More than 25 minutes of
video (15 videos in total), including a video introduction
to each chapter
Videos range from archival footage
of President Kennedy to recent videos of Caroline Kennedy,
Ted Widmer, President Bill Clinton, Congressman John Lewis,
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and historian Alan
Brinkley speaking about the book and President Kennedy’s
legacy
AUDIO
Full 150 minutes of the
full restored and re-mastered audio recordings from
President Kennedy’s White
House
PHOTOS
85 photographs of the
Kennedy family throughout the
narrative
TEXT
Complete transcripts
allow readers to follow along with each audio
recording
Accompanying annotations from historian
Ted Widmer inform readers on political details of the
era
In July 1962, in an effort to preserve an
accurate record of Presidential decision-making in a highly
charged atmosphere of conflicting viewpoints, strategies and
tactics, John F. Kennedy installed hidden recording systems
in the Oval Office and in the Cabinet Room. The result is a
priceless historical archive comprising some 265 hours of
taped material. JFK was elected president when Civil Rights
tensions were near the boiling point, and Americans feared a
nuclear war. Confronted with complex dilemmas necessitating
swift and unprecedented action, President Kennedy engaged in
intense discussion and debate with his cabinet members and
other advisors.
Now, in conjunction with the fiftieth
anniversary of the Kennedy presidency, the John F. Kennedy
Library and historian Ted Widmer have carefully selected the
most compelling and important of these remarkable recordings
for release, fully restored and re-mastered for the first
time. Listening In represents a uniquely unscripted,
insider account of a president and his cabinet grappling
with the day-to-day business of the White House and guiding
the nation through a hazardous era of
uncertainty.
Accompanied by extensively annotated
transcripts of the recordings, and with a foreword by
Caroline Kennedy, Listening In delivers the story
behind the story in the unguarded words and voices of the
decision-makers themselves. Listening In covers
watershed events, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the
Space Race, Vietnam, and the arms race, and offers
fascinating glimpses into the intellectual methodology of a
circumspect president and his brilliant, eclectic brain
trust.
Just as the unique vision of President John F.
Kennedy continues to resonate half a century after his
stirring speeches and bold policy decisions, the documentary
candor of Listening In imparts a vivid, breathtaking
immediacy that will significantly expand our understanding
of his time in office.