Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History I was very disappointed in Sorensen's book, primarily because about the only thing he gives JFK credit for is his hiring him! It is as if he believes he was the president himself. Most offending is that clearly he does not connect his speechwriting rules "less is more" to his biography. After almost every description of a positive development in JFK's, Sorensen adds a paranthetical note crediting himself or noting how he predicted the outcome, making it an aggravating read. Sorensen has forgotten that he was part of a team and should have left the credit with the subject that is interesting; JFK and his administration (and subsequent relationships).

His opening comment is completely disengenous about his being uncomfortable about too many "I's". This is a man that is so full of himself...

Sorensen deserves credit for his service to the country, as I am sure he is a phenominal individual and was instrumental in shaping policies to the benefit of his sponsor and the US. But he is not an individual that one should devote the first 90 pages about his upbringing and background about...he simply is not that interesting...he was not the president of the United States...and this book is not that interesting because of it.

Few would disagree that John F. Kennedy was one of our most inspirational presidents and that it was a tragedy that he was assassinated. Since the 1950s, it was well known that some of the most memorable words that Kennedy inspired us with were drafted if not written in total by Ted Sorensen, Kennedy's dedicated staffer who played many roles in addition to helping write speeches, books, and articles. Speculation about Sorensen's role was fed by Mr. Sorensen's humble deflection of praise that others aimed in his direction.

Imagine what it would have been like to talk to JFK every day and to see him most days. Imagine, even more, if you were walking on history's stage in your role: You weren't just pouring him coffee.

You could re-title this book as "Dream Job" and you wouldn't be far off.

In Counselor, Mr. Sorensen reveals more than in the past about his personal relationship with President Kennedy, who did what and when, his views about Kennedy's decisions and legacy, and what the lessons for historians are from that era. In letting down his hair, Mr. Sorensen is a loyal heir to the Kennedy legend: He doesn't criticize more than an independent observer would who knew the surface facts. Naturally, he also defends where many would not (he's gentle on Kennedy for increasing the number of military advisors in South Vietnam and letting the military leaders there murder the country's political leader). Further, he seems to have amnesia about what any president did before Kennedy who was not a Democrat (he writes as though there was no space program before Kennedy took office).

One of the most interesting episodes in the book comes long after President Kennedy was killed in the description of Mr. Sorensen's nomination to be CIA head by President Carter. The contrast between Kennedy and Carter could not be clearer in reading how this was handled.

I think we should be generous with Mr. Sorensen. It's been many years. He's almost the last of those who served in those years who knows the inside stories. He also suffered a substantial stroke that affected his vision and made writing this book extremely difficult. I commend Mr. Sorensen for making the effort. There are many lessons here that new administrations can learn from.

I also honor him for his service to the nation, to John F. Kennedy, and to my youthful idealistic dreams by inspiring them with his timeless words. Many will always remember him as a speech writer, but he was truly more . . . especially during those potentially deadly days during the Cuban missile crisis.

Thank you, Mr. Sorensen.

This is the most moving, realistic depiction of JFK I have ever seen. Many will forever rant and rave over his personal peccadillos, but this man was a leader. His speech at American University, which was his way of dealing with Soviet & American feelings about nuclear war included the following. "For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet; we all breathe the same air; we all cherish our children's future; and we are all mortal." I heard that speech as a young man. I am now 82 and it still rings in my ears. I was raised an avid republican, but I am proud to have helped vote him into office. His like hasn't been seen since.

Ted Sorensen subtitles his memoir Counselor as "A Life at the Edge of History." It is, in fact, a rarely candid and insightful account of a life at the very center of history.

Sorensen is widely known as JKF's speechwriter, but he was much more. He was JFK's liberal conscience and go-to-guy for everything from the handling of the "Catholic issue" in Kennedy's run for the White House to the writing of the letter to Khrushchev during the Cuban missile crisis. The combination of keen intellect and inspiring idealism that anchored Sorensen at the center of JFK's political life is crystallized on the pages of a retrospective clearly aimed at bringing both the author and his country closure on the shattering of that brief window of greatness.

Don't come expecting a tell-all from this member of the Kennedy inner-circle (not just JFK, but Robert and Teddy, as well). Surely Sorensen is the faithful keeper of many secrets. He traveled with JFK throughout his campaigns, competed with RFK in the White House, enjoyed a close friendship with Jackie, and jeopardized his own political future by helping the family "handle" Chappaquiddick; but beyond the general and widely known stories, you'll get nothing new from Sorensen. He remains, as he has always been, the loyal keeper of the flame. What Sorensen does provide is a clear-eyed and frank view of his own life and its sizeable impact on political history of our times.

For anyone who still remembers where he or she was when the gunshots rang out in Dallas, this book is a behind-the-scenes revelation of a history we lived, but never really knew. For those too young to remember, the book is, as JFK himself would have wanted, a torch of liberal idealism passed to a new generation. To that end, Sorensen has accomplished with book the goal he set. He has completed his service to the President he loved.

Sorenson

Ted Sorenson's autobiography is told in three parts: his early life, his years with JFK, and his post-November 1963 experiences. Within the three parts, the book deals with episodes or themes of Sorenson's life rather than a chronological, day in and day out retelling of his experiences.

Sorenson's early years are interesting, but the book really takes off when he moves to Washington, DC. His rise is quick, as within a short time of his arrival in DC he is already the confidante and a top aide to a rising star in the Senate. It is in the chapters on JFK's Senate career and presidency that most readers will be most focused. While interesting, there are not too many new insights on the major events here that cannot be found in other works on Kennedy, including Sorenson's own book, Kennedy. What was enlightening for me was the extent of Sorenson's work and relationship with Kennedy. I knew they were close and that Sorenson wrote his speeches, but had no idea that Sorenson was basically Kennedy's Chief of Staff and a top advisor on every major issue. I imagined the Kennedy/Sorenson relationship, from what I had learned, as one where JFK turned to Sorenson at the end of the day to ask his opinion, not one where Sorenson had such a formal, central role.

I also did not realize the extent of Sorenson's career after his departure from the Johnson Administration. Until picking up the book, I did not realize his extensive involvement in RFK's 1968 campaign, his own 1970 race for the Senate, or his brief nomination to be CIA Director (I was born after the Carter Administration). These sections of the book, and many others about his involvement in Democratic politics, demonstrate a continued involvement and impact that was far greater than just his years in the Kennedy White House.

The book makes me nostalgic for a time I never experienced. Intelligent, hardworking people engaging in serious issues and trying to do their jobs well and make the country better, with politics not the driving force. Perhaps it was never as good as Sorenson makes it seem, but it sure looks better than today.

John Kennedy was a great man and would have been a transformer of Washington politics. That's why they killed him!!! Ted Sorenson tells the up close and personal story of why we no longer have Jack kennedy among us.

This is a very readable and enoyable book by a man who was involved at the core of JFK's decision-making process. Starting with a history of his family's background and proceeding through his life with Kennedy from his election as Senator till his death and beyond Kennedy, Sorensen weaves a story of being involved at many levels of recent American history. It is a treasure trove for students of recent American history as well as a great source of information for the everyday American.

This important book written so beautifully by Ted Sorensen should serve as a "how-to" lesson for anyone who cares about public service. The lesson seems simple.If you do not have a passion for the wellbeing of our citizens pick another profession. I was deeply moved in receiving such a first hand acoount into the great matters of our time. This should be required reading for anyone who has a concern for our institutions.

I listened to the audio of this book, read by Ted Sorensen, the author.
I highly recommend the audio, especially if you lived through this period or would like to know more about it. It will be a classic audio for the ages.
Mr. Sorensen relates some really interesting episodes that I didn't know or had forgotten. He says President Kennedy called the New York Times to get them to fire the late brilliant prophetic journalist and author David Halberstam, because Halberstram was trying to warn America against escalating involvement in the Vietnam conflict.
Halberstram later wrote "The Best and the Brightest", relating the irony of the brightest brains in America under Kennedy and Johnson lead America into such a disastorous war in Vietnam.
Ted Sorensen says, quite credibly, that he advised both President Kennedy and President Johnson against escalation in Vietnam. Tragically Sorensen's advise was not taken by either Kennedy or Johnson. Sorensen was the idealist, the pacifist, in the Kennedy brain trust.
As couselor to President Kennedy says in this book that he knew President Kennedy was thinking of making an overture to Communist China in JFK's 2nd term in office, should JFK be reelected.
In light of this, Serensen may wish to provide a sequel to this book, in which he could give his full analysis of Presdent Nixon's trip of reconcilliation to China, with Henry Kissinger, which effectively laid the groundwork for peace in Vietnam, and hopefully an end to America's wars in the Far East.
Most unfortunately, but understandably, Serensen does not mention Nixon's historic trip to China, in this book. This is a geat disappointment, because Serensen could provide great insight. Nixon and Kennedy were of course direct political opponents.
So the absence of any mention of Nixon's most historic trip to China is understandably not mentioned at all in this book.
Also, in light of Kennedy's near tragic confrontations with the Soviet Union in Berlin and in Cuba, it would be fascinating to learn of Serensen's views of the fall of the Berlin Wall and indeed of the entire Soviet Union and its empire during the Reagan-Bush Administrations.
Serensen does voice his view that Kennedy would not have have made the terribly tragic escalations of the war in Vietnam, had he lived, and his Vice President Johnson not become President upon the death of President Kennedy.
Although Johnson was a Kennedy appointee of course, and Johnson' war cabinet were virtually all Kennedy appointees as well, it is plausible that with Serensen advising Kennedy, Kennedy would have avoided the terribly tragic mistakes of the Johnson Administration in Vietman. Although it is Sorensen's conjecture, we don't know.

Ted Sorensen's narrative about his association with JFK , throughout his days as Senator, his run for the presidency and his short time as president, brought back many memories. This book changed my opinion of President Kennedy. I have a new found respect for JFK that hadn't existed before reading this.
Sorensen was on the scene when the Bay of Pigs happened. The Cuban missile crisis, and many other major crisies of the times. It was very interesting to relive these situations from the inside.

Well, I could not finish this effort and so the reader must take that into account. That said, Mr. Sorensen is a marginal reader -- whatever may be said of the text. I was never clear on the vision here except that we all understand just what a swell guy Ted Sorensen is. Point noted.

This is a great book. Informative and personal, from a man who has seen so much and done so much. A must read for anyone who has a passion for politics or 20th Century American History.

Ted Sorensen has once again written a memoir filled with insight. His has been a remarkable life, and he has been able to bring so many historical figures to life - the Kennedy brothers, LBJ, etc.

This is a do not miss read for those who remember the magic of the Kennedy years and what could have been.

Some of the criticism leveled against Theodore Sorensen's new book, "Counselor", has to do with his close relationship to President Kennedy, thereby suggesting a literary hagiography. These sentiments could not be farther from the truth. In "Counselor", Sorensen offers up the good and the bad, the wise and the mediocre and provides what must be the definitive accounting of the Kennedy years. It's a fair and moving tribute to our thirty-fifth president and a terrific look at the man who spent so many years with him.

Sorensen's background, a Danish, Unitarian-Jewish kid from Nebraska, couldn't have been more than the oddest of pairings to John F. Kennedy. But they complemented each other in ways that both men found remarkable. Sorensen was, in many ways, Kennedy's eyes and ears for the eleven years in which they worked together and the author's eyewitness to history is a welcome addition to anyone who remembers that time. Describing in detail the Cuban Missile Crisis, Sorensen is at his best and this chapter is, indeed, the best of the book. He's also candid about what his service to the president meant to his own life....the break-up of his first marriage, his absence from his sons and countless numbers of sleepless nights. Along the way, Sorensen reminds the reader of his liberal roots and his continuing liberalism to this day. It's refreshing to know that one of the last surviving members of the Kennedy inner circle, while recently losing most of his eyesight, has not lost his fervor and passion.

Sorensen saves up some of his harshest comments for the end....a ringing indictment of the Bush administration and it comes precisely at a time when the country is in desperate need of new leadership. It doesn't go unnoticed that the final photo in the book is one of Sorensen and Barack Obama, taken last October. The spark of imagination that President Kennedy left seems to be in the air today.

"Counselor" is a deeply moving and personal work and every page is to be savored. It is particularly reflective for those of us old enough to remember President Kennedy and his times, but also a wonderful introduction to those young enough who might have felt a loss of inspiration because of the past eight years in Washington. I highly recommend "Counselor" for Theodore Sorensen's detailed remembrances of his role in American history and I mirror his hopes that life in America can be so much better.

Sorensen has made a valuable contribution to understanding JFK's presidency. His prose of course are outstanding, a rare experience in this type of literature.
His ability to explain complicated issues in terse but eloquent terms adds reams to understanding the president's positions on so many things: Cuba, Berlin, Civil Rights and Vietnam to name a few of many.
I hope he continues with more efforts on this subject.

Robert Dorff
Palm Springs, CA.

An interesting mix of the author's own autobiographical details and his personal and historical insights into John Kennedy's presidency. Lacks the flair and fascination factor of Arthur Schlesinger Jr.'s recent memoirs, but should be of reasonable interest to students of recent American history

I had the distinct pleasure to meet Mr. Sorensen 19 years ago when he very graciously gave me an hour of his time to talk about JFK. I knew that night that I was in the presence of a special person. I loved this compelling book. Get it now!

I thoroughly enjoyed Counselor and especially appreciate the way Mr. Sorensen chose to organize his storytelling in a topical way (e.g., My Perspective of JFK's Personal Life, President Johnson's 1963 Transition, etc.). The author's prose is tight and well turned, as anyone familiar with his writing would expect, but at over 500 pages this is rather like the magnum opus of his life. I have a first edition of his excellent 1965 book on Kennedy but, for the most part, this latest and perhaps final work is much more candid. There are some exceptions such as his very touch and go treatment of Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick. He well describes the consequences of the incident but then takes the opportunity to sing the praises of the younger Kennedy's political skills, calling him "the most relaxed campaigner of the three..."

Mr. Sorensen has lived an interesting life apart from his work with the Kennedys and inclusion of that material is a plus. The space he devotes to it is about right; the book remains primarily focused on his long association with JFK and that is what the typical reader wants and expects. Of particular interest to me was how Kennedy reached out to Republicans -- described in a Chapter called "President Kennedy's Ministry of Talent." I knew it to be true (he appointed my uncle to the federal bench upon the recommendation of then Deputy Attorney General Byron "Whizzer" White) but didn't realize the full scope.

It would be easy to give this book the five stars it probably deserves but I went with four only because, from my perspective, the loyalty muzzle is still a little too evident. While I can come up with a few other petty critiques there is just much too much to like about this book to make that worthwhile. Some readers may disagree with Sorensen's politics but it would be the rare iconoclast who cannot appreciate his insights and wonderful storytelling.

The well-written memoirs of a man forever to be identified with John F. Kennedy's political career, especially the White House days. While not telling all, this book is the candid product of a bright, honest, but still politically driven man, a 1960s liberal, who writes in the twilight of his life.

Mr. Sorensen is one of the last living central participants of JFK's Administration and his story would have value for this fact alone. Readers wishing to learn about presidential political campaigning, the art of speech writing, and more on such important historical events as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the presidential transition from JFK to LBJ will profit from reading this book.

While material on his later private law practice is not as interesting as the rest of the text, this is only to be expected. In terms of his post White House career, I did find of value his description of his ill-fated nomination by President Carter as DCI and noted the fact there is little mention of President Clinton's years. (A prominent picture of Senator Obama and Ted Sorensen is in this book. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that the author sees the current junior senator from Illinois as his pick for this year's Democratic Party nominee for president--and the direct and true successor to JFK's legacy.)

I know Ted Sorensen through our common support of Barack Obama and was eager to read this magnificent biography. I bought it on Tuesday, May 6 the first day it was published and I didn't put it down ( with the exception of eating, showering and sleeping about four hours each of the last two nights) until a few hours ago when I finished reading it.

It is a magnificent opus. The writing is superb. Rarely do the heart and head come together so well without sacrificing or compromising either.

Modest without being falsely self effacing, this truly is an indispensable book for any American citizen or world citizen. And its an absolute must for any political junkie from Al Franken to Ann Coulter.

Stop what you're doing. Run out and get it. Its a great gift for anyone's birthday in May (June is too late -- its that good).

Ted Sorensen is a historical figure in his own right. He was indispensable to Kennedy and now to Obama.

There are many reasons to read this book. Not just for its great insights with an unobscured and unobstructed perspective, but because of new information into the life of JFK whose reputation will be enhanced by this near reverential but still candid volume.

A mutual friend of Ted Sorensen's just forwarded me the first reviews including the Wall Street Journal. To say they were raves is to understate them. Also, the respected art historian and biographer, Gail Levin (Distinguished Professor at Baruch College, City University of New York and the preeminent scholarly authority on Edward Hopper)thinks the book is terrific. Gail Levin holds the same professorship as the late Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., (the Pulitzer Prize winning historian and colleague of Sorensen) and Billy Collins( twice the poet laureate of the United States).

I know Ted Sorensen well, so what I have to say about his extraordinary personal history is obviously being written as a friend and admirer. As a friend, I can say that Ted speaks truth to power; as an admirer, I can say that he speaks truth forcefully and candidly. He was arguably John Kennedy's alter ego. At the very least, Ted was the man who shaped JFK's lyrical, intellectually vigorous speeches. But Ted was also a canny adviser, the lawyer who marshaled his facts well, made the connections between random thoughts and workable ideas, and produced a consistent body of work for the president he loved and trusted. Ted once told me that not a day goes by without him thinking of JFK -- of the man JFK was, and about what might have been. Like his late friend Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Ted occupied an honored place at the table in Camelot. What his memoir makes plain -- in his own special, witty way -- is how much Ted shaped JFK's Camelot itself.