Collections of letters are precious when the correspondents are
prominent and the content is of enduring value, for example the
Adams/Jefferson letters. In this volume the correspondents are
certainly important people, but it's hard to find additional
justification for publication. Veteran economist Galbraith's
letters to John F. Kennedy, from 1959 through mid-1963, are grouped
by editor Goodman (History/Rutgers Univ.) into three sections:
politics, economics, and foreign affairs. The last is by far the
meatiest; the first two are brief and seemingly padded by trivial
notes communicating pleasantries or future intentions and are
included only to display a clever phrase in the prose. However,
Galbraith's commentary on taxation does provide striking examples
both of how things never seem to change and of how thoroughly they
can change. On one hand, he notes the existence of"a large part of
American conservative and business opinion" that favors tax cuts no
matter what the consequences to the budget or the country. On the
other hand, in warning against a tax cut, Galbraith claims that
"the worst tag of all" is "irresponsibility," a seemingly archaic
view now, when irresponsibility on tax cuts (in relation to budget
demands) is apparently a requirement for election to public office.
The letters relating to foreign affairs are more substantive,
reflecting Galbraith's posting as ambassador to India. From this
vantage point he felt free to comment on south and southeast Asian
affairs in general, and notable among his observations are repeated
warnings against relying on Diem in Vietnam, an assessment that
proved accurate but went unheeded. Reports on politics in India and
a military clash with China will be of moderate interest for
students of south Asian politics, but ultimately there is little
here to capture the attention of the general reader. (Kirkus
Reviews)
A unique document in the history of the Kennedy years, these
letters give us a firsthand look at the working relationship
between a president and one of his close advisers, John Kenneth
Galbraith. In an early letter, Galbraith mentions his "ambition to
be the most reticent adviser in modern political history". But as a
respected intellectual and author of the celebrated The Affluent
Society, he was not to be positioned so lightly, and his letters
are replete with valuable advice about economics, public policy,
and the federal bureaucracy. As the United States' ambassador to
India from 1961 to 1963, Galbraith made use of his position to
counsel the President on foreign policy, especially as it bore on
the Asian subcontinent and, ultimately, Vietnam. Written with verve
and wit, his letters were relished by a president who had little
patience for foolish ideas or bad prose. They stand out today as a
vibrant chronicle of some of the most subtle and critical moments
in the days of the Kennedy administration - and a fascinating
record of the counsel that Galbraith offered President Kennedy.
Ranging from a pithy commentary on Kennedy's speech accepting the
1960 Democratic presidential nomination (and inaugurating the "New
Frontier") to reflections on critical matters of state such as the
Cuban Missile Crisis and the threat of Communism in Indochina,
Letters to Kennedy presents a rare, intimate picture of the lives
and minds of a political intellectual and an intellectual
politician during a particularly bright moment in American history.
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