Creating Camelot

Book excerpt: *Includes pictures of the Kennedys and important people, places, and events in their lives. *Includes an introduction. "Don't let it be forgot that once there was a spot for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot" In many ways, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his young family were the perfect embodiment of the '60s. The decade began with a sense of idealism, personified by the attractive Kennedy, his beautiful and fashionable wife Jackie, and his young children. Months into his presidency, Kennedy exhorted the country to reach for the stars, calling upon the nation to send a man to the Moon and back by the end of the decade. In 1961, Kennedy made it seem like anything was possible, and Americans were eager to believe him. The Kennedy years were fondly and famously labeled "Camelot" by Jackie herself, suggesting an almost mythical quality about the young President and his family. Much of the glamor and vigor of Camelot, if not the majority of it, was supplied by First Lady Jackie Kennedy, whose elegance and grace made her the most popular woman in the world. Her popularity threatened to eclipse even her husband's, who famously quipped on one presidential trip to France that he was "the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris." Lady Jeanne Campbell put it best, writing for The London Evening Standard, "Jacqueline Kennedy has given the American people...one thing they have always lacked: Majesty." Americans were fascinated by the young First Lady's style, and the manner in which she glamorously positioned both the First Family and the White House in those years, and Jackie remains one of the country's most popular First Ladies. But it was in the face of adversity that she truly made her lasting mark, with the country taking its cue from her in the aftermath of the president's assassination. Having devised and lit the eternal flame at JFK's tombstone, Jackie also set about securing her husband's legacy, a time still fondly and mythically remembered as Camelot today, despite his legendary transgressions and infidelities. As it turned out, the '60s closely reflected the glossy, idealistic portrayal of John F. Kennedy, as well as the uglier truths. The country would achieve Kennedy's goal of a manned moon mission, and the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 finally guaranteed minorities their civil rights and restored equality, ensuring that the country "would live out the true meaning of its creed." But the idealism and optimism of the decade was quickly shattered, starting with Kennedy's assassination in 1963. The '60s were permanently marred by the Vietnam War, and by the time Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated in 1968, the country was irreversibly jaded. The events of the decade produced protests and countercultures unlike anything the country had seen before, as young people came of age more quickly than ever. Creating Camelot chronicles the amazing lives and legacies of John and Jackie, weaving their lives and legacies together into one narrative. Along with pictures of the Kennedy family and important people, places, and events in their lives, you will learn about the John and Jackie like you never have before, in no time at all.