Sounding the Trumpet

It was a grand speech and the keynote for a generation of Americans. One observer called it the finest American political document in more than forty years. Another thought it was the best expression of the American spirit since Woodrow Wilson, perhaps since Emerson. Approaching a half century after its delivery, historians agree that in at least one way John F. Kennedy ranks with Jefferson, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt -- in the quality of his inaugural address. In Sounding the Trumpet, Richard J. Tofel tells the full story of this mythic moment in American history. He draws on original research materials in the Kennedy Library and elsewhere, as well as exclusive interviews. Unlike earlier treatments of the subject, these include extensive and candid conversations with Theodore Sorensen, Kennedy's aide and chief speechwriter, who has never before discussed in full how the speech was composed. Sounding the Trumpet thus reveals many unknown details about this landmark speech -- why JFK's famous handwritten "draft" is not a draft at all; what contributions came from Adlai Stevenson; how Kennedy rejected a last-minute addition about civil rights; and, most important, how much of the speech Kennedy wrote himself. Mr. Tofel sets the political scene for Kennedy's inaugural, tells the story of the day in detail, and follows closely the writing of the speech, its delivery, and its reception then and later. He plumbs its many sources and influences, from Shakespeare to John Kenneth Galbraith, and explains the motives behind Kennedy's phrases. Appendices include never-before-published drafts and transcriptions of the address. In all, Sounding the Trumpet is not only a fascinating story but the definitive history of one of the great speeches in American history. - Jacket flap.