John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the author of Profiles in Courage, was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the second of nine children born to Joseph and Rose Kennedy, who pushed their children to strive to accomplish great things. Joseph was an ambitious man who pinned his political hopes on his oldest son, Joe. When Joe died in 1944, however, Joseph's attention turned to John. Although John had been sickly as a child, he was accepted into the Navy during World War II. After a 1943 incident at sea, John was declared a war hero. Kennedy's military service, family name, and excellent education (London School of Economics, Harvard, and Stanford Business School) gave him a strong start in politics. He had not planned on a political career, but he felt a sense of responsibility toward his family now that he was the oldest. Once he entered public service...