Whether you lived through his time, watched his assassination coverage on TV, or just heard about him in school, the name John F. Kennedy rings a bell.
Also referred to as JFK, he was more than a president and a politician, he was a public figure. Curtis Wilkie Jr. discussed that in his newest book The Road to Camelot: Inside JFK’s Five-Year Campaign, which he co-authored with Thomas Oliphant. He said JFK had a sense of celebrity, and his marriage to Jackie O was an American version of a royal wedding.
“It was in the mid-50s, and it was a lavish wedding that was widely covered, a beautiful couple,” said Wilkie.
JFK was also a prize-winning author.
“(He wrote) Profiles in Courage, which won a Pulitzer prize,” said Wilkie.
But aside from being a senator, president, author and public figure, JFK was a renowned playboy.
“He had a well-earned reputation,” said Wilkie. “But in those days, it wasn’t something you talked about. Some journalists would deny that they knew anything about it.”
Wilkie, a Greenville native, will be touring along with Oliphant around the state for book signings. The first is Wednesday night at Square Books in Oxford, and another Thursday night at Turnrow Books in Greenville.
For more information about the book, click here.
