![]() My mother, too, was Irish-Catholic and venerated JFK. Our experiences weren’t that much different. I should add that my late mother got tired of me writing about conservative presidents, and would always ask me, “When are you going to write a book about a good president, like John F. When I landed an early job training tour guides at the JFK Library in Boston, my mother was ecstatic, and when I was introduced to Jackie Kennedy, I immediately became her favorite son. My mother was Irish-Catholic, and when JFK broke the glass ceiling that kept Catholics out of the White House, he became a candidate for sainthood in my mother’s eyes. ![]() That myth animated so many aspects of my early life: JFK is the first president I remember my first memory is of the Cuban missile crisis the first time I saw my mother cry was when JFK was assassinated my first job out of college was at the John F. Steve Knott: My experience was somewhat different from yours in that I grew up in a Kennedy-worshipping household in Massachusetts, and as a young man I bought into the Camelot myth. But what made you decide to engage with JFK after so many years? As you know, my parents were the classic case of Democrats-turned-Republicans after the late 1960s. Tom Nichols: Steve, we both grew up in Massachusetts having, shall we say, complicated feelings about the Kennedys. After his years of writing about presidents from Washington to Trump, I was curious why he came back to JFK. Steve went from a child of Camelot to Kennedy skeptic and back again. Kennedy, is not only a work of history but a personal journey. Steve’s latest book, about the life of John F. Steve, who is about to retire, was my hallway neighbor in Newport, and I learned a lot from talking with him and reading his books on the presidency. That’s how I met my friend Steve Knott, whose specialty is presidential history. It’s an eclectic place that brings together people from many academic backgrounds. ET on October 19, 2022Īs Peacefield readers may know, I taught for years at the Naval War College, a military graduate school in Newport, R.I., that educates officers on national security and strategic affairs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |