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Counselor CD: A Life at the Edge of History | 
 enlarge | Creator: Ted Sorensen
Publisher: HarperAudio
Category: Book
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $17.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  33 reviews
Sales Rank: 574391
Format: Abridged, Audiobook
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Abridged
Number Of Items: 12
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 6.2 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0061557544
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.922092
EAN: 9780061557545
ASIN: 0061557544
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In this gripping memoir, John F. Kennedy's closest advisor recounts in full for the first time his experience counseling Kennedy through the most dramatic moments in American history. Sorensen returns to January 1953, when he and the freshman senator from Massachusetts began their extraordinary professional and personal relationship. Rising from legislative assistant to speechwriter and advisor, the young lawyer from Nebraska worked closely with JFK on his most important speeches, as well as his book Profiles in Courage. Sorensen encouraged the junior senator's political ambitions—from a failed bid for the vice presidential nomination in 1956 to the successful presidential campaign in 1960, after which he was named Special Counsel to the President. Sorensen describes in thrilling detail his experience advising JFK during some of the most crucial days of his presidency, from the decision to go to the moon to the Cuban Missile Crisis, when JFK requested that the thirty-four-year-old Sorensen draft the key letter to Khrushchev at the most critical point of the world's first nuclear confrontation. After Kennedy was assassinated, Sorensen stayed with President Johnson for a few months before leaving to write a biography of JFK. In 1968 he returned to Washington to help run Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign. Through it all, Sorensen never lost sight of the ideals that brought him to Washington and to the White House, working tirelessly to promote and defend free, peaceful societies. Illuminating, revelatory, and utterly compelling, Counselor is the brilliant, long-awaited memoir from the remarkable man who shaped the presidency and the legacy of one of the greatest leaders America has ever known.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 28 more reviews...
Time well spent September 20, 2008
Counselor was very much what I expected., having heard a radio interview between Bob Edwards and the erudite Mr. Sorenson. Bordering on hero worship but honest and informative, this book confirmed what I always felt about JFK, that he was one of a kind and American politics has not and possibly may not see his ilk again.
 Ted Sorensen's 2008 Convention Speech September 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ted Sorensen's 2008 Convention Speech
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 03:20 PM
"In my more than 50 years of national conventions, this is one of the most important. Our 8 year national nightmare of mendacity, mediocrity and economic misery--with millions of Americans losing their jobs, their savings, their homes and their hopes--will soon end with the election of Barack Obama.
I have long dreamed that our party would produce another president matching John F. Kennedy's intellect and integrity, his capacity to inspire justice at home and peace around the world--and this week my dream is coming true. Once in a lifetime, said the poet, hope and history meet in one extraordinary man and movement--I thank the good Lord that I've lived long enough to meet and help such men twice in my lifetime, John Kennedy and Barack Obama.
Kennedy at 43 proved that age matters in the White House. His energy, appeal to other young world leaders, calm under pressure and openness to new thinking, well served our nation. Denounced as a candidate for lacking executive experience, he displayed sound judgment in leading a successful nationwide campaign, choosing a top-notch team, negotiating with difficult leaders, and out-organizing and out-th inking his adversaries--just as he would as president, particularly when, with prudence and courage, he induced the Soviets to withdraw their nuclear missiles from Cuba without the U.S. firing a shot; and the world gave thanks that the more experienced Richard Nixon had lost that close election.
In 1960, Kennedy, like Obama today, facing a Republican tied to a failed past, looked to a future of new ideas and opportunities. As president, he did not send the Marine Corps to preserve America's oil supplies, he sent the Peace Corps to preserve America's global standing. Confronting a Soviet military advantage in space, he made all Americans proud by literally reaching for the moon.
Today, we need new leadership. We have lost our way, lost the respect of our allies, lost the confidence of our investors and consumers. Are we to be the first generation of Americans to leave to our children a country in worse condition than we received it?
In short: this year, my friends, the fates will try us; erase all trace of fear and bias; we have the man we need at last to embrace the future, not the past, and to dispel eight years of pain and shame. Barack Obama is his name! Call the roll!"
 Sorenson audio-book review August 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A fascinating look at a fascinating time from a unique perspective, Ted Sorenson. Sorenson's own words & voice inflections are preserved for future generations. Anyone interested in the Kennedy Presidential era should add this to their collection. A must!
Sorensen, before, during and after JFK August 28, 2008
Should fairly obscure and relatively little known people write autobiographies? Answers to this question will vary, of course, but if the person's name is Theodore C. Sorensen, my answer would be 'definitely'. Indeed, Sorensen is one of several persons I identified several years ago in a category I labelled "I hope he writes and I can read his life story". [In case anyone is interested, the other two were/are musicians: Frederick Fennell (1914-2004) and Mitch Miller (1911- ).]
Ted Sorensen is one of those figures who essentially went from nowhere to become one of the closest aides to President John F. Kennedy. Readers of this memoir will be most interested in Sorensen's life between 1953 and Novemeber 22, 1963, during which he served as one of JFK's closest advisers ("Special Counsel" was his official title from 1961 to 1963) and his top speech writer.
There are many ideas a reviewer of this book could comment on. I will mention a few that especially interested me.
So, according to Sorensen, the following are accurate:
-- JFK was the person who conceived and was the main writer of his famous "Profiles in Courage" book, though he did receive lots of assistance from Sorensen.
--Kennedy "showed no courage" in avoiding voting on the censure of Senator Joe McCarthy during the 1950s.
--JFK did err (in accepting assurance of success from CIA leaders) in the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, but he recovered, learned from his experience, and was brilliant during the Cuban Missile Crisis, especially in triumphing over his hawkish associates.
--Kennedy took greater initiative in civil rights than any of the presidents before him.
--We really don't know what JFK would have done with respect to US involvement in Vietnam.
Here are a few additional revelations. Sorensen was responsible for the faux pas JFK made in his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in Berlin. The Kennedys and Lyndon Johnson really did not get along well, and JFK thought LBJ was just about useless as Vice President. There was much friction between Sorensen and JFK associates/advisers Ken O'Donnell and Richard Goodwin.
Regarding the JFK assassination, Sorensen was, along with many of JFK's close associates, too shocked and numbed by his death to give much thought to the question of who did it. But over the decades Sorensen has come around to accepting what most of the American people have believed: more persons than Lee Oswald were involved in this unsolved and unpunished crime.
The epilogue is extremely useful as a concise summary of Sorensen's view of JFK's strengths, weaknesses, triumphs, failures -- both personal and as a public figure. If one does not read all 530 pages of the book, at least read this epilogue.
I believe the book justified my hopes expressed in the first paragraph of this review. The writing is superb, for the most part candid, and full of humor. If the 1950s and and 1960s interest you at all, this is a book to investigate.
Tim Koerner
August 2008
Inspiring in places, the book lacks the human touch. August 26, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I am an Irish Catholic, born six months prior to JFK's murder; the admiration for JFK as lost leader has been a backround to my life, and is deeply felt in my society. I have been thrilled on the speeches - `A man on the moon this decade' represents, for me, the it audacity, ambition and directness that I associate with the USA -so I am up for the whole Camelot ticket. I admire what Ted Kennedy has done for the Irish Peace process, and am willing to go along with the Obama endorsement. So I bought this book looking for an insight into JFK's character and the philosophy that backed it up. It gave me neither.
What I had previous known about Ted Sorensen was limited, though I knew he played some part in writing the speeches. In fact it turns out that he was JFK's right hand man for most of the 1950's and special counsel to the President during the Kennedy presidency. However I must admit that when I started the book, I skipped straight to the second section which describes the time that Sorensen started to work with Kennedy, guiltily, I later returned to the first section for the sake of completeness. One of things that struck me about the narrative is Sorensen's complete sublimation of his personality to Kennedy his statement that his role in the speeches and in writing Profiles in Courage, were to express Kennedy's own thoughts, because he, Sorensen, had come to know them so well. I found this a bit creepy.
Another source of guilt for me is the fact, mentioned in the Epilogue, that Sorensen is dictating this book ( to Obama's speechwriter, if I'm not mistaken) having had a stroke in 2001, leaving him with blurred vision, unable to read or write clearly. For a man who is so clearly well read, whose profession and interest centre around reading and writing, this must be devastating. Sorensen has shown remarkable fortitude to deal with this cruel blow.
Despite the above, I didn't enjoy the book. I felt that the view of Kennedy was too deferential, only grudgingly admitting that JFK had any faults, acknowledging only those weaknesses which are now public knowledge - womanizing, the pressure on the New York Times to remove their Vietnam correspondent - " I know of no other instance where he made such a request to another newspaper". Sorensen tells how high-minded Kennedy was in pursuit of policy matters, even to the point of political disadvantage. This to me just did not seem realistic, I do think he showed great courage is tackling the Civil Rights issues associated with desegregating the Southern School system - however I also think its realistic to say that he came to this issue quite late. Even Lincoln came late to Emancipation. His handling of the Big of Pigs was hesitant, of the Missile Crisis was deft. So I think its ok to say that he learned on the job.
At the same time as JFK is venerated, almost held in aspic, I felt a curious lack of human detail. What made him such a leader? There are flashes of his winning humour - to overcome rumours that his millionaire father was funding his campaign (which was true) JFK read out, at a press gathering, a (false) telegram from his father saying " don't buy one more vote than necessary, I'm damned if I'll pay for a landslide". But what attracted such a talented team, how did JFK overcome his relative youth, his privileged backround and administrative inexperience to become such a courageous leader? There really isn't much clue in this book, I'm afraid.
Sorensen's own view of the team and his role in it is too rosy also. He seems to be surprised to find out that Ken O'Donnell, another Kennedy advisor ( Played by Kevin Costner in the movie Thirteen Days) disliked Sorensen intensely. Indeed Sorensen seems to have been unaware of personal animosity and tension within the Kennedy team at all. I think this is unbelievable, tensions among ambitious people under pressure is inevitable. It is incredible to me that Sorensen won't acknowledge its existence. He quotes a Boston Globe editorial (from 1977) which describes Sorensen as " never a well-loved man with his icy brilliance and his hard eye for competence". Why not own up to this? His contempt for President Johnson is just beneath the polite surface, he quotes Jackie's comments on the references to LBJ in Sorenesen's biography of Kennedy "You must know - as well or better than I - his [JFK's] steadily diminishing opinion of him[LBJ]...", the book would be better if we got more of this flesh and blood feel of what it was like to live through the interaction of these characters. There is, however, a classic anecdote which summarises Sorensens view of the contrast between JFK and LBJ - JFK's speech's would quote and reference all manner of classical sources, but when LBJ received a draught speech referencing a quote from Socrates, he crossed out the ancients name and replaced it with `my granddaddy', you can almost see Sorensens nose wrinkle.
Sorensen practised law in New York after leaving government service, occasionally being drawn back into the political life, once tragically with Robert Kennedy, once, sourly, as a potential Carter appointee to the CIA. His candidateship ran into rough water in the Senate, and he was very bruised by fellow Demoncrats and abandoned by Carter. His stories about his international law practice left me a bit cold - He helps found the South Africa Feed Election (SAFE) fund to help South Africa get ready for its first election after Nelson Mandela's release. Anthony O'Reilly is the co-chair of SAFE and Sorensen tells of explaining the work of SAFE to Mandela while flying back to New York from O'Reilly's estate in the Bahamas, on O'Reilly's private plane. Anthony O'Reilly is one of Ireland's richest men, formerly CEO of Heinz, he is a media-magnate who has developed significant media businesses in the new South Africa.
He mentions working to develop a pipeline in Panama in 1976, the agreement was worked out between General Torrijos, Panama's leader (unelected) at the time and the company's president Harold Bernstein. Sorensen takes some pride is stating that thirty years later he returned to renegotiate the deal between Torrijo's son, Martin, then President of Panama and Jay Bernstein, president of the company. I think the feel of the elite going about their business makes me quite uncomfortable.
In truth there are many fine attributes to the book, Sorensens loyalty is evident, his eloquence is breathtaking, his advice on speechwriting and the US political process is acute. I think what I disappointed me most is the absence of a clear political philosophy. His loyalty to and admiration of Kennedy are commendable, his loathing of the current administration is palpable. He is very comfortable with a president who knows the limits of the feasible, even for a superpower. But I can't discern an overachieving philosophy that will guide those who wish to follow his hero's footsteps. Conservatives have fashioned a credible philosophy around Liberty - which justifies a belief in small government, looser regulation, lower taxation, it is also (at a stretch) used to justify the Iraq invasion. It is most exposed on issues of personal morality. Progressives (or Liberals or whatever) don't seem to me to have a comprehensive set of beliefs - presumably it could be fashioned around Equality - though US policy in regard to Healthcare, Infrastructure and International Co-operation definitely needs some work. I don't get that some this book.
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