The Kennedys at War : 1937-1945

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting story, well told
Review: By zeroing in on a narrow slice of years (1937-45), Renehan is able to go into detail that other writers on the Kennedys have simply not had space for with regard to the war years. His evocation of Jack Kennedy in the South Pacific seems especially good. The best, I think, that I've read. Also, Renehan dives quite deeply into the story of Kick Kennedy and her courtship/marriage with Billy Hartington, heir to the Duke of Devonshire, and it is all very well told.

Rating:
Summary: Grand story grandly told
Review: I picked this book up Sunday morning after reading a rave review (written by former RI governor Bruce Sundlun, who is a vet of WWII) in THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL. Nearly three-quarters of the way through, I find it delivers a refreshing and engagingly-written view of the Kennedy family during those troubled and tragic days of war. PT 109 forms only a tiny slice of the really epic story Renehan tells here. There is also Joe Jr.'s troubled life and martyrdom. There is Kathleen Kennedy's troubled coming of age and her young (nearly instantaneous) widowhood. And there is the disaster of JPK Sr.'s years at the Court of St. James's. I respectfully disagree with those who say Renehan has not done much in the way of original resarch. The sections on JPK Sr.'s ambassadorship, for example, seem (from a glance at the footnotes) to be thoroughly grounded in diplomatic correspondence at the FDR Library and in the Cordell Hull Papers, etc. Likewise Renehan has done fresh interviews with vets of the Solomons campaign, etc., etc. Renehan even interviewed the last surviving member of the PT-109 crew, who died last summer.

Rating:
Summary: OK work!
Review: I will stand by my earlier reviews of this book. There is very little new in the way of work done here. Despite one reviewer saying that the author interviewed Gerard Zinser, the last survivor of the 109, it simply is not the case. And there are no new interviews with comrades of JFK's who were in the squadron. Again this is nothing but a rehash of the old Kennedy myth!

Rating:
Summary: THE most thorough account of the Kennedys during WWII
Review: No other Kennedy book that I've read (and I've read 'em all, I think) gives the in-depth yet balanced coverage found here with regard to the war years. This book covers ALL aspects of the Kennedy family during WWII. Renehan has included not just PT-109, but also Kick Kennedy Hartington's unique story of love and loss and redeption, and one of the most brilliant studies of Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. ever penned. What is more, the portrait of Ambassador Kennedy and his appeasement (what amounted very nearly to pro-Nazi lobbying at Whitehall and in DC) is both stunning and frightening. Renehan has done a great deal in the way of original research, using heretofore unavailable letters and diaries, and interviewing a number of Jack and Joe and Kick's surviving contemporaries (those few that still survive). I found this book to be a VERY good read, and I recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: Fine book, fascinating characters
Review: Renehan is one of our finest writers of popular history. This is a decision I made long ago when I first read his THE SECRET SIX, and later THE LION'S PRIDE, both also available from Amazon. With THE KENNEDYS AT WAR, he seems to be continuing the line of inquiry he first developed in THE LION'S PRIDE: the study of gifted and prosperous young people during time of war. It is very interesting to watch what happens when Jack Kennedy and his older brother Joe Jr., both from a life of wealth, encounter the democratic (small "d") institution that is military service. A great story this, featuring characters that can't help but intrigue and engage the reader.

Rating:
Summary: At War?
Review: There are nine customer reviews to date for THE KENNEDYS AT WAR. This one, once it gets posted, will make ten. Six of the nine customer reviews to date are favorable, and three unfavorable. The three unfavorable have all been written by the same customer, a fellow from Cheyenne, Wyoming, who evidently has an axe to grind with THE KENNEDYS AT WAR. Since multiple votes appear to be allowed, I'll register mine once again. (I'm already one of the six favorable.) I stand by what I've said before. I found the book to be very insightful, enlightening and well-written: just as the reviews in Publisher Weekly, Kirkus and other major publications suggested it would be. As far as original sources are concerned, I see that in addition to interviewing several WWII vets who knew JFK and his brother Joe Jr., the author has also, along with other primary sources, mined previously unpublished correspondence between JPK Sr. and Lady Nancy Astor of Cliveden, copies of this correspondence having been provided to the author by Lady Astor's son, Major Sir John Astor. How is that for an original source?

Rating:
Summary: An interesting portrait of the young JFK and his family
Review: There have been a spate of negative books about John F. Kennedy and his family as of late, the most notable of which is the aptly titled "The Dark Side of Camelot" by Seymore Hersh. "The Kennedys at War" by Edward J. Renehan is a less hostile and somewhat more balanced look at the young JFK. Overall, Renehan paints a flattering picture of the young John Kennedy, an ambivalent one towards John's older brother, Joe Jr., and a downright negative picture of Joe Kennedy Senior. Their sister Kathleen is mentioned, but this book does not really do much to help the reader to know her.

Renehan's theme as regards the young JFK is that he was in constant pain as the result of a plethora of ailments, including his chronically bad back, his Addison's disease, and a urinary condition brought about by (probably multiple cases of) Venerial Disease. Despite these ailments, JFK rose above them to finish college with reasonable success, write a best-selling book just prior to World War II, and serve with distinction in the Navy in the Pacific War. Renehan essentially points out that many people suffering from JFK's multitude of painful ailments might have opted for the easy life. John Kennedy did no such thing.

Overall, Renehan presents JFK as a determined and socially-adept young man with genuine intellectual gifts, who declines a life of ease as the son of one of the country's richest men and instead opts for a life of achievement and public service. Renehan disputes the widespread belief that JFK's book "Why England Slept" which became a bestseller, was ghostwritten for him, and the widespread notion that the book became a bestseller only because Joe Senior bought truckloads of copies. According to Renehan, earlier drafts plainly show that the revisions were largely those of John Kennedy himself, and no bogus purchases were needed because the book received critical acclaim and sold out quickly from bookstores. Renehan does not whitewash the "PT-109" incident and certain lapses on Kennedy's part, but does point out that it is undisputed that the men were rescued in large part due to Kennedy's excellent leadership. I felt that he gave us a balanced look at this famous story.

Overall, the young JFK comes across as a not-perfect but nonetheless genuinely outstanding man. Renehan does not ignore JFK's womanizing, which certainly took place during the period covered by this book. But neither does he dwell on it overlong. The reader can decide for him or her self whether Renehan strikes the right balance here. I thought he did.

Joe Kennedy Senior fares much worse in the book. Renehan rightly portrays Joe Senior's tenure as America's ambassador to Britain as having been a disaster for both the country and for Joe himself. Preaching appeasement to Hitler, and frequently expressing the belief that both Britain and America were destined to become Fascist states themselves "Democracy is dead in Britain..." according to Renehan the main reason Roosevelt appointed Joe Senior as ambassador to Britain was to get him out of the country at a critical time for the Roosevelt Administration. Renehan makes a persuasive case, and certainly Joe Senior's many errors in this context were adequately chronicled at the time. Overall an incredibly negative picture of the man.

Joe Kennedy Junior, JFK's older brother, never really comes out in this book. Renehan paints him as essentially a good-looking fellow who was nonetheless a bully and not particularly gifted with interpersonal skills. I frankly did not feel that Renehan did much to help me understand Joe Junior. The same with Kathleen Kennedy.

I am not terribly interested in the Kennedy family, whose day has plainly passed. On the other hand, after reading "The Dark Side of Camelot" I wanted to read a different perspective on JFK in order to strike a balance. This book succeeds as such.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting portrait of the young JFK and his family
Review: There have been a spate of negative books about John F. Kennedy and his family as of late, the most notable of which is the aptly titled "The Dark Side of Camelot" by Seymore Hersh. "The Kennedys at War" by Edward J. Renehan is a less hostile and somewhat more balanced look at the young JFK. Overall, Renehan paints a flattering picture of the young John Kennedy, an ambivalent one towards John's older brother, Joe Jr., and a downright negative picture of Joe Kennedy Senior. Their sister Kathleen is mentioned, but this book does not really do much to help the reader to know her.

Renehan's theme as regards the young JFK is that he was in constant pain as the result of a plethora of ailments, including his chronically bad back, his Addison's disease, and a urinary condition brought about by (probably multiple cases of) Venerial Disease. Despite these ailments, JFK rose above them to finish college with reasonable success, write a best-selling book just prior to World War II, and serve with distinction in the Navy in the Pacific War. Renehan essentially points out that many people suffering from JFK's multitude of painful ailments might have opted for the easy life. John Kennedy did no such thing.

Overall, Renehan presents JFK as a determined and socially-adept young man with genuine intellectual gifts, who declines a life of ease as the son of one of the country's richest men and instead opts for a life of achievement and public service. Renehan disputes the widespread belief that JFK's book "Why England Slept" which became a bestseller, was ghostwritten for him, and the widespread notion that the book became a bestseller only because Joe Senior bought truckloads of copies. According to Renehan, earlier drafts plainly show that the revisions were largely those of John Kennedy himself, and no bogus purchases were needed because the book received critical acclaim and sold out quickly from bookstores. Renehan does not whitewash the "PT-109" incident and certain lapses on Kennedy's part, but does point out that it is undisputed that the men were rescued in large part due to Kennedy's excellent leadership. I felt that he gave us a balanced look at this famous story.

Overall, the young JFK comes across as a not-perfect but nonetheless genuinely outstanding man. Renehan does not ignore JFK's womanizing, which certainly took place during the period covered by this book. But neither does he dwell on it overlong. The reader can decide for him or her self whether Renehan strikes the right balance here. I thought he did.

Joe Kennedy Senior fares much worse in the book. Renehan rightly portrays Joe Senior's tenure as America's ambassador to Britain as having been a disaster for both the country and for Joe himself. Preaching appeasement to Hitler, and frequently expressing the belief that both Britain and America were destined to become Fascist states themselves "Democracy is dead in Britain..." according to Renehan the main reason Roosevelt appointed Joe Senior as ambassador to Britain was to get him out of the country at a critical time for the Roosevelt Administration. Renehan makes a persuasive case, and certainly Joe Senior's many errors in this context were adequately chronicled at the time. Overall an incredibly negative picture of the man.

Joe Kennedy Junior, JFK's older brother, never really comes out in this book. Renehan paints him as essentially a good-looking fellow who was nonetheless a bully and not particularly gifted with interpersonal skills. I frankly did not feel that Renehan did much to help me understand Joe Junior. The same with Kathleen Kennedy.

I am not terribly interested in the Kennedy family, whose day has plainly passed. On the other hand, after reading "The Dark Side of Camelot" I wanted to read a different perspective on JFK in order to strike a balance. This book succeeds as such.