Content

Thinking Global

May 30, 2011

Berlin 1961: Worst Day of JFK’s Life

By Frederick Kempe

President John F. Kennedy was brutally honest about what would prove to be one of the worst performances of an American leader with his leading global counterpart of his time – his two-day summit with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.  As he drove away from the Soviet embassy with Secretary of State Dean Rusk in his […]

Thinking Global

May 30, 2011

Berlin 1961 #1 Political Bestseller

By Frederick Kempe

In its second week of release, Berlin 1961 has climbed to the top of the Washington Post Political Bestsellers list. It’s humbling, indeed, to be ahead of Dr. Kissinger’s fabulous new book, On China, which debuts at number 2—to say nothing of books by former Presidents George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and former First […]

Thinking Global

May 30, 2011

Why Christine Lagarde is Best Choice for IMF

By Frederick Kempe

Sometimes even the most squalid of matters have silvery linings. In the disgusting criminal case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the best possible result would be that he may soon be replaced as International Monetary Fund chieftain by Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister. Her unassailable character, proven crisis-management skills — and yes, it does matter in […]

Thinking Global

May 28, 2011

Wall Street Journal Review of Berlin 1961

By Frederick Kempe

A wonderful review of my new book, Berlin 1961, in today’s Wall Street Journal by the acclaimed spy novelist Charles McCarry, whose storied career includes stints as a journalist, speechwriter for President Eisenhower, deep cover CIA officer, magazine editor, and collaborator on Alexander Haig’s autobiography. The lede is masterful: Readers skeptical of the Camelot myth […]

Thinking Global

May 28, 2011

President Kennedy’s Foreign Policy Legacy: A Debate

By Frederick Kempe

Earlier this week, I debated Richard Reeves, a senior lecturer at the Annenberg School and author of President Kennedy: Profile of Power, on "The Foreign Policy Legacy of President Kennedy." Alan Brinkley, Allan Nevins Professor of American History at Columbia University presided and the Council of Foreign Relations hosted. The one hour video is embedded […]

Thinking Global

May 26, 2011

Berlin 1961: Kennedy’s “Dr. Feelgood”

By Frederick Kempe

Historians haven’t done well over the years in answering an awkward question: when do the personal quirks and unusual habits of American presidents have historic consequences? Tabloid reporters salivate over salacious stories such as Monica Lewinsky’s affair with President Bill Clinton, but when do these become matters of state? My book Berlin 1961 steered away […]

Thinking Global

May 25, 2011

What Obama Can Learn From JFK

By Frederick Kempe

 A half-century ago this week, a relatively inexperienced young president, John F. Kennedy, set off for Europe at a crucial moment in the Cold War. He had just botched the Bay of Pigs invasion launched by CIA-backed Cuban exiles, and his critics worried that he lacked the backbone to deal with the Soviet threat and […]

Thinking Global

May 24, 2011

Berlin 1961: Kennedy’s Secret Use of a Soviet Spy

By Frederick Kempe

 Wearing a white shirt, a loosened tie, and a jacket held casually over one shoulder, U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy bounded down the steps of the side entrance to the Department of Justice on Pennsylvania Avenue and extended his hand to Soviet spy Georgi Bolshakov.  “Hi, Georgi, long time no see,” the attorney general said, […]

Thinking Global

May 23, 2011

Berlin 1961: President Kennedy’s Amateur Hour

By Frederick Kempe

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev could hardly believe his good fortune.  He had known from his intelligence that Kennedy was planning some sort of Cuban operation aimed at unseating Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Yet never in his fondest dreams had he anticipated the incompetence of the botched Bay of Pigs invasion.   When it was all […]

Thinking Global

May 20, 2011

Berlin 1961 on C-SPAN’s “After Words”

By Frederick Kempe

I’ll be on "After Words", C-SPAN "Book TV’s signature program . . . in which authors of the latest nonfiction books are interviewed by journalists, public policy makers, legislators, and others familiar with their material" talking about Berlin 1961 with Angela Stent, a friend and brilliant scholar.  The show airs on C-SPAN Radio tonight at […]

Load More