The President Has Been Shot!

Book 28 of my 2015 Reading Challenge

read from May 20 - 26

The President Has Been Shot! by James L. Swanson

Summary (via Goodreads)

In his new young-adult book on the Kennedy assassination, James Swanson will transport readers back to one of the most shocking, sad, and terrifying events in American history. As he did in his bestselling Scholastic YA book, CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER, Swanson will deploy his signature "you are there" style -- a riveting, ticking-clock pace, with an unprecedented eye for dramatic details and impeccable historical accuracy -- to tell the story of the JFK assassination as it has never been told before.

My Opinion

On the younger side of the YA spectrum, this book is a good resource with bite-size chunks of information presented in a clear way.  The pictures were helpful in adding context and I imagine they would help keep young readers interested as well.

It's amazing to me that in one generation we've gone from concerns about electing a Catholic president to electing a black president and having a female frontrunner.

Although there wasn't anything new for me (but I do want to research Addison's disease further), it was an enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend this to my children and other young readers.  A good addition for school libraries.

A Few Quotes from the Book

"The next morning [on the day of his inauguration], John and Jacqueline Kennedy left their [Georgetown] house for the last time and embarked on a journey that he would not complete, and from which he would never return."

"Of all his characteristics, John Kennedy had one more important than all the rest - an ability to inspire people, through words and personal example, to attempt great things."

"It was done. Four days of blood and death, of mourning and drums, were over. America would never be the same."

"The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, is as compelling as any drama written by William Shakespeare. It is the great American tragedy. Except for this: The tale is incomplete. In the tragedy that he wrote, Lee Oswald left the stage before the final act. He quit the drama before the play was done, and before he told us why he did it or how the story would end."