Icon, Libertine, Leader

Just when you think there are more than enough books on President John F. Kennedy along comes one which stops you in your tracks. Eye-opening and brutally frank we read a stylish account of how JFK got so far, so fast. Here is a highly readable account of sex-appeal, philandering, hard-ass politicking but combined with genuine character and powerful charisma - the making of a legend. He had a pivotal and lasting effect on generations across the world and Mark White shows us eloquently why that is. * Rt Hon Lord Robertson of Port Ellen KT GCMG, 10th Secretary General of NATO and former UK Secretary of State for Defence. *
Icon, Libertine, Leader is a very considerable achievement. Mark White demonstrates how JFK’s political wisdom increased, even as his presidential sexual self-control decreased. White’s candour in assessing JFK's serial risk- taking, in this regard, is quite stunning in the way he connects the role this played in the Kennedy presidency, national security, and JFK’s complex, multi-faceted yet beguiling character. The fullest, most thrilling, critical account of John F. Kennedy’s life and presidency, in my view, yet written. * Nigel Hamilton, author of JFK: Reckless Youth (1992) and Lincoln vs Davis: The War of the Presidents (2024) *
Mark White, one of the world's leading Kennedy scholars, has produced the best one-volume analytic assessment of the life and presidency of JFK to have appeared hitherto. This superbly researched and engagingly written book offers judicious insights into this complex man and leader and is very persuasive in its broadly positive assessment of his historical significance. * Professor Iwan Morgan, Emeritus Professor of US History at University College London *
Mark White is one of our foremost experts on the life and career of John F. Kennedy, and he shows it anew in this richly instructive and splendidly engaging book. A stellar work of interpretive biography. * Fredrik Logevall, Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs at Harvard University, author of JFK: Volume 1, 1917-1956 *
A timely reminder for today's readers of JFK's increasing reliance on statecraft, analysis and caution in handling international crises. * Sir Nigel Sheinwald, UK Ambassador to the United States, 2007-12 *
Mark White offers us a brilliantly original, perceptive and persuasive interpretation of Kennedy and his presidency. The book raises, and indeed answers, profound questions concerning the intersection of political leadership, image, reputation and legacy. * John Dumbrell, Emeritus Professor of Government at Durham University *
A persuasive portrait of a chief executive whose brief tenure shapes America still. * H.W. Brands, Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin *