Ascent A Novel

Description

From a master of precision (The Observer, London) comes an explosive, provocative novel about John F. Kennedy s years in the White house: his political daring, his brave dedication to human rights, his devotion to his family and his uncontrollable and unrelenting appetite for sexual adventure. • Taut, magnificent prose: Mercurio s premise to chronicle Kennedy s exploits, political and sexual, through the President s own anguished but self-centered perspective is bold to the point of hubris, but he succeeds in spades. The writing is elegant, spare, and wry; the narrative is exquisitely paced. The book s ending is emotionally shattering empathetic, redemptive, and shocking. • Startlingly revisionist portrait of JFK: We see Kennedy at his best, as a visionary statesman, a former soldier turned moral pacifist, a loving parent and devoted husband. And we see him at his worst, as a compulsive philanderer whose countless conquests of movie stars, socialites, secretaries, and interns ruined hundreds of lives. • Amazing cast of characters: They are all here: Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Angie Dickinson, Judith Campbell, LBJ, Fiddle and Faddle, Eisenhower, and perhaps most memorably, Jacqueline Kennedy.

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