Fredrik Logevall

Fredrik Logevall, Author of "JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956"

Fredrik Logevall, John

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Friedrich Logevall launches a two-volume biography titled *JFK: The Coming of Age in America's Century*, which recontextualizes John F. Kennedy's early life against the United States' ascent to global superpower status. Drawing on extensive family correspondence and archival research, Logevall argues that Kennedy's formative years were defined by his mother's intellectual influence, a critical ideological split with his father over appeasement, and a PT boat experience that instilled lasting skepticism toward military intervention. The volume concludes by detailing how these experiences shaped a pragmatic political philosophy and a unique campaign strategy in 1946 that prioritized volunteer mobilization, bipartisan compromise, and the preservation of democratic institutions.