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One would be hard-pressed to find an American politician more heavily mythologized than John F. Kennedy, who at age forty-three, became the youngest man (and only Catholic) to have been elected President of the United States, only to be assassinated under circumstances people still debate today.

Kennedy served just over 1,000 days of his presidency before his assassination, but left an amazing legacy for such a short time in office: He steered the country from the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, inspired young and old alike with his calls to public service, and extended federal civil rights protection.

To celebrate his birthday on May 29, we're looking at three books about Kennedy’s life and political career.

An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917 - 1963 by Robert Dallek

Historian Robert Dallek is one of the world’s foremost experts on the Kennedy presidency, and his book An Unfinished Life is considered by many to be the definitive biography of America’s 35th President.

Dallek’s thorough and impartial work reveals many previously unknown details of Kennedy’s personal life and career in public office, from his secretive health problems and rumored love affairs, to his private thoughts regarding the domestic and international challenges of his term.

These and other important aspects of the Kennedy presidency are covered in great depth; so much so that those who only know the idealized Kennedy of "Camelot" myth may discover that they’re barely acquainted with the imperfect but gifted human being behind it.

Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Robert F. Kennedy

In October of 1962, a decision by the Soviet government to place nuclear missiles on the island nation of Cuba very nearly led to all-out nuclear war between the United States and the USSR.

Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis takes readers behind the scenes of the conflict for a front-row seat at the negotiation table to watch Kennedy and his administration engage the Russians in a dangerous game of diplomacy with millions of lives in the balance.

It would be difficult to find an author better qualified to have written this memoir than Robert F. Kennedy: as the president’s brother, he was his closest confidante, and as the nation’s Attorney General, he participated directly in the negotiations that brought the conflict to an end.

The Making of the President: 1960 by Theodore H. White

Journalist Theodore H. White singlehandedly raised the bar for political reportage with The Making of the President: 1960, a book that captured all of the drama and uncertainty of a year on the campaign trail in novel-like prose. White spent most of that year embedded with Kennedy and rival candidate Richard M. Nixon, a position that enabled him to witness them both at their most candid moments.

The Making of the President: 1960 was enormously successful. The book became a New York Times Bestseller and earned White a Pulitzer Prize in 1962. Despite that, White wouldn’t make his biggest contribution to the Kennedy legacy until after the president’s death.

Following Kennedy’s assassination, the man who had been there to record the earliest moments of the JFK presidency was called into service once more to write its coda. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy invited the author to the White House for an exclusive interview only days after losing her husband. During their conversation, Mrs. Kennedy urged White to write about her JFK’s fondness for the Broadway musical Camelot and the idealistic admiration he felt for King Arthur as a hero.

Moments after the interview, White wrote an essay for Life magazine that likened Kennedy’s White House to the legendary court of King Arthur. The public was drawn to the metaphor, and many still use "Camelot" today to describe the idealism that drove Kennedy’s presidency.