Overview

A handsome, tall, thin fellow approached me. He was dressed in a tweed jacket, khaki trousers, wore brown loafers and carried a cane. ""You look pretty depressed, pal,"" he said with a smile as he sat down beside me. ""Anything I can do for you?"" he asked. Then he introduced himself. ""I'm Jack Kennedy. What is your name?"" When I answered, informing him of my Massachusetts background, he sparkled, wanting to be filled in on why I was in uniform sitting there alone in the lobby of the Palace Hotel... This fortunate encounter sparked almost two decades of friendship between John F. Kennedy and the author, John G. W. Mahanna. The Human Touch is Mahanna's unique memoir, which shows Kennedy as a genuine friend, and which also reveals the savvy inner workings of JFK's political campaigns. Readers will gain a fresh perspective of JFK by seeing him through a friend's eyes, and experiencing his ""human touch"" - his unbounded charisma, humor, and warmth.

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9781600251740

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Reviews

"""The Human Touch is something rare in history books: a street-level, intimate, clear-eyed view of a historical icon. Author John G.W. Mahanna was a journalist who knew Kennedy as a friend. He takes Kennedy off the pedestal and presents him as smart, savvy and public-spirited politician who understood power and how to acquire it. Mahanna is there during Kennedy's sprint to the White House. He shares his encounters with JFK during his campaigns, reaching for every vote. Kennedy delighted in quoting Abraham Lincoln: ""Public opinion is everything. With it nothing can fail, without it nothing can succeed."" I'd strongly advise history lovers to keep this book handy any time they delve into a biography of Kennedy. This book reaches beyond the events and presents an up-close-and-personal three-dimensional portrait of Kennedy the man."" Karl LaFong"

The Human Touch is something rare in history books: a street-level, intimate, clear-eyed view of a historical icon. Author John G.W. Mahanna was a journalist who knew Kennedy as a friend. He takes Kennedy off the pedestal and presents him as smart, savvy and public-spirited politician who understood power and how to acquire it. Mahanna is there during Kennedy's sprint to the White House. He shares his encounters with JFK during his campaigns, reaching for every vote. Kennedy delighted in quoting Abraham Lincoln: Public opinion is everything. With it nothing can fail, without it nothing can succeed. I'd strongly advise history lovers to keep this book handy any time they delve into a biography of Kennedy. This book reaches beyond the events and presents an up-close-and-personal three-dimensional portrait of Kennedy the man. Karl LaFong

Author Information

John G. W. Mahanna (1913-1984) was born in Lenox, Massachusetts. In 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, he began his career in journalism working as a correspondent for his hometown newspaper, The Berkshire Eagle. During World War II he served as a Special Agent with the Office of Naval Intelligence and wrote detailed dispatches about some of the war's most significant battles. After meeting John F. Kennedy briefly in 1944, the two men met again, by chance, at a conference in April 1945, and quickly became friends. After the war, Mahanna returned to Lenox and was appointed county editor of The Berkshire Eagle. With his wife Evona, he helped manage many of Kennedy's political campaigns (first for Senator and then for President) in Western Massachusetts. In 1960, Kennedy appointed Mahanna Public Information Officer with the Office of Civil Defense at the Pentagon; in 1971 he worked for the Office of Emergency Preparations, and then (in 1973) as a Public-Affairs Specialist for the Cost of Living Council.Mahanna wrote two interesting books: Music Under the Moon, an early history of the Berkshire Symphonic Festival at Tanglewood; and The Seated Lincoln, a story about the creation of the Lincoln Memorial and the statue of Abraham Lincoln.

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