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The Kennedy Moment
Dr Michael Lowell – a mild-mannered American, unshakeably decent and at the peak of his profession – is intrigued by Stephen Walsh's invitation to a reunion of Oxford college friends. At least he'll be able to catch up with cynical advertising genius Toby Jenks and frontline medic Hélène Hevré, comparing notes on mid-life frustrations and old ideals. He’ll also have to face Seema Mir, the serene young woman from Karachi who rejected him twenty years ago because he was 'just a little bit too dull’.
He expects a congenial weekend; instead they seed a conspiracy that could rock the foundations of the US government.
Moving between Oxford, New York, Washington, Geneva and Abidjan, this compelling political thriller is the story of five people possessed by an extraordinary idea. Theirs is an 'unthinkable’ plan to save the lives of millions. But the risk is to their own lives is incalculable.
He expects a congenial weekend; instead they seed a conspiracy that could rock the foundations of the US government.
Moving between Oxford, New York, Washington, Geneva and Abidjan, this compelling political thriller is the story of five people possessed by an extraordinary idea. Theirs is an 'unthinkable’ plan to save the lives of millions. But the risk is to their own lives is incalculable.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published October 23, 2018
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56 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 7, 2018
The Kennedy Moment is a truly gripping tale that at times made laugh out loud with the outrageous plausibility of the central idea, at times weep for lives unlived and the injustice in the world, and overall warmed the heart by drawing you in to a group of old friends, old loves and youthful ideals lost and found again. Its one of those novels that stay with you long after you’ve gleefully turned the final page; partly because of the thought-provoking way the issues are covered, partly because you come to care about each of the characters and think fondly of them as if they are really out there somewhere, and partly because it is just so beautifully written. Often you have to sacrifice great writing for a great story, but Peter Adamson manages to effortlessly combine both in The Kennedy Moment. I highly recommend this book along with Facing out to Sea and the Tuscan Master by the same author – brilliant.
September 2, 2018
The best thing about this book was the afterword detailing the "real" story behind the novel
Poor writing, poor, tired plotting, full of cliche and based on a moral anger "shared" by a friendship group that, at best, was so unlikely as to be laughable. The group that doesn't gel then attempt to pull off a "scam" requiring complete trust between the "friends"
A let's throw everything at it novel....Oxbridge privilege, friendship, lost love, third world health issues, AIDS, cancer, slavery, inside the White House...
Poor writing, poor, tired plotting, full of cliche and based on a moral anger "shared" by a friendship group that, at best, was so unlikely as to be laughable. The group that doesn't gel then attempt to pull off a "scam" requiring complete trust between the "friends"
A let's throw everything at it novel....Oxbridge privilege, friendship, lost love, third world health issues, AIDS, cancer, slavery, inside the White House...
January 13, 2020
In this political thriller by former UNICEF official Peter Adamson, the reunion of five college friends launches a do-good project that none of them could have anticipated, that has every potential of imminently and disastrously going off the rails, and that has almost incomparably high stakes.
In the early 1960s, a group of Oxford University students were best friends. As Stephen Walsh, a stubbornly Marxist professor writes to the others, “We’ve lost touch, the months drifting into years and the years into decades.” He proposes a reunion, and leading up to it, you learn a bit about the others, all people of accomplishment in their varied spheres. Michael Lowell, the only American, leads a World Health Organization team on childhood immunization; Seema Mir works on a biography of the African American Hemings family; Toby Jenks is the hard-drinking creative director of an advertising agency; and Canadian Hélène Hevré is a physician, exhausted from the demands of tending patients within the minimalist health care system of Côte d’Ivoire.
The relationships among these friends, especially the two almost-couples (Michael and Seema; Toby and Hélène), are believable and sometimes painful because the characters are so engaging.
At the reunion, Toby, with his flair for the dramatic, responds to the health professionals’ angst over vaccine-preventable illnesses saying, “Seems to me, possums, the obvious thing to do here is to get hold of a little test tube of [cached smallpox virus] and threaten to blow bubbles with it in Times Square unless the world gets off its butt and immunizes every last kiddie.”
A few months later, the friends reunite in New York. No one has forgotten Toby’s little joke, and before long they have a plan to use smallpox virus to blackmail the US government into fulfilling its immunization commitments. But it must be carried out in complete secrecy.
Predictably, the government focuses not on meeting these mysterious demands, but on finding out who is behind this little venture and stopping it. To them, it’s bioterrorism, and a nail-biting chase is on. Meanwhile, Toby crafts a powerful statement for the US President: “Twenty years ago, President John F Kennedy committed the United States to the goal of putting a man on the moon within a decade. Today, the United States commits itself to another great goal: a goal for our times; a goal to be achieved here on earth; the goal of immunizing all of the world’s children against the major killer diseases of childhood.”
I loved this book and the daring team of characters that took on the crimes of neglect and half-measures.
In the early 1960s, a group of Oxford University students were best friends. As Stephen Walsh, a stubbornly Marxist professor writes to the others, “We’ve lost touch, the months drifting into years and the years into decades.” He proposes a reunion, and leading up to it, you learn a bit about the others, all people of accomplishment in their varied spheres. Michael Lowell, the only American, leads a World Health Organization team on childhood immunization; Seema Mir works on a biography of the African American Hemings family; Toby Jenks is the hard-drinking creative director of an advertising agency; and Canadian Hélène Hevré is a physician, exhausted from the demands of tending patients within the minimalist health care system of Côte d’Ivoire.
The relationships among these friends, especially the two almost-couples (Michael and Seema; Toby and Hélène), are believable and sometimes painful because the characters are so engaging.
At the reunion, Toby, with his flair for the dramatic, responds to the health professionals’ angst over vaccine-preventable illnesses saying, “Seems to me, possums, the obvious thing to do here is to get hold of a little test tube of [cached smallpox virus] and threaten to blow bubbles with it in Times Square unless the world gets off its butt and immunizes every last kiddie.”
A few months later, the friends reunite in New York. No one has forgotten Toby’s little joke, and before long they have a plan to use smallpox virus to blackmail the US government into fulfilling its immunization commitments. But it must be carried out in complete secrecy.
Predictably, the government focuses not on meeting these mysterious demands, but on finding out who is behind this little venture and stopping it. To them, it’s bioterrorism, and a nail-biting chase is on. Meanwhile, Toby crafts a powerful statement for the US President: “Twenty years ago, President John F Kennedy committed the United States to the goal of putting a man on the moon within a decade. Today, the United States commits itself to another great goal: a goal for our times; a goal to be achieved here on earth; the goal of immunizing all of the world’s children against the major killer diseases of childhood.”
I loved this book and the daring team of characters that took on the crimes of neglect and half-measures.
February 24, 2018
An interesting book about an important subject. The issue of child immunisation across the world in the 1980 is the background for this conspiracy thriller. Well researched, although I wasn't convinced by the idea of a Channel 4 'bimbette' in April 1980 when the channel didn't start transmission until November 1982 and indeed the 1980 Broadcasting Act was only given Royal Assent in November 1980 leading to Channel 4. This did throw me out of the narrative for awhile.
However, my biggest frustration was the doggedness with which Adamson finds it necessary to parallel the thoughts and actions of the five leading characters as the conspiracy unfolds. So, while an important part of health history, the writing could have shown great alacrity in the telling.
However, my biggest frustration was the doggedness with which Adamson finds it necessary to parallel the thoughts and actions of the five leading characters as the conspiracy unfolds. So, while an important part of health history, the writing could have shown great alacrity in the telling.
November 20, 2019
An imaginative take on what might have gone on behind the scenes in the 1980s in the corridors of power and influence to bring about a considerable increase in the vaccination of children in the poorer countries of the world, along with the personal relationships between a group of sixties students meeting at a reunion twenty years on. With a clever twist at the end. An enjoyable read.
June 2, 2019
Enjoyable fiction
Pleasant read, nice concept, fascinating back story.
I mix light reads with heavy factual books and this was a nicely put together story, hard to encapsulate what made me give it 5 stars without introducing spoilers.
Pleasant read, nice concept, fascinating back story.
I mix light reads with heavy factual books and this was a nicely put together story, hard to encapsulate what made me give it 5 stars without introducing spoilers.
October 7, 2019
Spectacular
A gripping and almost mind-numbing tale that unfolds through rich, textured prose and real, memorable human characters. Not to be missed is the Epilogue and ‘Real Story’ at the very end.
A gripping and almost mind-numbing tale that unfolds through rich, textured prose and real, memorable human characters. Not to be missed is the Epilogue and ‘Real Story’ at the very end.
February 2, 2019
This is a great story, gripping plot and fascinating characters
August 6, 2025
Brilliant read - based on the realities of an unequal World and the small pox immunisation programme of the 1980s. While the plot is fiction it could well be real. Best book this year!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews