At the Center of the World: Hyannis Port and the Presidency of John F. Kennedy

Every President has a favorite retreat—a zone of privacy and safety away from the White House fishbowl. John F. Kennedy's special place was the family compound at Hyannis Port, MA, where JFK came to sail, play touch football, enjoy family, and gather strength as he struggled with personal and political trials. Commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum, At the Center of the World reviews JFK's life on Cape Cod, before and during his White House years, which ended with his assassination in 1963. The documentary features extended interviews with JFK's brother Senator Ted Kennedy, friends of the family, local journalists, and neighbors, who recall tense days leading up to the agonizingly close 1960 election, as well as later lazy summer afternoons when JFK would sail, or venture into town to attend church or take his children for ice cream. Kennedy is fondly remembered as being friendly and accessible (although there were some humorous encounters with the security conscious Secret Service), but things weren't all fun and games at Hyannis, and the program recounts the white-knuckle moments when JFK coped with the Cuban missile crisis, civil rights, and the nuclear test ban treaty. Personal tragedy struck as well, notably when father Joseph P. Kennedy suffered a crippling stroke at Hyannis in 1961. At the Center of the World includes some rare glimpses of JFK's life at Hyannis Port, but few insights within the fairly familiar material. Sure to be of interest to libraries with a strong interest in collecting materials on JFK or Massachusetts history, this is a strong optional purchase elsewhere. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)