Coming Soon

On Sale: Nov 3, 2026
Page Count: 352 pages
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN-13: 9781541705456

$19.99

$25.99 CAD

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Format:

ebook $19.99 $25.99 CAD
Hardcover $32.00 $42.00 CAD

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The surprising story of how John F. Kennedy’s obsession with Winston Churchill defined his life, transformed his politics, and helped elevate him to the nation’s highest office.

Winston Churchill remains one of the modern age’s most revered leaders. His life has been the subject of decades of mythmaking and scrutiny, and yet few know the powerful sway he had over another twentieth-century political icon—John F. Kennedy.

Drawing on deep wells of unpublished archival material, Kennedy's Only Hero uncovers Kennedy’s obsession with Churchill, whose career, policies, writings, and even daily habits profoundly shaped the future president. Kennedy discovered Churchill’s books as a teenager and by his early twenties had become an unswerving believer in his brilliance. Under Churchill’s influence, Kennedy rejected his own youthful isolationism and adopted the approach to national and international politics that propelled him to the presidency. Although they would not meet until late in their lives, Churchill’s influence on Kennedy’s campaign tactics, speeches, and worldview was overwhelming. Kennedy’s conviction in the power of peace through strength, his faith in summits, his understanding of the importance of rhetoric, and his deep commitment to service and global engagement—all came from Churchill.

Kennedy's Only Hero is an enlightening and deeply human story of an admiration and aspiration that changed the course of history.

Genre:

“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.”
Andrew Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of Churchill
“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.”
Max Boot, author of Reagan: His Life and Legend