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Summary: THE LORD LOVES JUSTICE...
Review: ...He hates robbery and wrongdoing. Isaiah 61:8
What is justice? Doesn't it mean different things to different peoples? What is God's definition of it found within the bible? More homework I give you...(The word justice is found 62 times in the book of Isaiah, so that's a good place to start!)
Bobby Kennedy was after the mafia, organized crime, so goes the saying on the street. Which mob? Aren't there several? In the United States, you'll probably find a good sampling of all of them herein. I think Bobby was after the most treacherous ones at that time. Anyway, I read this many years ago, the only biography I've read on RFK so far. While reading this one, I replied to my mom, forget Jack Kennedy, I love Bobby! (I'm a JFK fan if you've not noticed before.) The book, as the title says, is about his life from cradle to grave. I knew very little about RFK before I read this, and this biography is somewhat biased in his favor. The things I liked about him were his work ethic, his devotion to his wife and family, his outspokenness. He was "the altar boy" of the family who fasted every Sunday, read, fairly regularly, scripture with his family. Most endearing to me about RFK was the fact that he was a Civil War buff. And that, I must say, is rare for a yankee! I'm not sure what all of the Kennedys think about this book, but I can say that this book was sold at the JFK library which I take to mean, they don't disapprove. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Evan Thomas is a good writer. It's a very readable biography.
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Summary: Do We Really Know Robert Kennedy?
Review: Author Evan Thomas, Assistant Managing Editor of Newsweek, has written several works of popular biography, and I especially enjoyed his The Very Best Men: Four Who Dared: The Early Years of the CIA. Thomas's book about Robert Kennedy, the least-understood Kennedy brother, is characteristically well written, and Thomas covers the major events of his life in less than 400 pages, so the author's economy of style must be applauded. But Thomas presents little which is new, and, in that respect, this book is slightly disappointing. Admirers of Robert Kennedy probably will continue to believe that his assassination in June 1968, when he was campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president, left much undone, but I do not believe Thomas offers us much reason to believe we really understand RFK. RFK was well educated at Portsmouth Priory, Harvard College, and the University of Virginia law school, but Thomas suggests that other events in his formative years and early adulthood were more influential. Kennedy just missed serving in World War II, in which his oldest brother Joseph was killed in combat and from which JFK returned a hero. According to Thomas: "Perhaps in part because he had never seen the real thing, Kennedy glorified war." In 1953, RFK briefly served as a lawyer on the staff of Senator Joseph McCarthy's permanent subcommittee on investigations. Thomas offers no reason to believe that Kennedy was offended by the substance of the work; his early departure was, instead, the result of a personality conflict with the notorious Roy Cohn. RFK eventually made a name for himself investigating corruption in the labor movement and the influence of organized crime on unions, and he later believed that the Mafia don of New Orleans played a role in the assassination of his brother. After John Kennedy's election in 1960, according to Thomas, Joseph P. Kennedy insisted that Robert be appointed Attorney General to position him to serve as the President's "all-purpose consigliere." Some of RFK's assignments in that role were ugly, and Thomas suggests that the psychological effects were deep. It is now well known that Kennedy pressured the C.I.A. to "get rid" of Fidel Castro, and RFK also gave the F.B.I. authority to wiretap the telephones of the Rev. Martin Luther King, caving in to pressure from Director J. Edgar Hoover, who was almost pathologically obsessed with attempting to discredit the civil rights leader. If there is little in this book which is new, there is plenty to reinforce Robert Kennedy's reputation for ruthlessness. The vicious Lyndon Johnson-Robert Kennedy rivalry, which pervaded their formal relationship from President Kennedy's assassination in November 1963 through the time of RFK's death, also attracts a good deal of Thomas's attention. Their now well-documented hatred for each other was profound in its ugliness, and this made it exceptionally difficult for holdovers from the Kennedy administration to serve effectively under Johnson. Some of the most telling passages concern Robert Kennedy's limitations as a practical politician. During his 1964 campaign for election to the Senate from New York, according to Thomas, Kennedy proved that he "was not a natural on the stump," and, although RFK defeated a Republican incumbent, he ran 2,000,000 votes behind President Johnson's awesome margin of victory in that state. Once in office, Kennedy refused to exert himself with respect to the Senate's elaborate system of customs and rituals, and, according to Thomas, "in his three and one half years in the U.S. Senate, he lacked the seniority to pass any major piece of legislation." Anyone who reads Evan Thomas's biography of Robert Kennedy will learn a lot about one of the most important figures in American politics in the 1960s, but I suspect that some readers will be left with the sense that they still do not really know the man.
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Summary: The complex truth about a national icon
Review: Evan Thomas' extraordinary book about Senator Robert Kennedy's life brings a wealth of new information and surprising insights to the mythic figure of Bobby we all thought we knew. Thomas' careful research, gripping interviews, and well-honed writing make this a "page turner." Written by a prize-winning journalist who also happens to be Norman Thomas' grandson, Evan Thomas' insightful portrait of Robert Kennedy is nonetheless objective and balanced, showing us a political figure of conscience and, at exactly the same moment, hard-bitten practicality. Thomas has opened a new window into the complex and not-always-liberal character, RFK. His book is must reading for anyone seeking to understand the Kennedys and America in the l960's.
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Summary: Interesting Biography
Review: I am a 1960's junkie so a book on Bobby Kennedy is essential. I thought this book was very informative, describing him as a child through to his adult life. I think this was very revealing in how he was as adult. The aspects of Robert Kennedy's life in the JFK White House was very interesting, from the intergration of the University of Alabama to the administrations relations with such figures as Martin Luther King and J. Edgar Hoover. I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to explore Robert Kennedy's life.
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Summary: A wonderful life
Review: I have read many, many biographies of Robert F. Kennedy and feel that this one should become the definitive biography of the man. The book is written in a very easy to read manner. The author goes out of his way to be fair to his subject. He refuses to be lazy, he actually does research into Kennedy's life. Other biographers just seem to repeat the stories they have heard over the years without actually looking into them themselves, further clouding the truth. Thomas was given access to many of Robert Kennedy's private papers while writing the book. This book does not view Robert Kennedy as a saint. However, it also does not view him as a devil. What comes across to me is that Kennedy was basically a decent man. There are many stories that have been repeated over the years about his private life, none offer any proof. For example, Evan Thomas could find no evidence of a sexual affair between Robert Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. Regardless of Kennedy's private life, which I believe should remain his own, he did great things. He courageously stood up for causes that probably would have cost him the presidential election had he lived to election day. He highlighted the plight of the farm workers in California, the poverty of children in rural communities, the lack of opportunities for native Americans. He was the right person for the times. He is said to be the last white politician ever loved by black Americans. This book does a good job in explaining many of the things Kennedy did in his career. The section on the Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the better parts of the book. Robert Kennedy's role during this time is very well described. Thomas shows many examples of initiatives Kennedy took that didn't work very well, and he doesn't mind saying why they didn't work. If you are looking for gossip you will not find it in this book. However, if you are interested in history and the motivations of those who made history I would highly recommend you read Robert Kennedy: His Life.
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Summary: Best RFK bio i have read.
Review: I have read several RFK bio's and so far this has been the most informative and most reserched. If I could find a single fault it would be the lack of the aftermath on those close to him.
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Summary: Not ready for prime time
Review: I really wanted this book to be better than it was. Evan Thomas tried to write history, but we are left with long, very long, journalism. Like any newspaper it is well written, the sentences short, the topic sentences placed first and all of the commas properly in place. The history is there. The drama is there. The "good Bobby" and the "bad Bobby" are there, but judgment and insight are what is missing. Also in reality Thomas is using Robert kennedy as a vehicle to tell the story of the late 60s. This does a disservice to both Kennedy and the 60s.
Without any evidence I simply will not believe that the man John F. Kennedy called a "monk" and for much of his life did not like socializing with because he was a moralizer, also cheated on his wife and assisted his brother in doing the same to his wife. There is no explanation, and most important no evidence of any such transgression by Robert Kennedy. In the absence of any evidence these stories become rumors, and while there may be a place for them in a magazine like People, they have no place in a serious biography, nor really do such stories rise to the level of news that is fit to print. There are way to many of them in this book.
Yes, Robert Kennedy could engage in incredibly boorish, childish, behavior. But, he was also able to go into the streets, the mean dangerous streets, after Dr. Martin Luther King was murdered and quiet those streets with a quote from memory written by a long dead Greek poet. The trip to the ghetto took courage. The recognition of the need for the trip and the speech took compassion. And, the quote illustrated enlightenment under great pressure. Robert Kennedy deserves a better book.
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Summary: Clear-eyed, Honest, and Riveting portrait...
Review: I'm not sure what some of the reviewers were talking about when they bashed this book. This book, while slimmer than other bios about the Kennedys, rises to the top because of it's balance. Thomas clearly admires his subject, but never romanticizes his subject. He is honest, straight forward, and tells some amazing tales. The book is riveting from page 1. I've always always admired RFK. After Thomas' book, I can genuinely call him one of my heroes.
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Summary: An Exeptionally Well Written Look at RFK
Review: In the pages of history, Robert F. Kennedy will forever live in his brother's shadow. While comparing the Kennedy brothers is unfair to their unique individual characteristics, Evan Thomas has written a staggering biography of Robert. We may never fully understand the complexities of the former Attorney General, but he can get a better idea of who he was. The writing of Evan Thomas is a refreshing demonstration of how a well researched, focused, yet unbiased journalism should read. The Prologue gives a very summarized preview of Robert Kennedy's life. The quotes and major events are in this chapter. As the reader, I appreciate the preview of what I am about the read. Even in this portion of the book, Thomas wastes no time on frivilous details. The story begins in Robert's childhood as the forgotten Kennedy son. The Runt, as his father calls him, lives in the shadow of his brothers Joseph Jr. and John. Because his two older brothers are seemingly annointed for greatness by his father, Robert takes to his mother. The favor of his mother caused Robert to develop a strong religious devotion and sense of morality. It is reasonable to believe that this is why Robert took a strong interest in preventing conflict and helping the poor. Only after John becomes President and Robert is appointed Attorny General does he gain the respect of his father. The book shows the decline of Robert after the assassination of his brother. It has been theorized that he was plagued with guilt for his brother's death. Yet it is through these events that we are able to see Robert develop his sense of self. He is elected to his first office as New York Senator. Frustrated by the progress of Lyndon Johnson he enters the 1968 election. It is at a victory speech during the campaign that he is assassinated. Robert F. Kennedy is a complex individual. Throughout his life he was haunted by more ghosts and grief than most men are able to survive. This is a reflection of the strength of this great American. Evan Thomas does a superb job of campturing this complex story.
Rating:
Summary: An Exeptionally Well Written Look at RFK
Review: In the pages of history, Robert F. Kennedy will forever live in his brother's shadow. While comparing the Kennedy brothers is unfair to their unique individual characteristics, Evan Thomas has written a staggering biography of Robert. We may never fully understand the complexities of the former Attorney General, but he can get a better idea of who he was. The writing of Evan Thomas is a refreshing demonstration of how a well researched, focused, yet unbiased journalism should read. The Prologue gives a very summarized preview of Robert Kennedy's life. The quotes and major events are in this chapter. As the reader, I appreciate the preview of what I am about the read. Even in this portion of the book, Thomas wastes no time on frivilous details. The story begins in Robert's childhood as the forgotten Kennedy son. The Runt, as his father calls him, lives in the shadow of his brothers Joseph Jr. and John. Because his two older brothers are seemingly annointed for greatness by his father, Robert takes to his mother. The favor of his mother caused Robert to develop a strong religious devotion and sense of morality. It is reasonable to believe that this is why Robert took a strong interest in preventing conflict and helping the poor. Only after John becomes President and Robert is appointed Attorny General does he gain the respect of his father. The book shows the decline of Robert after the assassination of his brother. It has been theorized that he was plagued with guilt for his brother's death. Yet it is through these events that we are able to see Robert develop his sense of self. He is elected to his first office as New York Senator. Frustrated by the progress of Lyndon Johnson he enters the 1968 election. It is at a victory speech during the campaign that he is assassinated. Robert F. Kennedy is a complex individual. Throughout his life he was haunted by more ghosts and grief than most men are able to survive. This is a reflection of the strength of this great American. Evan Thomas does a superb job of campturing this complex story.
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