "G." Elevators open at 6:30. Please arrive early to ensure extra time for security.
About the Book�
“A fascinating and discerning exploration of how one iconic twentieth-century leader helped shape the rhetoric and political persona of another.” —Fredrik Logevall, author of JFK
Winston Churchill remains one of the modern age’s most revered leaders. His life has been the subject of decades of mythmaking and scrutiny, and yet few know the powerful sway he had over another twentieth-century political icon—John F. Kennedy. Drawing on deep wells of unpublished archival material, Kennedy’s Only Hero uncovers Kennedy’s obsession with Churchill, whose career, policies, writings, and even daily habits profoundly shaped the future president.��Kennedy discovered Churchill’s books as a teenager and by his early twenties had become an unswerving believer in his brilliance. Under Churchill’s influence, Kennedy rejected his own youthful isolationism and adopted the approach to national and international politics that propelled him to the presidency. Although they would not meet until late in their lives, Churchill’s influence on Kennedy’s campaign tactics, speeches, and worldview was overwhelming. Kennedy’s conviction in the power of peace through strength, his faith in summits, his understanding of the importance of rhetoric, and his deep commitment to service and global engagement—all came from Churchill.��“Kennedy’s Only Hero” is an enlightening and deeply human story of an admiration and aspiration that changed the course of history.
About the Author
Joel Nelson is a British writer and historian. A former Kennedy Scholar and assistant editor at Foreign Affairs, he lives in London.
About the Conversation Partner
Joseph Crespino is the Senior Associate Dean of Faculty, Divisional Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, & Jimmy Carter Professor of History at Emory University. He is an expert in the political and cultural history of the twentieth century United States, and of the history of the American South since Reconstruction.
His research has been supported by fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Academy of Education.
In 2014, he served as the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in American Studies at the University of Tubingen, and he has been named a Distinguished Lecturer by the Organization of American Historians.
Crespino has published three books, has co-edited a collection of essays, and has written for academic journals as well as for popular forums such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, Politico, and the Wall Street Journal. His most recent book; “Atticus Finch: The Biography—Harper Lee, Her Father, and the Making of an American Icon;” was published in 2018 by Basic Books. Among his current book projects, Crespino is writing the chapters covering United States history in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries for the textbook “America: A Narrative History,” co-written with David Emory Shi, Daina Ramey Berry, and Amy Murrell Taylor, published by W.W. Norton.
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Event venue
Georgia Center for the Book at DCPL, 215 Sycamore St,Decatur,GA,United States
Tickets
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