JFK: A Presidency Revealed

Originally broadcast on the History Channel, this thorough three-part documentary was produced to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. What distinguishes this program from others in the vast Kennedy oeuvre is that it looks beyond the mythologizing of the president to take an intensive and comprehensive look at the "flawed giant" who dominated his times. Interviews with historians, biographers, colleagues, and family members (including Senator Edward Kennedy, former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and authors Richard Reeves and Robert Dallek) are backed by a wealth of archival material (including heretofore private White House audiotapes) chronicling pivotal events in Kennedy's presidency and charting his evolution as a leader, from the Bay of Pigs fiasco to the Cuban missile crisis. That Kennedy's marriage was less than "picture-perfect" is, by now, not news: more surprising, for non-Camelot buffs, are revelations about his ill-health and reliance on painkillers. This two-disc set also includes two episodes from A&E's Biography series, JFK: A Personal Story, and Joseph Kennedy, Sr.: Father of an American Dynasty. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: H, C, P. (D. Liebenson)