This image is the cover for the book Conversations with Kennedy

Conversations with Kennedy

Distinguished journalist Benjamin C. Bradlee’s intimate biography of President John F. Kennedy and his Camelot years.

Conversations with Kennedy is legendary reporter and executive Benjamin C. Bradlee’s account of his intimate dialogues with JFK—a man he counted as a confidante and friend. Beginning in 1958, when Kennedy was a US senator running for president, and continuing until 1963, the year that Kennedy died, Bradlee shared a close professional and personal relationship with the charismatic politician. Both men were war veterans, idealists, and up-and-coming American leaders, and they shared values that drove their friendship.

Kennedy was a politician equally at home with the bruising intellects he appointed to government posts and his working-class constituents. He respected his complicated father, understood his brothers, admired women, and had few illusions about human nature. Bradlee’s eye for detail reveals JFK’s views on everything from Communism to conservatism to freedom of the press.

From parties at the White House to weekends at Palm Beach to JFK’s enduring influence on Bradlee’s own life, this is an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the man behind a myth, written by a giant of American journalism.

Benjamin C. Bradlee

Benjamin Bradlee is vice-president at large of the Washington Post. Born in Boston, Bradlee attended Harvard College. In 1942, he became a communications officer for the Office of Naval Intelligence and fought in thirteen battles during World War II. Following the war, Bradlee became a reporter for the Washington Post. Working as a journalist in Washington, DC, Bradlee formed a close friendship with Senator John F. Kennedy. He toured with both Kennedy and Nixon during their respective presidential campaigns in 1960. Bradlee became executive editor of the Washington Post in 1968, a position he held until 1991. During this time, Bradlee oversaw the Post’s award-winning coverage of the Watergate affair and the publication of the Pentagon Papers. In 2013, Bradlee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Bradlee and his wife, journalist Sally Quinn, live in Washington, DC.

Open Road Integrated Media