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Article: Kennedy and Achilles: a classical approach to political science.
- Article from:
- PS: Political Science & Politics
- Article date:
- September 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Cambridge University Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Has any president been harder for historians and political scientists to get a handle on than John F. Kennedy? As Fred Greenstein (1992) has noted, "In spite of the voluminous literature on Kennedy himself, the events of his presidency, his associates, image, and assassination, . . . his reputation remains in dispute." Not only does "the thirty-fifth president await a satisfactory biographer," Greenstein observes, but scholars do not seem to be getting any closer: "Recent efforts to assess him fall short even of the 'court biographies' of Schlesinger and Sorensen." Was Kennedy friend or foe of the civil rights movement? A Cold Warrior or a champion of peace? Was his ...