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JFK: Ordeal in Africa
Reconstructs the role of John Kennedy in American foreign policy toward the African nations, following his career from 1951 through his presidency and documenting the momentous political and social events of the period
352 pages, Hardcover
First published November 17, 1983
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June 13, 2018
'JFK: Ordeal in Africa' offers a detailed study of the Kennedy presidency's policies, mainly in relation to the Congo, Ghana and Angola. Richard D. Mahoney's copyright of this work is dated 1983. The title of the book with its subject matter may appear to offer a rather mundane read, but in fact it is far from that. Mahoney's research is detailed and informed, which is not surprising as his father was William P. Mahoney, who Kennedy sent to Ghana as U.S. ambassador, as well as gaining access to George Ball's private papers and working through material in the JFK Library etc.
The author is probably the earliest to publish details of Eisenhower's green light to CIA relating to the elimination of Patrice Lumumba, an operation that Kennedy was kept in the dark about, judging by his reaction to the news of his death as shown on the books front cover photograph taken by Jacques Lowe. Also covered is the death of U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold in the Congo, but Mahoney is not aware of Allen Dulles' complicity.
All in all this is an excellent analysis of the policy decisions and the complex foreign relations that the agenda of JFK's administration engendered, predominantly in Africa, Europe and the U.N. but also at home in the U.S.
The author is probably the earliest to publish details of Eisenhower's green light to CIA relating to the elimination of Patrice Lumumba, an operation that Kennedy was kept in the dark about, judging by his reaction to the news of his death as shown on the books front cover photograph taken by Jacques Lowe. Also covered is the death of U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold in the Congo, but Mahoney is not aware of Allen Dulles' complicity.
All in all this is an excellent analysis of the policy decisions and the complex foreign relations that the agenda of JFK's administration engendered, predominantly in Africa, Europe and the U.N. but also at home in the U.S.
Displaying 1 of 1 review