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Details
KENNEDY, John F. Typed letter signed ("John Kennedy") to Gerald W. Johnson, Washington, 12 July 1962. 1 page, 4to, White House stationery, laid down on card.
JFK THANKS A STAUNCH DEMOCRATIC AUTHOR FOR HIS BOOK ON THE PRESIDENCY. "John T. Lawrence sent me a copy of your book, The Presidency. I am very pleased to see it. You have done an amazing and important job of making the presidency a concept both understandable and stimulating to young minds." Johnson's book was published by William Morrow in 1962. It is one of several dozens titles by this prolific author, who "wrote forty-four books, including nine biographies, ten books for juveniles on American history and government, three novels, and many historical studies and commentaries" (Frederick Betz, American National Biography). He got his first break in 1923 when his answer to "Sahara of the Bozarts" ("The Congo, Mr. Mencken") caught Mencken's eye and landed him a job on the Baltimore Sun. Johnson wrote extensively about Southern matters--bashing the "I'll Take My Stand" crowd mercilessly--and then became an impassioned polemicist on behalf of FDR, the New Deal and American intervention in World War II. This cost him his friendship with his mentor in Baltimore, but won him the esteem of leading Democrats like JFK. Johnson turned his wit on Republican opponents like Joseph McCarthy and Richard Nixon (whom he dubbed "The Nothing King" in one essay). He lived long enough to vote for every Democratic Presidential candidate from Woodrow Wilson to Jimmy Carter.
JFK THANKS A STAUNCH DEMOCRATIC AUTHOR FOR HIS BOOK ON THE PRESIDENCY. "John T. Lawrence sent me a copy of your book, The Presidency. I am very pleased to see it. You have done an amazing and important job of making the presidency a concept both understandable and stimulating to young minds." Johnson's book was published by William Morrow in 1962. It is one of several dozens titles by this prolific author, who "wrote forty-four books, including nine biographies, ten books for juveniles on American history and government, three novels, and many historical studies and commentaries" (Frederick Betz, American National Biography). He got his first break in 1923 when his answer to "Sahara of the Bozarts" ("The Congo, Mr. Mencken") caught Mencken's eye and landed him a job on the Baltimore Sun. Johnson wrote extensively about Southern matters--bashing the "I'll Take My Stand" crowd mercilessly--and then became an impassioned polemicist on behalf of FDR, the New Deal and American intervention in World War II. This cost him his friendship with his mentor in Baltimore, but won him the esteem of leading Democrats like JFK. Johnson turned his wit on Republican opponents like Joseph McCarthy and Richard Nixon (whom he dubbed "The Nothing King" in one essay). He lived long enough to vote for every Democratic Presidential candidate from Woodrow Wilson to Jimmy Carter.