Winston Churchill is one of the most scrutinised figures of the modern age. And yet the extraordinary hold he had over John F. Kennedy — beginning in his teenage years and lasting to his final day — is little known.

Drawing on previously unpublished archival material, Kennedy's Only Hero tells the story of how Churchill's career, writings, policies, and even daily habits profoundly shaped the future President. Under Churchill's influence, Kennedy shed his early isolationism and developed the worldview that would propel him to the White House — his conviction in peace through strength, his faith in summits, his understanding of rhetoric, his commitment to service and global engagement.

Although they met only once, the encounter between these two figures altered the course of the twentieth century.