History's Verdict

He chronicled American presidents from Andrew Jackson to Robert Kennedy, and closed out his illustrious career with a blast at the presidency of George W. Bush. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. was a curious intellect, an indefatigable bon vivant, a fierce liberal and a loyal friend. Students of America's politics, and their subjects, offered NEWSWEEK their memories of him. Excerpts:

Theodore C. Sorensen
Former special counsel and adviser to President John F. Kennedy

Arthur was my friend for over 50 years. We first met early in the summer of 1956 when, at Sen. John F. Kennedy's direction, I traveled to Arthur's summer home at Wellfleet on Cape Cod to discuss with him—a close adviser to Adlai Stevenson, the likely repeat presidential nominee of the party that year—the possibility of John F. Kennedy's being selected as Adlai's running mate at the convention. Generously offering to drive me back to the Cape Cod airport, Arthur, to his embarrassment, ran out of gas. I never let him forget that—but, until Feb. 28, 2007, he never "ran out of gas" again.

Michael Beschloss
Presidential historian and author of the forthcoming 'Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989' .

Arthur never lost his curiosity—or the essential modesty that a historian must have to be genuinely curious. I first met him as a 20-year-old student asking for help on my Williams College senior honors thesis. He was almost 60, but he always treated young people as though they were his peers. When I told him that "A Thousand Days" was the first adult book I ever read, he said, with those snapping eyes and wry grin, "Well, my father was much more distinguished than I am!"

Schlesinger made two particular contributions to the way American history is written and read in 2007. Although he was an academic, he insisted that history should not just be a social science but also page-turning literature. He was very conscious of the fact that his New England ancestor George Bancroft was one of America's great romantic narrative historians. I can remember the chill that went down my spine at the age of 10 when I finished "A Thousand Days"—a thousand pages after the book starts, "It all began in the cold," it ends, "It all ended, as it began, in the cold."