The Bystander offers the most complete account to date of John F. Kennedy's engagement with the civil rights movement, from his first campaign for public office in 1946 until his death in 1963. Tracing the complete scope of Kennedy's political career, Nick Bryant demonstrates that his adroit, cynical, and at times brilliant, handling of the race issue contributed greatly to his meteoric political rise. Once president, however, Kennedy was content to remain a bystander when faced with the increasingly violent struggle over civil rights. His passivity encouraged die-hard white supremacists to believe they could go on defending segregation well into the 1960s, which, in turn, impelled black activists to adopt increasingly militant tactics-leading inexorably to some of the most climactic, and divisive, battles of the civil rights era. Book jacket.