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Rating: 
Summary: good investigative work !!
Review: A very fine book exposing the Kennedys. I am somewhat surprised that such immoral things could happen in free and democratic U.S. In any event, justice has been done. No Kennedy is likely to be President in the near future. Jo's manipulative and power-hungry character did not serve him well. The early and untimely deaths of his three sons gave him more sorrow and grief than anything else.
Rating:
Summary: good investigative work !!
Review: A very fine book exposing the Kennedys. I am somewhat surprised that such immoral things could happen in free and democratic U.S. In any event, justice has been done. No Kennedy is likely to be President in the near future. Jo's manipulative and power-hungry character did not serve him well. The early and untimely deaths of his three sons gave him more sorrow and grief than anything else.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: Excellent, detailed story of America's most flawed famous family. Stories and quotes about each member of Joe's clan, reveal them all to be capable of any lie or deception, to shield them, both individually and collectively, from the public gaze. The only major criticism of the book is that Kessler harps on Kenndy's hatred of the Jews. He repeats these anecdotes and quotes from Joe Kennedy's business life and ambassador service to the point where I found myself skipping sentences and whole paragarphs, as material already stated. One of the more interesting areas covered was about Rosemary's mental illness/retardation, snd how Eunice Kennedy Shriver built up a huge national foundation for the purpose of diverting attention away from JFK's presidental aspirations.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit too uncharitable; okay read
Review: I have read a few books by Ronald Kessler. It is a recurring theme that I find myself irritated by how uncharitable Kessler is. Unless Kessler honestly believes that The FBI ("the Bureau") did nothing right and that Joseph Kennedy was an absolute villain. Kessler has a tough time saying anthing good about Joseph Kennedy, The FBI or most of his other topics. I think Kessler's novels need balance and fairness. Maybe only the negative and scandalous is stimulating or salable but the novels leave me feeling annoyed.
Rating:
Summary: Essential to know the Kennedys
Review: It is a good and fair book, well written and researched. To read this book is so essential to know and understand - really - an important american family like the Kennedys, apart from the mith that this cool man, Joseph Kennedy, helped much more than anybody else in the family to create and foster. There are some dark sides, but the truth is one thing and the legend is another and of course if you prefer the latter leave this book on the shelf and go on dreaming.
Rating:
Summary: A Stunning and Tragic Family
Review: Kessler does an excellent job writing, truly, about the sins of the father, Joseph P. Kennedy. I had heard many stories about the man, but I didn't realize to what extent these stories were myths or real. Kessler certainly dispels that these stories are myths. He tells us what a manipulative, conniving, scheming, deceitful man that Kennedy really was.
We are treated to the stories of Kennedy's manipulation of the stock market for his own personal gain; his illegal importation of scotch to pad his growing millions; his manipulation and theft of Gloria Swanson's monies. It doesn't stop there. Kessler tells about how Joe wanted to avert war since he was afraid he would lose millions of dollars.
Kessler tells us how much Joe manipulated and controlled his children so that they would conform to his standards; and how their political life was formed in order for Joe to pursue his own dreams via his children's lives.
After reading of Joe's death, one has to wonder whether Joe's cruel and deceitful life was worth it in the end - two assassinated children; Rosemary's lobotomy; a family myth built on lies. A simply incredible book - first rate from start to finish.
Rating: 
Summary: The Kennedy Illusion
Review: Kessler puts forth a most direct and cards-on-the-table account of Joseph as the patriarch and architect of today's most powerful political family. Its an interesting account of how Joe bullied his children to do as he wanted when he wanted; Joe Jr died in WWII, so he decided it was Jack that was going into politics and become the first Catholic President of the United States, something that Joe Sr had failed at. This book goes to dispel the illusion effectively, and rightfully, that the Kennedy Clan was a model family for the annals of American History. I highly recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in the history of the Kennedy Clan.
Rating: 
Summary: Only fair
Review: Kessler slams Joe Kennedy for sport. The book at times reads like a tabloid or a Fox newscast. At one point he describes Joe's job of reselling defaulted morgatges as making his living off the backs of other's misery...c'mon...Another time he writes "the terms of the trusts (of the Kennedy children) have been the subject of constant speculation in the press. The terms--revealed here for the first time--provide for the family until all members of the first generation have died." Then he goes on to specifically note who got what and in which circumstances. Tediousness disguised as big news. It's always fun to peek into the window of the lives of famous people but the slant of this book was distracting.
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.
Rating:
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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