Five best books that expose presidential myths

Ronald Kessler is the author of In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect and the chief Washington correspondent of Newsmax.com.

For the Wall Street Journal he named a five best list of books that explode presidential myths. One title on the list:

JFK: Reckless Youth
by Nigel Hamilton
Random House, 1992

In "Reckless Youth," Nigel Hamilton peels back myths about President John F. Kennedy, revealing his insatiable sexual appetite, his affair with pro-Nazi beauty Inga Arvad, and the importance of his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, in financing and orchestrating his campaigns. "We're going to sell Jack like snow flakes," the former ambassador said before his son first ran for Congress. Later Joe lamented that "with the money I spent"—$250,000 according to Hamilton—"I could have elected my chauffeur."

Read about another book on Kessler's list.

Also see Elvin T. Lim's five best list of books on presidential rhetoric and Fred Siegel's five best list of books about presidential administrations.

--Marshal Zeringue