after a brief bout with cancer. He was 86 years old. Personal characteristics Gay Talese once described Goodwin as resembling "a hungover Italian journalist." See also List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 2) Path to War Richard N. Goodwin Official Website Books References 1931 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American Jews Speechwriters for presidents of the United States Brookline High School alumni Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts Harvard Law School alumni Kennedy administration personnel Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Lawyers from Boston Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel Military personnel from Massachusetts Robert F. Kennedy Rolling Stone people Tufts University alumni United States presidential advisors Wesleyan University faculty Writers from Boston Abu Simbel