Two Days in June : John F. Kennedy and the 48 Hours That Made History

On Two Consecutive Days In June 1963, In Two Lyrical Speeches, John F. Kennedy Pivots Dramatically And Boldly On The Two Greatest Issues Of His Time: Nuclear Arms And Civil Rights. In Language Unheard In Lily White, Cold War America, He Appeals To Americans To See Both The Russians And The Negroes As Human Beings. His Speech On June 10 Leads To The Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Of 1963; His Speech On June 11 To The Civil Rights Act Of 1964. Based On New Material -- Hours Of Recently Uncovered Documentary Film Shot In The White House And The Justice Department, Fresh Interviews, And A Rediscovered Draft Speech -- Two Days In June Captures Kennedy At The High Noon Of His Presidency In Startling, Granular Detail Which Biographer Sally Bedell Smith Calls A Seamless And Riveting Narrative, Beautifully Written, Weaving Together The Consequential And The Quotidian, With Verve And Authority. Moment By Moment, Jfk's Feverish Forty-eight Hours Unspools In Cinematic Clarity As He Addresses Peace And Freedom. In The Tick-tock Of The American Presidency, We See Kennedy Facing Down George Wallace Over The Integration Of The University Of Alabama, Talking Obsessively About Sex And Politics At A Dinner Party In Georgetown, Recoiling At A Newspaper Photograph Of A Burning Monk In Saigon, Planning A Secret Diplomatic Mission To Indonesia, And Reeling From The Midnight Murder Of Medgar Evers. There Were 1,036 Days In The Presidency Of John F. Kennedy. This Is The Story Of Two Of Them. Monday, June 10, 1963 -- Tuesday, June 11, 1963. Andrew Cohen. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 388-394) And Index. Issued Also In Electronic Format. On two consecutive days in June 1963, in two lyrical speeches, John F. Kennedy pivots dramatically and boldly on the two greatest issues of his time: nuclear arms and civil rights. In language unheard in lily white, Cold War America, he appeals to Americans to see both the Russians and the "Negroes" as human beings. His speech on June 10 leads to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963; his speech on June 11 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Based on new material -- hours of recently uncovered documentary film shot in the White House and the Justice Department, fresh interviews, and a rediscovered draft speech -- Two Days in June captures Kennedy at the high noon of his presidency in startling, granular detail which biographer Sally Bedell Smith calls "a seamless and riveting narrative, beautifully written, weaving together the consequential and the quotidian, with verve and authority." Moment by moment, JFK's feverish forty-eight hours unspools in cinematic clarity as he addresses "peace and freedom." In the tick-tock of the American presidency, we see Kennedy facing down George Wallace over the integration of the University of Alabama, talking obsessively about sex and politics at a dinner party in Georgetown, recoiling at a newspaper photograph of a burning monk in Saigon, planning a secret diplomatic mission to Indonesia, and reeling from the midnight murder of Medgar Evers. There were 1,036 days in the presidency of John F. Kennedy. This is the story of two of them. From the Hardcover edition "On two consecutive days in June 1963, in two lyrical speeches, John F. Kennedy pivots dramatically and boldly on the two greatest issues of his time: nuclear arms and civil rights. In language unheard in lily white, Cold War America, he appeals to Americans to see both the Russians and the "Negroes" as human beings. His speech on June 10 leads to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963; his speech on June 11 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Based on new material -- hours of recently uncovered documentary film shot in the White House and the Justice Department, fresh interviews, and a rediscovered draft speech -- Two Days in June captures Kennedy at the high noon of his presidency in startling, granular detail which biographer Sally Bedell Smith calls "a seamless and riveting narrative, beautifully written, weaving together the consequential and the quotidian, with verve and authority." Moment by moment, JFK's feverish forty-eight hours unspools in cinematic clarity as he addresses "peace and freedom." In the tick-tock of the American presidency, we see Kennedy facing down George Wallace over the integration of the University of Alabama, talking obsessively about sex and politics at a dinner party in Georgetown, recoiling at a newspaper photograph of a burning monk in Saigon, planning a secret diplomatic mission to Indonesia, and reeling from the midnight murder of Medgar Evers. There were 1,036 days in the presidency of John F. Kennedy. This is the story of two of them"--Provided by publisher Two Days in June is a mesmerizing hour-by-hour account that takes us into the Kennedy White House during the 48 hours that he delivered his two most significant speeches -- ultimately changing the course of history. Two Days in June is the story of the high noon of the presidency of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. It chronicles, hour-by-hour, two days in the late spring of 1963 in which JFK pivots, courageously and historically, on the two biggest issues of his generation: nuclear arms and civil rights. The story presents JFK in a granular detail as he appeals to Americans, in two memorable speeches, to abandon their prejudices and look differently at peace and freedom in the shadow of the Cold War and Jim Crow. Defying his advisors, who warn that both could cost him the next election, Kennedy's initiatives will lead to the first nuclear arms treaty of the Cold War and the most comprehensive civil rights act in American history. This is a fly-on-the-wall story of 48 hours in the life of one of the most celebrated Americans of the 20th century. It draws on new, sensational material: sixteen hours of uncut, unseen film shot in the Oval Office and the Justice Department. The story also brings to light the lost draft of the civil speech rights speech that JFK did not use that evening -- even as he went on the air without complete text and spoke the last three minutes extemporaneously. In the rich Kennedy literature, Two Days in June is taut, atmospheric, and wholly original