The Death of a President
Encyclopedia
The Death of a President, November 20–November 25, 1963 is historian William Manchester
's 1967 account of the assassination of John F. Kennedy
. The book became news even before it was published when Kennedy's widow Jacqueline
, who had initially asked Manchester to write the book, demanded that the author make changes in the manuscript.
The book chronicles the long November weekend in 1963 from a small reception the Kennedys hosted in the White House
the evening of the trip to Dallas
, through the flight and trip to Texas
, the motorcade, the assassination, the hospital, the plane trip back to Washington
, and the funeral. The friction between the Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
factions, the worldwide reaction, and Lee Harvey Oswald
's unplanned televised execution by Jack Ruby
are all discussed in painstaking detail.
wanted a definitive telling of the events to preempt other books, including Jim Bishop
's forthcoming The Day Kennedy Was Shot. Kennedy was familiar with Manchester's work through Portrait of a President: John F. Kennedy in Profile, his account of the president's first year and a half in the White House. Manchester had met and grown to admire her husband when both were recovering from war wounds in Boston.
The book agreement stipulated that Kennedy and the president's brother, Robert F. Kennedy
, then Attorney General, would approve the manuscript. As part of the agreement, Mr. Manchester would receive an advance of $36,000 but only against the income from the first printing. All other earnings would go the John F. Kennedy Library
.
Kennedy promised Manchester exclusive interviews with members of the family, and sat for 10 hours of interviews with him. Manchester interviewed 1,000 people for the book, including Robert F. Kennedy; only Marina Oswald refused. Working 100 hours a week for two years to meet an accelerated 1967 publishing deadline, the stress of focusing on the assassination sent Manchester to a hospital due to nervous exhaustion for more than two months, where he completed a manuscript of 1,201 pages and 380,000 words.
Manchester turned in the manuscript to his editor at Harper & Row, Evan Thomas, and to the Kennedy family for review in March 1966. He received an offer of $665,000 from Look
magazine for serial rights; his agent had obtained an agreement that payments for a serial would go to the author.
, Ed Guthman
, and Richard N. Goodwin
. They believed that passages in the book "unflattering" to Johnson might damage Robert Kennedy's political plans for 1968
, and requested changes. Pam Turnure, Jacqueline Kennedy's secretary, also read the manuscript; alarmed by many "personal revelations" from Kennedy's interviews with Manchester, such as the fact that she smoked (something Jacqueline Kennedy had successfully hidden in the White House), she also provided lists of changes. In addition, Jacqueline Kennedy believed that the proceeds from the Look offer should go to the Kennedy Library. She claimed that her interviews with Manchester had been intended for the library, threatened to block publication of the book unless the changes were made, unsuccessfully offered Look $1 million to cancel the serialization, and in late 1966 filed an injunction to stop the book's publication.
Newspaper articles about her decision speculated on the contents of the book. Through an out-of-court settlement in January 1967, Manchester agreed to cut 1,600 words from the serialization and seven out of 654 pages from the published book. Although headlines called Jacqueline Kennedy the victor Manchester called the cuts "harmless", and retained the serialization fee.
In 1988 the book was reprinted and Manchester wrote a new foreword. People had come to him wondering whether he would update and modify his original work due to "new developments
" in chronicling the story. Manchester wrote that, in his view, there were no new developments.
The Kennedy family retains control of materials related to Death. Jacqueline Kennedy's interview tapes with the author are sealed at the Kennedy Library until 2067. Manchester's original manuscript is held at Wesleyan University
under "extremely restricted use" and, according to his son John, the Kennedy family has permitted the book to go out of print.
William Manchester
William Raymond Manchester was an American author, biographer, and historian from Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, notable as the bestselling author of 18 books that have been translated into over 20 languages...
's 1967 account of the assassination of John F. Kennedy
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
. The book became news even before it was published when Kennedy's widow Jacqueline
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
, who had initially asked Manchester to write the book, demanded that the author make changes in the manuscript.
Description
Death is dedicated "For all in whose hearts he still lives -- a watchman of honour who never sleeps".The book chronicles the long November weekend in 1963 from a small reception the Kennedys hosted in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
the evening of the trip to Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, through the flight and trip to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, the motorcade, the assassination, the hospital, the plane trip back to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and the funeral. The friction between the Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
factions, the worldwide reaction, and Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
's unplanned televised execution by Jack Ruby
Jack Ruby
Jacob Leon Rubenstein , who legally changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in 1947, was convicted of the November 24, 1963 murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Ruby, who was originally from Chicago, Illinois, was then a nightclub operator in Dallas, Texas...
are all discussed in painstaking detail.
Genesis
In early 1964 Jacqueline Kennedy commissioned Manchester to produce an account of the assassination. She and the Kennedy familyKennedy family
In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...
wanted a definitive telling of the events to preempt other books, including Jim Bishop
Jim Bishop
James Alonzo "Jim" Bishop was an American journalist and author.Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he dropped out of school after eighth grade. In 1923, he studied typing, shorthand and bookkeeping, and in 1929 began work as a copy boy at the New York Daily News...
's forthcoming The Day Kennedy Was Shot. Kennedy was familiar with Manchester's work through Portrait of a President: John F. Kennedy in Profile, his account of the president's first year and a half in the White House. Manchester had met and grown to admire her husband when both were recovering from war wounds in Boston.
The book agreement stipulated that Kennedy and the president's brother, Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
, then Attorney General, would approve the manuscript. As part of the agreement, Mr. Manchester would receive an advance of $36,000 but only against the income from the first printing. All other earnings would go the John F. Kennedy Library
John F. Kennedy Library
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, next to the Boston campus of the University of...
.
Kennedy promised Manchester exclusive interviews with members of the family, and sat for 10 hours of interviews with him. Manchester interviewed 1,000 people for the book, including Robert F. Kennedy; only Marina Oswald refused. Working 100 hours a week for two years to meet an accelerated 1967 publishing deadline, the stress of focusing on the assassination sent Manchester to a hospital due to nervous exhaustion for more than two months, where he completed a manuscript of 1,201 pages and 380,000 words.
Manchester turned in the manuscript to his editor at Harper & Row, Evan Thomas, and to the Kennedy family for review in March 1966. He received an offer of $665,000 from Look
Look (American magazine)
Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles...
magazine for serial rights; his agent had obtained an agreement that payments for a serial would go to the author.
Controversy
Both Jacqueline and Robert F. Kennedy had refused to read the manuscript, delegating the review to former Kennedy administration members John SeigenthalerJohn Seigenthaler
John Lawrence Seigenthaler is an American journalist, writer, and political figure. He is known as a prominent defender of First Amendment rights....
, Ed Guthman
Ed Guthman
Edwin O. Guthman was a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and university professor.-Biography:Guthman was born in Seattle, Washington, graduating from the University of Washington in 1941. He entered the Army in 1941. During World War II, he served as an infantry regiment reconnaissance platoon...
, and Richard N. Goodwin
Richard N. Goodwin
Richard N. Goodwin is an American writer who may be best known as an advisor and speechwriter to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and to Senator Robert F. Kennedy.-Life and career:...
. They believed that passages in the book "unflattering" to Johnson might damage Robert Kennedy's political plans for 1968
Robert F. Kennedy presidential campaign, 1968
Robert F. Kennedy was a U.S. Senator from New York, having won in 1964. In 1968, President Johnson began to run for reelection. In January 1968, faced with what was widely considered an unrealistic race against an incumbent President, Senator Kennedy stated he would not seek the presidency...
, and requested changes. Pam Turnure, Jacqueline Kennedy's secretary, also read the manuscript; alarmed by many "personal revelations" from Kennedy's interviews with Manchester, such as the fact that she smoked (something Jacqueline Kennedy had successfully hidden in the White House), she also provided lists of changes. In addition, Jacqueline Kennedy believed that the proceeds from the Look offer should go to the Kennedy Library. She claimed that her interviews with Manchester had been intended for the library, threatened to block publication of the book unless the changes were made, unsuccessfully offered Look $1 million to cancel the serialization, and in late 1966 filed an injunction to stop the book's publication.
Newspaper articles about her decision speculated on the contents of the book. Through an out-of-court settlement in January 1967, Manchester agreed to cut 1,600 words from the serialization and seven out of 654 pages from the published book. Although headlines called Jacqueline Kennedy the victor Manchester called the cuts "harmless", and retained the serialization fee.
Aftermath
Harper & Row published The Death of a President in the spring of 1967 to good reviews. It sold more than one million copies by summer and was later given the Dag Hammarskjold International Literary Prize. By 1970 the book had earned $1,057,347.64 in royalties for the Kennedy Library.In 1988 the book was reprinted and Manchester wrote a new foreword. People had come to him wondering whether he would update and modify his original work due to "new developments
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
There has long been suspicion of a government cover-up of information about the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. There are also numerous conspiracy theories regarding the assassination that arose soon after his death and continue to be promoted today...
" in chronicling the story. Manchester wrote that, in his view, there were no new developments.
The Kennedy family retains control of materials related to Death. Jacqueline Kennedy's interview tapes with the author are sealed at the Kennedy Library until 2067. Manchester's original manuscript is held at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
under "extremely restricted use" and, according to his son John, the Kennedy family has permitted the book to go out of print.