President Johnson’s performance in the days following President John F. “Jack” Kennedy’s assassination had won virtually uninterrupted praise until the publication of The Death of a President by William R. Manchester. Written at the urging and with the cooperation of the Kennedy family, the book recounted the events in Dallas and their aftermath and painted an unflattering portrait of Johnson. The President blamed Sen. Robert F. “Bobby” Kennedy [D–New York] and complained to Attorney General Nicholas deB. “Nick” Katzenbach about the book’s inaccuracies.