Forty Ways to Look at JFK relates the gripping details of JFK’s colorful life and explains how, despite a presidency of only 1,037 days, Kennedy managed to inspire such fascination. Rubin’s “forty ways” approach highlights Kennedy’s high ideals, trenchant wit, winning family, and unforgettable charisma, and also exposes his astonishing sexual appetite, his lies to the public, his shrewd manipulation of the press, and his exploitation of imagery.

Most importantly, this biography tackles the enduring puzzle about JFK: what made Kennedy Kennedy? What made him such a dazzling, unforgettable figure? It illuminates Kennedy’s provocative character and explains the source of his enduring magic as not even the most exhaustive JFK studies have managed to do.