The Gulf Harbour Book Club met on June 2 to discuss An Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns Goodwin. There were 16 of us in attendance in person and on Zoom. This month we did not have the author on Zoom. The book is so amazing that we actually ran over the hour allotted to Book Club with us continuing the discussion at lunch.
Joan did the author review. Doris Kearns Goodwin was born in 1943. She is an American biographer, historian, sports journalist and political commentator. She has written numerous biographies of U.S. Presidents. Doris won a Pulitzer Prize for her book The Home Front from World War II. She grew up in Rockville Centre, N.Y., attended Colby College where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta and Phi Beta Kappa. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in political science. She earned a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University. Her story of her life with Dick Goodwin is a must read for every teenager and adult. Dick is probably the best speech writer in the history of the United States. He was a Kennedy guy, and she was a Johnson girl. The memoir is funny, sad and educational.
We could not have written the book review as well as Bill Gates did. Here is his review.
“I picked either the best time or the worst time to read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s new memoir. As I finished it, I was also deep in the writing of my first autobiography. On one hand, reading a book as thoughtful and well written as An Unfinished Love Story inspired me to push myself even more as an author. On the other hand, Goodwin sets a daunting example. Trying to write as well as she does is like trying to sing along with Lady Gaga.
I’m a big fan of Goodwin’s—Team of Rivals is one of my favorite history books ever—so I wasn’t surprised that An Unfinished Love Story was so compelling. It starts with a clever conceit. Doris was married for 42 years to Dick Goodwin, a policy expert and White House speechwriter who played a crucial role in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations of the 1960s. Toward the end of Dick’s life, he and Doris started going through 300 boxes of papers and memorabilia he had collected—an exercise that led them to reopen an old debate about the relative merits of the two presidents, and especially the question of which man deserves more credit for the accomplishments of the Great Society.
The book is partly about Doris and Dick’s decades-long relationship, and partly about a pivotal time in American history. It works on both fronts.
I had never heard of Dick Goodwin before I read the book. I did know about Ted Sorensen, who had a major influence on Kennedy’s thinking and speeches; Dick Goodwin, it turns out, was just as important. He helped shape the Great Society, the most dramatic shift in America’s public safety net since Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. He was a senior advisor on Bobby Kennedy’s presidential campaign, and many years later, drafted Al Gore’s statesmanlike concession speech after the 2000 election. (Goodwin also led the investigation in the real-life game show scandal that was the subject of the movie Quiz Show; he’s played by Rob Morrow.)
The book left me with more admiration for both Kennedy and Johnson. When the Goodwins began the project of going through Dick’s papers, each had clear opinions on the two presidents: Dick was a Kennedy guy who quit the Johnson administration in protest over the Vietnam war and the president’s domineering style, while Doris preferred Johnson’s political savvy and ability to get things done. She worked at the White House during the latter’s administration and became a confidante; after he left office, she went to Texas to help him with his memoir.
Sadly, the Goodwins’ project was cut short by Dick’s death in 2018. In the end, he and Doris came to see both presidents in a more nuanced way. After reading the book, so did I. Doris takes you behind the scenes so you can watch the two presidents and their teams figure out how to move their agenda forward, recruit good people, and explain their plans to the public. At the same time, she doesn’t shy away from the contradictions and flaws in their characters, particularly in LBJ’s case.
Doris’ personal experiences, and her retelling of Dick’s, make the history feel more real. She’s not just reporting on what happened—she can tell you what it was like to be there, using intimate personal details to bring the era to life in a way I hadn’t seen before. In one funny and revealing moment, Johnson complains that Dick Goodwin is getting too much attention from the media—to the point that he tells a reporter that no one by that name even works at the White House.
I think this book will resonate with a lot of different readers. For one thing, it’s hard to deny the similarities between the 1960s and today—a time of political upheaval, generational conflict, and protests on college campuses. Whether you already know a lot about the ’60s or you’re just dipping your toe into those waters, whether you want a deep dive into the art of political writing or a charming story about a married couple who adored each other, you’ll get it from An Unfinished Love Story.”
The Gulf Harbour Book Club meets on the first Monday of each month in the fitness center. If you want to join the book club email [email protected]. Zoom is available for members if the author allows it. Zoom is available for members during the off season. We had nine authors lined up for the 2025/26 season. The August book is The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict. She will not be on Zoom. We have the following authors on Zoom. September is Kristin Harmel for The Stolen Life of Collette Marceau, The Lotus Shoes with JaneLang, Abi Dare with The Girl with the Louding Voice and its sequel And So I Roar, Not Yours to Keep by Zelly Ruskin, Bernhardt Schline for The Granddaughter, March is Sandi Altner for Rupert’s Landing, April is Chris Torockio for The Soul Hunters and May is Stephanie Dray for A Founding Mother.
