A Thousand Days by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

Schlessinger and Kissinger stressed the need for more extensive attempts at diplomacy. As tensions over Berlin mounted in the aftermath of the Kennedy-Khrushchev meeting in Vienna, Dean Acheson recommended sending an Army division along the corridor to West Berlin to demonstrate American resolve. During the crisis Kennedy sought the advice of subordinates, yet maintained control over policy formulation at all times (in contrast to Eisenhower, who Schlessinger implies gave a free reign to John Foster Dulles). the prototypical statesman is the account of the Berlin Crisis of 1961.

Even from the jaws of defeat, Schlessinger allows his 'hero' to snatch victory (and perhaps vindicate his own performance as author of the famous white paper on Cuba?). The Bay of Pigs, for instance, was Kennedy's 'ordeal by fire' in which he learned the lessons vlhich allowed him to emerge successful from the Cuban missile crisis. Though it would be unfair to characterize the book as Kennedy-worship pure and simple, there is a great deal to James MacGregor Burns' claim that Kennedy was astute enough to choose his own biographer. This book bears testimony to Schlessinger's important assumption about the Cold War, which - simply put - is that the Munich analogy applies to U.S.-Soviet relations. This 'memoir' of the Kennedy Presidency, full of first hand accounts of diplomacy at the highest levels of government, also represents an attempt to draw 'lessons' from American history. Within the context of this consensus he characterizes Kennedy as a consummate statesman, able to find the correct balance between diplomacy and the recourse to military force and - perhaps most importantly - able to learn from his mistakes.

Schlessinger shared (as well as shaped) the American Cold War consensus ideology during the years covered in this account. The U.S.-Soviet Cold War dominates much of Schlessinger's account.

Obviously written for the general educated public, the book has the additional advantage of historical writing has lost in the last several decades. As one of a general outpouring of reminiscences in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination it has surprisingly retained its utility.1 Looking back in retrospect nearly 30 years after its publication, The Thousand Days still affords a valuable insider's account. Schlessinger, Jr.'s book on the Kennedy Presidency is of interest to the historian of foreign policy and diplomacy if for no other reason than the fact that he was close enough to the internal workings of the American presidency that he could write a book of personal reminiscences which would qualify as a history.

A Thousand Days by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.