Reliving History

Recently a friend recommended I read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s.  While I knew of Goodwin from numerous interviews I’d seen on television over the years and, from her seminal work, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, I wasn’t prepared for the emotional encounter I experienced reading this book and reliving the 1960s. 

Married to Richard Goodwin for 42 years, the book tells the story of the 1960s from her husband’s point of view as a speech writer and advisor to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson; Senators Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy and others. 

Comprised of extensive recollections from her husband, the book sports an alternate point of view from the author herself.  In addition to being a noted American Historian in her own right, Kearns Goodwin also served as a White House Fellow during the Johnson Administration.  This experience resulted in her becoming a confidant to the 36^th President and his biographer, authoring Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. 

I found it fascinating to relive so many seminal moments of the 60’s getting a behind the scenes perspective into the; Kenndy presidential campaign; Nixon-Kennedy debates; establishment of the Peace Corp; assassinations of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy; Civil Rights Movement; and, the formation of the Great Society to mention just a few of the landmark events explored in detail in this treatise on the 1960s. 

If you grew up in the 1960s and enjoy history, I encourage you to add this book to your reading list…you won’t be disappointed.