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The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America's First Family for 150 Years

The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America's First Family for 150 Years

List Price: $24.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Worst Kennedy Book Ever
Review: I have never felt that spending money on a book is a waste, until I bought "The Kennedy Curse." It is absolutely one of the worst books I have ever read. I want my money and the time I spend reading this piece of garbage back!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Interesting but not complete
Review: I read this book after reading the Micheal Bergin book and while I thought it was interesting I also thought it was incomplete.

If Klein was giving examples of the "Kennedy Curse" then why did he leave out the eldest Kennedy son, Joe Jr., or Bobby Kennedy and his sons: David, Micheal, and Joe. It seems that if he really wanted to drive his point home then he would have written about this men as well. With the exception of Bobby's son Joe, they all died while they were young. Bobby died while trying to complete "the family mission" and two of his sons died while doing stupid things.

I also thought it was odd that while he would write about William Kennedy Smith and the rape trial, he did not devote a chapter to Ted Kennedy and Chappaquidick.

All in all, like I said before, it was a good book, just a little incomplete.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Interesting but not complete
Review: I read this book after reading the Micheal Bergin book and while I thought it was interesting I also thought it was incomplete.

If Klein was giving examples of the "Kennedy Curse" then why did he leave out the eldest Kennedy son, Joe Jr., or Bobby Kennedy and his sons: David, Micheal, and Joe. It seems that if he really wanted to drive his point home then he would have written about this men as well. With the exception of Bobby's son Joe, they all died while they were young. Bobby died while trying to complete "the family mission" and two of his sons died while doing stupid things.

I also thought it was odd that while he would write about William Kennedy Smith and the rape trial, he did not devote a chapter to Ted Kennedy and Chappaquidick.

All in all, like I said before, it was a good book, just a little incomplete.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I should never have bought this BOOK
Review: I was flying out to Vegas and needed something to read on the plane.I hate to fly,but after reading "The Kennedy Curse,"I started to enjoy the plane ride alot more.This book has nothing new we haven't read about years ago.Its simply to read,and the Kennedys have chapters dedicated to there tragic lives,starting with Patrick Kenndy,JFK,Joseph,Kathleen,William Kennedy Smith,and John Kennedy Jr.All I kept saying to myself while reading "THE Kennedy Curse" is,I could Write a Book better than this.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: All the hype about about JFK Jr., not much meat
Review: I'll be honest. I bought the book solely to read the "dirt" regarding the marriage of JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. Guess what? There's not much of that here, and what there is comes at the end. First one has to wade through the history of the Kennedy ancestors, which is at times interesting, but mostly at turns boggling and boring. It's tough keeping them straight, what with the tendency to use the same names each generation. For the most part, I don't particularly care what those long-ago Kennedy's did; sure, it's intriguing to see the pattern of devil-may-care behavior that apparently started hundreds of years ago and continues to this day, but overall, a synopsis would've done the trick for me.

Once the book moved into JFK's father's lifetime, it did become more readable, because I could relate Joseph Kennedy to figures I am more familiar with. There is some interesting history there, and it was good reading. He certainly seemed to be an arrogant man, and I pity his family, so caught up in his machinations that they had to turn off emotion and caution to please their father. Couple that with a mother bound in the tenets of her religion, and you have a volatile combination.

Is the Kennedy family cursed? I'd say no more than what they make themselves. Examining each incident, if you will, on its own merit leads me to believe that in large part, many of the tragedies that have befallen the members over the years could have been avoided, or at least lessened. Unfortunately, I think that money, pride, arrogance, and outright worship by outsiders at times have created in some of the "Kennedy Clan" a sense of infallibility that makes them feel above the laws of God and man, when in fact they are just as human as the rest of us.

It's trite to say that JFK, Jr. had potential to rise above this, to do what his father never got to, to perhaps "finish" what his father started, things like that, but I think that there is truth there somewhere. He was different, somehow, than the rest of his family, yet as we all know, still carried enough of whatever it is that led him to make one too many foolish choices. That is perhaps the greatest tragedy to befall the Kennedy family.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Tabloid journalism...
Review: Just the idea of writing a book about the so-called "Kennedy curse" is pretty ludicrous...what serious-minded person is actually going to believe the idea of a modern family being afflicated with a "curse"? The whole premise of the book is preposterous and pretty laughable. This book really doesn't rise above the level of tabloid journalism and is full of innuendo and gossip. Whatever one thinks of the Kennedys as individuals or a whole, this book is pretty sad.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I see the Kennedys have been in here
Review: rating this book. That probably explains why it's been rated 3.9 stars out of five with no reviews. Guess they can't handle the truth. This book has blown the lid off of America's first family. If you didn't know what a mess they are, this book walks you through the generations of disturbing, despicable, incomprehensible actions that have shaped this tragic and horribly flawed family. It starts with Patrick Joseph Kennedy and ends with JFK, Jr.. Joseph P Kennedy (son of Patrick, father of Jack) was just about the worst "human" being imaginable. A bottomless pit of ruthlessness, anger, self loathing, anti-semitism, social climbing, manipulation and arrogance. If you look up arrogance in the dictionary, Joe Kennedy's face would be there. John F Kennedy is nothing like the "Camelot" MYTH. He was an oversexed, disease ridden, habitual cheater who didn't give a damn about anyone but himself. This book is full of stories with chapters dedicated to PJ Kennedy, Joe Kennedy, John F Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy (just like her horrendous father), William Kennedy Smith, John Fitzgerald with tidbits about Rose ( a COLD and UNcaring mother...the contrast of how she was portrayed by the American media, Ted Kennedy , Robert Kennedy and John Jr (the ONLY sympathetic character in this family).If you are wondering why so much tragedy has befallen one family, this book is an eye opener and definitely worth the read.

KARMA:
Main Entry: kar·ma
The force generated by a person's actions held in Hinduism and Buddhism to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the person's next existence

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dont hate them cause they're rich.
Review: Reckless behavior they say? Yes that accounts for a few of the Kennedy deaths. But that should not be used as an excuse to cover-up the political assassinations. Standing up for one's principals should never be called "reckless". Every man and woman has the right to try and improve this world, and remove the yoke from mankind.

There IS a curse on the Kennedy's, but it's not from any God. Theirs is a man-made curse. This book tells that scientists have found a particular gene in the Kennedys labeled the DRD4 7 R gene. The author claims that it is the cause of reckless behavior; well guess what... that gene is called COURAGE. ...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Karma, fate & fascination
Review: There are too many Kennedy books out there, but I did enjoy this one. For the most part, the author did his job. Klein researched the history in detail and makes you want to read more. This is a easy, quick book to read, but it still does not answer many questions. Why are these people do obsessed with their own egos and why do we care? It is all karma and fate...but is it a genetic curse predetermined at birth?

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: (2.5) The curse is, after all, a myth
Review: This book doesn't need very much in the way of a review, because it is a quick read and the tale is in the title. I do, however, disagree with Klein's premise, which I find to be more of a fatuous PR ploy. There is no curse. That said, the book is readable, at least the first half, where Klein frequently quotes reputable historians, such as Doris Kearns Goodwin, as well as pertinent Irish historical references. When Klein discusses the infamous, but less important Kennedy's, like the rape trial of William Kennedy Smith, the text deteriorates (much like the family integrity) into speculation and less credible sources, such as Dominick Dunne.

The back cover suggests the book is "a detective story". It is more of a "defective" story, highlighting the Kennedy family flaws, certainly not providing good press for the Kennedy's. Much of the Kennedy men's brutish behavior is attributed to "narcissistic omnipotence". When you consider the rampant womanizing and indigenous alcoholism in the family, it would seem to be an oversimplification of the particular hubris that goes with politics, wealth and a free pass on responsibility for one's actions. I find it interesting that the so-called curse descends only on the male Kennedy's, with the exception of Kathleen, the oldest daughter.

In any case, the Kennedy men enjoyed a freedom that was unavailable to women at a time in American history when the public was still naïve about elected officials. This book is, if nothing else, a great romp of debauchery and lechery not seen since the days of pre-Revolutionary France, albeit virtually finished with the untimely death of JFK, Jr. His sister Caroline may yet prove the exception, but she is not infected with the swaggering bravado of her male counterparts. Given the intrinsic deception behind the whitewashed doors of Camelot, it is time to put the dead to rest and move on. Luan Gaines/2003.


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