"Remembering America": Richard N. Goodwin

[MinM]

The Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin thread, reminded me of the excellent work of non-fiction by Doris' husband, Richard Goodwin:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_N._Goodwin

After clerking for United States Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter in 1958, Goodwin came to Senator John F. Kennedy's attention in 1959 while working as special counsel to the Legislative Oversight Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Goodwin was involved in investigating the Twenty One quiz show scandal (which provided the story for the 1994 movie Quiz Show in which he is portrayed by actor Rob Morrow).

Goodwin joined Kennedy's speech writing staff in 1959, and after Kennedy's successful presidential bid, served as assistant special counsel to the President in 1961. Goodwin was also a member of Kennedy's Task Force on Latin American Affairs and in 1961, was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, a position he held until 1963. As one of Kennedy's specialists in Latin-American affairs, Goodwin helped develop the Alliance for Progress, an economic development program for Latin America, and met secretly with Che Guevara in Uruguay in August 1961. From 1963 to 1964, Goodwin served as secretary-general of the International Peace Corps and in 1964 became special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson. He has been credited with naming Johnson's legislative agenda "the Great Society"...

[EPIC1934]

1. MinM Knows MiMs books!!

Wow, I had known of Goodwin as one of three main ways the JFK communicated with Cuba because he no longer trusted the CIA on account of they were disobeying him everywhere from Vietnam to Cuba to Indonesia to Laos to Schenectady. But I had not idea he was married to Dorris. Quel wierd!

By the way MinM you sure seem to have read some great books (yes this is roudabout way of self-flattery, but that was my major in college) THAT BOOK YOU POSTED EALIER BY JIM HOUGAN CALLED SECRET AGENDA IS A MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST READ FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO HAVE ANY FUN AT ALL IN LIFE.

[MinM]

2. Thanks, EPIC1934...

:hi:

David Talbot referenced Richard Goodwin, and "Remembering America", in his fine book "Brothers":

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/books/review/Brinkley-t.html

Lisa Pease uses Jim Hougan's "Secret Agenda" in this excellent essay:

Real History Blog: The Real History of Gerald Ford, Watergate, and the CIA

So you never know where you'll find some hidden gems... Here's just a few more of the books Lisa Pease references in that piece: