The 1960s shaped the unfolding of American history. A new generation born after American triumph in World War II seized the national narrative with the election of John F. Kennedy (JFK). Even after his assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) implemented many of those ideals through Civil Rights Acts and the Great Society. But the Vietnam War, internal fighting, more assassinations, and the troubled Democratic convention of 1968 halted a progressive course and haunted liberals for almost 20 years. Yet the template set by this decade set the agenda for American politics until today. Most current issues of political magnitude trace their roots in some way to this decade.
Even though its original shapers are just now passing, how are we to understand this history? Award-winning presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin conveys its happenings, but with a twist. She not only studied history; she also made it. She served in LBJ’s White House and helped him write his memoir. Her husband Dick Goodwin was a speechwriter for JFK, wrote LBJ’s famous speech after Selma, first outlined the Great Society programs in words, and played a role in the peace movement. As they approach old age, they realize that their life stories are deeply intertwined with America’s story. They had a front seat to many moments that will echo for centuries to come. In this writing, she come to terms with their mortality and with America’s persistent imperfections. All these elements comprise an “unfinished love story.”
Kearns Goodwin doesn’t need anything more to add to her leading place among this generation’s great American historians. And yet she offers us this masterpiece. And she opens her most treasured relationship for all to see. She obviously possesses some of the best skills of anyone to write presidential history, and that expertise is on full display. Additionally, she opens up her personal narrative, much as she did in her book about the Brooklyn Dodgers, her favorite baseball team. That intimate access makes magic happen and distills her brilliance into this book that all should read.
An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s
By Doris Kearns Goodwin
Narrated by Doris Kearns Goodwin & Bryan Cranston
Copyright (c) 2024
Simon & Schuster Audio
ASIN B0CFYPM62V
Length: 17:38
Genre: Memoir, American History
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