Norman Mailer: Works and Days

The Leading Man, or the Dark Ambiguities within Us All

Mailer's review of Victor Lasky's J.F.K.: The Man and the Myth — a critical biography of Kennedy from the political right. Reprinted in Cannibals and Christians (66.11) and The Idol and the Octopus (68.11).

“The Leading Man, or the Dark Ambiguities within Us All.” Book Week (New York Herald Tribune), 29 September 1963, 1, 16–17. Review of J.F.K.: The Man and the Myth, by Victor Lasky (Macmillan, 1963). Rpt: Cannibals and Christians (66.11), The Idol and the Octopus (68.11).

First published: 1963-09-29
Form: criticism
Lennon & Lennon: 63.35
Cite as: /works/1963-09-29-leading-man-jfk-myth
Last updated: 2026-05-27