Rising Star, Setting Sun

by John T Shaw

Overview

After winning the presidency by a razor-thin victory on November 8, 1960, over Richard Nixon, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s former vice president, John F. Kennedy became the thirty-fifth president of the United States. But beneath the stately veneers of both Ike and JFK, there was a complex and consequential rivalry. In Rising Star, Setting Sun, John T. Shaw focuses on the intense ten-week transition between JFK’s electoral victory and his inauguration on January 20, 1961. In just over two months, America would transition into a new age, and nowhere was it more marked that in the generational and personal difference between these two men and their dueling visions for the country they led. The former general espoused frugality, prudence, and stewardship. The young political wu¨nderkid embodied dramatic themes and sweeping social change. Extensively researched and eloquently written, Shaw paints a vivid picture of what Time called a “turning point in the twentieth century” as Americans today find themselves poised on the cusp of another watershed moment in our nation’s history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643132280
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	09/10/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

John T. Shaw is the author of four previous books, including most recently JFK in the Senate: A Pathway to the Presidency. He's covered Congress for Market News International for nearly twenty-five years, and has also been a contributing writer for the Washington Diplomat and has been a guest on PBS NewsHour and C-SPAN. He lives in Washington D.C.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

1 Election Day in America 1

2 Dawn of the New Decade 19

3 The Shadow Campaign 46

4 The Age of Eisenhower 75

5 The Junior Senator from Massachusetts 101

6 President Eisenhower Transfers Power 125

7 President-Elect Kennedy Prepares 166

8 Passing the Torch 206

9 Rising Star, Setting Sun 226

Bibliography 245

Endnotes 249

Acknowledgments 261

Index 263

Editorial Reviews

Shaw vividly portrays the generational clash between the upstart former lieutenant and the iconic general. Following a campaign marked by raw personal attacks, they overcame their disdain, with a passing of the torch and stirring rhetoric that became a high point in each president’s career.

Richard Cohen

John Shaw’s Rising Star, Setting Sun is a riveting account centered on the ten weeks between the electoral victory of John Kennedy on 8 November 1960 to his inauguration on 20 January 1961. While the focus of action rests on the transfer of power from Dwight Eisenhower to his successor, Shaw additionally provides snapshots of the trends that coursed through American society in the 1950s-1960s. He deftly handles matters related to that era’s economic vitality, demographic shifts, cultural happenings, scrappy partisan politics, and international dilemmas. Shaw’s analysis of rival types of statecraft, particularly in the foreign policy field, rewards close reading as he compares the cautious, prudent, skeptical Eisenhower with the taut, enthusiastic, gung-ho Kennedy. This sharp difference, as Shaw explains in crisp prose, was highlighted in Eisenhower’s farewell speech which contained apt warnings against the “military-industrial complex” versus Kennedy’s inaugural address with its declaration that the United States would “pay any price” to ensure the global “success of liberty.

David Mayers

While Shaw ostensibly focuses on the transition period between the two administrations exiting and entering the White House, his sweeping book covers much more ground. Shaw’s elegant style and attention to history serve as a reminder of that peaceful transition that was a turning point in the 20th century.

Bookreporter

Even though John Shaw's superbly-written narrative concentrates on the transition from Dwight Eisenhower to John Kennedy, he has accomplished far more by characterizing the strengths and weaknesses of these two epochal figures throughout their presidential years.

Irwin F. Gellman author

The presidential transition from Dwight Eisenhower to John Kennedy starkly contrasted the parties, temperaments, and generations of the two leaders, yet the transfer of power proceeded amicably in the national interest. John Shaw’s Rising Star, Setting Sun slips behind the veil of civility to take the measure of both men and assess their personal antagonisms.

Donald A. Ritchie

John Shaw does a brilliant job of capturing the hidden tensions during the transition from Eisenhower to Kennedy. The two men couldn’t have been more different in personal style and policy priorities. Shaw brings to life the sharp contrast between Ike and J.F.K. as the old gave way to the new.

Larry J. Sabato

A captivating account of Kennedy’s often overlooked formative years in the Senate. A fascinating read.

Senator Robert Casey of Pennsylvania [praise for 'JFK in the Senate']

With a stirring address and the passing of the torch to a new generation, the 1961 presidential inauguration marked a pivotal moment in U.S. history. We take these quadrennial rituals of peaceful transition for granted, but in fact they are carefully planned and executed. John Shaw provides fascinating behind-the-scenes detail of this iconic event while exploring the broader context of a nation in evolution. Extensive research, insightful analysis, and a journalist’s knack for telling a good story makes Rising Star, Setting Sun essential and entertaining reading for anyone interested in the American presidency.

Betty K. Koed

With telling details and anecdotes, a keen understanding of the principals and their times, and a vigorous narrative that sweeps the reader through his story, Shaw provides a colorful and constructive account of American democracy at work.

Richmond Times-Dispatch