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Summary: Major Contribution: Rosemary's Depression
Review: Kessler's major contribution is documenting Rosemary's depression; she was a very bright but depressed person, and it was more expedient to lobotomize her and label her retarded, than to deal with the mental illness. JPK comes away here a very sick, perverted man. What Kessler doesn't answer for us is: what drove him to become this way? Kessler also exposes his 9-year affair with his secretary, Janet DeRosiers. I admire him for accomplishing so much, yet I'm saddened by his perversity.
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Summary: Joe Kennedy: Ivan Boesky had nothing on this guy!
Review: The story of JPK's life is just as sordid as you have been led to believe. As another reviewer here says, Mass. voters should read this before continuing to sustain this political dynasty. Maybe they just don't care how corrupt their "public servants" are. I was aware of JPK's ties to organized crime and the lucrative bootlegging business he ran in the 20's, but this book relates a great deal of info on how he engaged in insider trading and stock pools before laws were passed to make these activities illegal. Ironic that JPK was the first SEC chairman. The prose here is typical newspaper journalist fare: it's written so that people with a typical substandard American education can read it without too much trouble. The author also helpfully explains events about which any American citizen ought to be at least a little bit knowledgeable. I haven't read the Whalen book on JPK (1964) to compare the writing; it can't be much worse than in this book. However, this book may have the advantage of including facts that have come to light in the last 30 years.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for anyone who wants to understand the Kennedys
Review: This book truly reflects the character of Joe Kennedy: ambitious, ruthless, and charismatic. To really understand Jack and Bobby Kennedy, one has to understand their old man. His influence on their lives was indelible, and in many ways, tragic. But I think the author could have done a better job of bringing out the fact that even Joe Kennedy's children saw his flaws and often remarked privately that they didn't agree with him. Bobby Kennedy was a true friend to Israel in his latter years (remember why he was shot to death), and yet his father was virulently anti-semitic.
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Summary: Fascinating
Review: This book was a real eye-opener. Old Joe Kennedy cared about one thing: his pocketbook and how fat he could get it. And power, of course, but money is power, right? A more ruthless, cut-throat man has never lived. He used people and discarded them without blinking an eye. Some pie-in-the-sky Kennedy fans want to think the Kennedys went into politics, I mean public service, for virtuous reasons. When Joe Kennedy Jr. died over the English Channel, Joe Sr. turned to "Jack" Kennedy and handed him the responsibility of becoming president. It wasn't a choice, it was a demand. Why did Jack make Bobby his attorney general after he became President, even though Bobby didn't have the experience for the job? The old man demanded it. Jack, as a grown man, and already a Senator, had to ask his father for money to go out with a girlfriend. He controlled his children by controlling their access to his money.That's just the tip of the iceberg. After you read this book, you'll know that the title is very appropriate.
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Summary: Exhaustive and well researched without being inconcise.
Review: This is certainly well-researched stuff if I ever came across one. Kessler manages to be consise without slacking on research and glossing over the necessary details on PFK's life. With all the media homage paid to the powerful Kennedy's, the supposed family jinx/curse, the numerous sex/drug scandals consistently associated with family members, it is certainly timely and informative that everyone now has the opportunity to find out about the man who started it all, from his Irish roots to his rise to power, the tense, pedantic, diplomatic relationship with the wife, the intense competition within the family and the intolerance for imperfection and failure, the manifestation of which was the unfortunate and regretful lobotomy of Rosemary Kennedy and the conspiracy to hide it. Certainly an insightful must-read for all those who thought the Oliver Stone picture "JFK" was controversial.
Rating:
Summary: It is great.
Review: This is the first book that deals with the Kennedy's as it should be told for all
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