Kennedy and Reagan: Why Their Legacies Endure [Paperback]

Two presidents, stylishly defining their times, great communicators who fashioned personal legends even while defying political labelsJohn F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan were historical agents of change who transformed themselves before renewing their country. How they did so forms the heart of this deeply moving portrait, from their nomadic early years, whose loneliness was offset by the romance of books, to adult power and acclaim sharply at odds with their emotional isolation. Farris has distilled a vast amount of the historical and biographical literature to create a stunningly original narrative.Richard Norton Smith, presidential historian, author, and former director of five presidential librariesScott Farriss tour de force is an immensely readable, scholarly, accessible, and popular history of two of Americas most admired Presidents. Farris carefully details their triumphs (Kennedy: Resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis; Reagan: Winning the Cold War) and their tragedies (Kennedy: the Bay of Pigs; Reagan: the Iran-Contra fiasco). He examines the soaring vision and rhetoric (Kennedy: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country; Reagan: Americaa shining city on a hill) that captured the imagination of millions. And ultimately, he offers a clear and balanced perspective on each mans nature, challenges and contributions.Egil Bud Krogh, Senior Fellow on Leadership and Integrity, The Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress; and author of Integrity: Good People, Bad Choices, and Life Lessons from the White HouseEvery four years it seems the Democratic Party looks for its next Kennedy and the Republicans their next Reagan. Although fixed in our mind at different stages of life, these two Irish-Americans, molded by the Great Depression and wars both hot and cold, were close in age and shared remarkable similarities as well as stark contrasts. You wont want to put down this fascinating portrait of two presidenlÄ