Kennedy’s Only Hero

“With this well-researched, engagingly written, and captivating book, Joel Nelson has managed to achieve the impossible. He has significantly enlarged the already incredibly wide scope of both Kennedy and Churchill studies, and in a way that does justice to both great men. He proves his thesis about the profound effect of Churchill on JFK’s thoughts and actions beyond doubt.”

“Joel Nelson had the inspired idea to examine JFK’s political rise through the lens of Kennedy's deep and persistent admiration for Winston Churchill. The result is a fascinating and discerning exploration of how one iconic twentieth-century leader helped shape the rhetoric and political persona of another.”

“If you think there is nothing new or interesting to be said about either Winston Churchill or John F. Kennedy, Joel Nelson shows you are wrong. In Kennedy’s Only Hero, Nelson sheds light on a little-known aspect of JFK’s life: his fascination with Churchill. Nelson shows how JFK was influenced by a British prime minister he barely knew—and whom his own father detested. This book is a biographical feast for anyone interested in the lives of two of the most significant leaders of the twentieth century.”

“Joel Nelson has achieved a rare and remarkably researched tour de force: an illuminating, engrossing, and novel exploration of not one but two twentieth-century giants. Through Nelson’s outstanding scholarship, we discover the previously overlooked extent of Winston Churchill’s impact on John F. Kennedy and gain a new appreciation for the combined effects of their leadership during moments of crisis.”