The Sorensen Autobiography
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Though not directly described and marketed this way, "Counselor" really is Sorensen's autobiography. The life of a small-town half-Jewish half-Danish kid from Nebraska that made some smart choices and ended up as John F. Kennedy's confidante throughout his most momentous years and by extension the country's.
As a student of history, there was much to be learned about Sorensen's personal beliefs and family upbringing that you couldn't possibly learn from any other book. For example, Sorensen was raised as a Unitarian and those pacifist views are what shaped his decision as a conscientious objector in WWII and overall commitment to peace and non-violence.
The book as expected is eloquently written and though at 500+ pages still reads rather briskly. There are no footnotes or endnotes as Sorensen describes the book to be more memoir than academic or scholarly text. As an auto-biography, the book is very reflective yet not to cerebral, well-worth the read for anyone who wants to know more about Sorensen and his relationship with the Kennedys. If you're looking for anything on Barack Obama, there is very little here, maybe 1 or 2 sentences and a picture.
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In Praise of Camelot
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Few would disagree that John F. Kennedy was one of our most inspirational presidents and that it was a tragedy that he was assassinated. Since the 1950s, it was well known that some of the most memorable words that Kennedy inspired us with were drafted if not written in total by Ted Sorensen, Kennedy's dedicated staffer who played many roles in addition to helping write speeches, books, and articles. Speculation about Sorensen's role was fed by Mr. Sorensen's humble deflection of praise that others aimed in his direction.
Imagine what it would have been like to talk to JFK every day and to see him most days. Imagine, even more, if you were walking on history's stage in your role: You weren't just pouring him coffee.
You could re-title this book as "Dream Job" and you wouldn't be far off.
In Counselor, Mr. Sorensen reveals more than in the past about his personal relationship with President Kennedy, who did what and when, his views about Kennedy's decisions and legacy, and what the lessons for historians are from that era. In letting down his hair, Mr. Sorensen is a loyal heir to the Kennedy legend: He doesn't criticize more than an independent observer would who knew the surface facts. Naturally, he also defends where many would not (he's gentle on Kennedy for increasing the number of military advisors in South Vietnam and letting the military leaders there murder the country's political leader). Further, he seems to have amnesia about what any president did before Kennedy who was not a Democrat (he writes as though there was no space program before Kennedy took office).
One of the most interesting episodes in the book comes long after President Kennedy was killed in the description of Mr. Sorensen's nomination to be CIA head by President Carter. The contrast between Kennedy and Carter could not be clearer in reading how this was handled.
I think we should be generous with Mr. Sorensen. It's been many years. He's almost the last of those who served in those years who knows the inside stories. He also suffered a substantial stroke that affected his vision and made writing this book extremely difficult. I commend Mr. Sorensen for making the effort. There are many lessons here that new administrations can learn from.
I also honor him for his service to the nation, to John F. Kennedy, and to my youthful idealistic dreams by inspiring them with his timeless words. Many will always remember him as a speech writer, but he was truly more . . . especially during those potentially deadly days during the Cuban missile crisis.
Thank you, Mr. Sorensen.
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