Selected Bibliography
There are thousands of books about this important decade and its place in our history. And about speeches. Here are a few that are on my bookshelf that I like a lot:
Arlen, Michael J.: The Living Room War (New York: Viking Press, 1966) A critic for The New Yorker writes about television’s enormous impact on the 60s and particularly how we saw the Vietnam War.
Caro, Robert A.: The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Passage of Power (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012) The fourth volume in Caro’s biography of Johnson covers Johnson’s transition from Vice President to President and is a great primer on the presidency and the politics of the 60s. Important insights into Johnson’s speeches and speaking style. And his powers of persuasion.
Clarke, Thurston: The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days that Inspired America (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2008) A moving story about Bobby Kennedy’s uplifting, but ultimately tragic run for the presidency in 1968.
Dallek, Robert: Camelot’s Court: Inside the Kennedy White House(New York: HarperCollins, 2013) A very detailed, blow-by-blow description of virtually all the major decisions that the Kennedy administration had to make. Really made me appreciate just what pressure JFK was under and the inexpert advice that most of his experts gave him—especially the military.
Dobbs, Michael: One Minute to Midnight (New York: Vintage Books, 2009) A well-researched, minute-by-minute account of the Cuban Missile Crisis reveals how close we came to nuclear war.
Ellsberg, Daniel: Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers (New York: Penguin Group, 2002) Probably one of the best books you can read to help understand the duplicity of the American government with regard to what was happening in Vietnam. Ellsberg released the top-secret study of US decision-making in Vietnam, later known as the Pentagon Papers to the press.
Gitlin, Todd: The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage (New York: Bantam Books, 1987) A first-hand, “people’s history” of the 60s. Very good for an introduction to the spirit of rebellion of the times.
Goodwin, Richard N.: Remembering America: A Voice from the Sixties (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1988) An absolutely superb, first-hand account by an advisor and speechwriter to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and Eugene McCarthy. A personal friend and speechwriter to/advisor for Bobby Kennedy.
Halberstam, David: The Making of a Quagmire: America and Vietnam During the Kennedy Era (revised edition) (New York: Knopf, 1988) One of the earlier and better books about the Kennedy Administration’s deepening involvement in Vietnam.
Halberstam, David: The Best and the Brightest (New York: Random House, 1970) Excellent review of the Kennedy years by looking at the key players involved and the decision-making process.
Havel, Vaclav: The Art of the Impossible (New York: Alfred Knopf, 1997) Subtitled “Politics and Morality in Practice”, this collection of speeches by the former playwright and dissident who became Czechoslovakia’s first president is must-read for anyone interested in leading in the 21st century. And a primer on the price one pays for speaking truth to power.
Hendrickson, Paul: The Living and the Dead (New York: Vintage Books, 1997) A student recommended this bio/study of Robert S. McNamara. Absolutely superb analysis of a very complex human being and the conflict between his inner feelings and his public statements and decisions about the war he oversaw for most of the 60s.
Jones, Clarence B., and Connelly, Stuart: Behind the Dream: the Making of the Speech that Transformed a Nation (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) A first-hand account of the background, writing, and delivery of Martin Luther King’s most famous speech.
Karnow, Stanley: Vietnam: A History (New York: Viking Press, 1984) The companion piece to the excellent PBS series on Vietnam. Covers the war from the French colony of Indochina to the withdrawal of the last American troops and the fall of South Vietnam to North Vietnam.
Kennedy, Robert F.: Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1971) An incredibly candid, first-hand record of what happened when Russia and America were “eyeball to eyeball” at the height of the nuclear arms race over the placement of missiles in Cuba. Also, good as a primer on crisis management under the most extreme conditions.
Kurlansky, Mark: 1968: The Year that Rocked the World (New York: Ballantine Books, 2004) The United States was not the only country experiencing a youth rebellion. Around the world, the center could no longer hold. This book helps put America’s tragic year into a global context.
Logevall, Fredrik: JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956 (New York: Random House, 2021) The first volume of a very informative biography of Kennedy. Probably the best job of separating the man from the myth. Good background for understanding his international focus, his influences, and his writing ability.
Maraniss, David: They Marched into Sunlight: War and Peace Vietnam and America October 1967 (New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2003) The juxtaposition of two events—a battle in Vietnam and an anti-war demonstration against the Dow Chemical Company, makers of napalm—that occurred on the same day. The author puts you on the battlefield as well as the University of Wisconsin campus so that you understand both.
Miller, Keith D.: Voice of Deliverance: The Language of Martin Luther King, Jr. and its Sources (New York: The Free Press, 1992) A very good reference for Dr. King’s speeches; helps put them into context.
Newfield, Jack: RFK: A Memoir (New York: Dutton, 1969; Thunder’s Mouth Press/Nation Books, 2003) My favorite Bobby Kennedy memoir. I found it powerful because Newfield was a reporter who, like many Americans, didn’t like Kennedy before he ran for president. Being exposed to him on the campaign he began to appreciate that the man had changed and grew to respect him.
Payne, Les: The Dead are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X (New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2020) A well-written and updated version of Malcolm X’s life and death. A good review of this articulate and polarizing figure’s influence on the struggle for Black freedom.
Reeves, Richard: President Kennedy: Profile of Power (New York: Touchstone, 1994) Very good reference book for Kennedy’s short, but important presidency. Very objective. Helps to put a lot into context.
Sheehan, Neil, et al: The Pentagon Papers (New York: New York Times/Bantam Books, 1971) subtitled “The Secret History of the Vietnam War”, this is the one reference to have for everything related to America’s long, tragic involvement in Vietnam. It is what happened day after day, year after year in the government’s own words.
Sheehan, Neil: A Bright Shining Lie (New York, Random House, 1988) A superb account of the futility and the self-deception of the Vietnam War by one of the most knowledgeable correspondents to cover the war.
Sorensen, Theodore: Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History (New York: Harper & Row, 2008) For many aspiring speechwriters in the late 20th century, no one was more admired than Ted Sorensen. Because of his long and close relationship with Senator and later President Kennedy, he wrote in the voice of the late president. Kennedy’s speeches were the gold standard at the time. But they sound a little formal and dated because they are so dependent on antithesis and other figures of speech. I think we prefer a more “conversational” approach today.
Thomas, Evan: Robert Kennedy: His Life (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2000) Perhaps the best-written and most objective portrayal of this complicated political figure. The magazine writing background of the author makes it as readable as it is enlightening (thanks to relatively recent-released information about the subject and the Kennedy Administration). Great to read along with the above-mentioned Johnson bio since the two were such strong rivals.
White, Theodore H.: The Making of the President 1960: A Narrative History of American Politics in Action (New York: Atheneum Publishers, 1961) The first of a series of very successful election coverage books. A good introduction to what works and what doesn’t in a presidential campaign.
Wofford, Harris: Of Kennedys and Kings: Making Sense of the Sixties (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1980) A terrific, first-hand account of what was happening in the Kennedy administration, especially with regard to civil rights and the Peace Corps since he was an advisor to Kennedy on both.
Note: while I have included some books about Vietnam, you can’t understand this decade without knowing more about the Vietnam War. Therefore, I suggest looking at documentaries about the war—especially those that ran on PBS. Karnow’s is one of them, but I think there are more. So, find them, watch them, and then you can begin to relate to those who lived during that poignant time.
Documentaries of interest:
13th (2016) This powerful documentary named after the constitutional amendment that abolished slavery analyzes the criminalization of African-Americans in America—so much for the 13th Amendment!
James Baldwin: I Am Not Your Negro (2017) Baldwin captures racism and the lives and deaths of civil rights icons Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Dr. King. Updated footage from the Black Lives Movement makes his words even more difficult to bear.
John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020) A superb and appropriate tribute to a civil rights hero.
The War at Home (1978) An excellent documentary about the anti-war protests at the University of Wisconsin.
Words that Changed the World (2018)—Produced by Intelligence Squared featuring interviews with two key speechwriters and excerpts from what they consider some of the greatest speeches narrated by famous actors. A good primer on the art of speechwriting and what makes a speech great.
Buck Benedict 