ttle doubt in the readers mind as to its credentials. Through the trials of the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the space race with the Russians, and racial tensions, one feels as though they are walking in the shoes of one in the center of it all and as a fly on the wall of the most sanctified meetings. The book, being self-conscious as it is to its own biases from the beginning, very early allows the reader to dismiss him or herself of any guilt in being persuaded by a self-interested party. The feeling seems to be that one can read this chronicle and receive enough of the bona fide truth in the details to forgive any misgivings of subjective reporting. Many critics took issue with some of the more fatuous and bloated self-perceptions the author makes but it seems critical to remember that because the author is not the central figure of the book this does not excessively debilitate the authors purpose or ability to impart the subject. It would seem then that the author wholly achieves his goal defining the Kennedy administrations and its actions through an internal operative, but may have unnecessarily brought harm to his own reputation. This reverence for the subject of Kennedys White House does much to lend to the legend but little to discredit it. A solidly written and substantial work cannot be sundered by minor idiosyncrasies of the writer when the topic is grand above him and the process so fluid. Schlesinger possesses the gift of literary style lacking from many historical texts and it should be applauded that the two have meshed so well here....
