RFK: A Candid Biography of Robert F. Kennedy

Rating:
Summary: Candid is the operative word?
Review: "RFK" is subtitled "A candid biography of Robert F. Kennedy," and if nothing else, it certainly lives up to the term "Candid!" This is a "warts an' all" telling of the Kennedy tale, and paints a searingly unflattering picture of the Kennedy clan, plus the assorted hangers-on, and the extended family.

The book starts with a potted history of how the two families, the Kennedy's and the Skakels, Bobbie's in-laws, came to the USA, then kicks into high gear with a thorough character assassination of the family patriarch, Joe Kennedy.

Joe was a man of monstrous, and shameless, sexual appetites, and his sons certainly followed the old man when it came to womanizing their way through a plethora of Hollywood starlets, secretaries, and assorted Kennedy "groupies." It tells the tale of how Joe built up the family fortunes with ruthless efficiency, taking full advantage of the prohibition era, and dealings with less than upright businessmen. He seemed to be motivated by the acquisition of power, not simply money; the money itself was just a means to an end, and that was to ultimately put the first Catholic President into the Whitehouse! There is one famous remark from Joe that he wasn't going to buy one more vote than was necessary to get JFK into the Whitehouse... he wasn't going to pay for a landslide!

But it is the picture of Bobbie that truly fascinates. A mercurial character of opposites, complex and controversial, neither saint nor sinner, he could be anything the moment demanded. A brutal and relentless interrogator in pursuit of organized crime, a loving family man who could barely control his own children, an obsessive compulsive who fixated on people or events - Castro and the "Bay of Pigs" for instance - with an all consuming mania, a sleazy womanizer who's first question on landing in a city while on the campaign trail was "Where're the women?!"

He was a frighteningly brilliant political tactician; he practically invented the modern political process of targeting specific groups of voters. It is true to say that even with all of Joe's fortune behind him, JFK wouldn't have reached the Whitehouse without the brilliant mind of his kid brother guiding and directing the campaign. He could be an obnoxious brat of a rich-kid, sailing through life expecting others to "do" for him, simply because he was a Kennedy, but he could also display a self depreciating wit such as when an aid asked him how he should be addressed once he'd been appointed Attorney General by his big brother; "Call me a "Son-of-a...," everyone else will!" was his reply! His commitment to the poor and indigent was also at odds with the "Kennedy" outlook on life, but apparently was heartfelt and sincere, even if it came to him late in life.

For me, the most illuminating section of the book dealt with events after the death of JFK. This showed a Bobby Kennedy cast adrift in life, blaming himself for the death of his brother. After all, practically all the high-powered enemies the Kennedy's had, people who were capable of planning and executing the assassination of an American President, were created and nurtured by Bobby, as Attorney General, and his big brother's right hand man. He spent years trying to eradicate Organized Crime, he co-operated enthusiastically in endless hair-brained schemes to topple or assassinate Fidel Castro. He relentlessly persecuted corrupt government officials, and was a vocal advocate for racial integration at a time when at least one court judge in the South would describe Blacks, or African Americans, as "niggers," from the Bench! Bobby's father once proudly proclaimed, "When Bobby hates you, you stay hated!" Is it any wonder he blamed himself for the tragic events in Dallas?

He was also a man without a purpose; Bobby had spent his entire adult life helping to get his brother into the Whitehouse, and once he was there, he devoted himself to protecting his brother, and the family interests. This apparently extended to investigations into the assassination itself; evidence was "lost" or simply disappeared, for various reasons, although mostly to hide the debauched lifestyle the Kennedy men-folk led, the President's recurring STD's, as well as other illnesses that would have punctured the image of a healthy, Catholic, loving, family man.

But it was the "Kennedy Legacy," in the field of racial integration and equality that owes the most to Bobby. Soon after the assassination Bobby started to "re-invent" his brother. JFK's approach to racial issues was always tempered with a healthy dose of political realism; if it was going to cost votes it wouldn't fly. But Bobby became more and more convinced of the moral arguments, he really believed in the cause of racial equality, he had visited the shanty towns and the slums and was genuinely horrified at what he saw. So he started to campaign on this issue, ramming it down people's throats, forcing America to face the darkness in its own soul, and wrapping it in the authority of the murdered President. This, more than anything else, is Bobby Kennedy's legacy to the nation he loved, and served to the best of his ability.

As a Brit who now lives in the USA, I found "RFK" to be a fascinating tale, it illuminates an endlessly complex character, and the family environment that created him, I would recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: I Am Terribly Disappointed.......
Review: As an Irish Catholic from the city of Boston, I have grown up with the Kennedy's and their mystique. I have never been a fan of either Jack or Teddy, or their father, Joe, for that matter. However, I can honestly say that I have always respected and admired Bobby. I grew up in the 70's and 80's. I only know of Teddy's escapades first hand. Even so, I always felt that it was rather obvious that Bobby was the worker/brains of the family. This book went a long way in firming up that notion.

I must say I am always amused by the Kennedy supporter who simply refuses to see that family for what it was/is. C. David Heyman's book shows us the Good, the Bad, and, the UGLY. Yes, Bobby did a lot of good, but unfortunately, he did some self serving bad too. He, like the rest of his family was human. He had his weaknesses. This book gave me a greater understanding of the inner battles that Bobby waged within himself. In my view this helps to augment Bobby's stature for it is reality not some ridiculously held to notion by individuals who cling to a fantasy. A myth that was never close to the reality of this world.

Bobby Kennedy was a decent man who attempted to do decent things for people he would never know or meet. He had a real developed sense of justice and the greatness of this country. However, he was a weak man when it came to controling his darker self. He helped to create a myth that became larger than life and at the same time create a permissivesness that led to the weakening of his principles by those that would carry the banner after him. His family's sense of entitlement is his greatest failing. C. David Heyman wasn't afraid to get the information that runs counter to the majority of information out there that the gatekeepers of the Kennedy Legacy don't want you to see.

Heyman does a wonderful job in researching all the family histories that would help to shape Bobby's world and the Kennedy Family as it exists today. You'll learn not only about the Kennedys but the Skakels, the Shrivers and the rest of the extended family. This I found to be fascinating.

I applaud Heyman's efforts and add his work to the other biographies I own on one of the most enigmatic figures of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

Rating:
Summary: RFK: The Legacy
Review: C. David Heynmann's rendition of Bobby Kennedy's life is extraordinarily well written and well reaserched. I have read many RFK biographys and Heymann's is at the top of the list. However, for those of you wish to broaden your knowledge of RFK and his times I would advise reading Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr's book, Robert Kennedy and His Times, it is well worth the read and focuses more on RFK's political accomplisments.

Rating:
Summary: shameless
Review: I will anyone advise not to buy this book. Mister David Heymann did a bad job. He tells a lot 'fantastic' stories -but fails to relate all this gossiplike stories to sources and notes. So there is no way that anyone can check the truthfulness of all the things that are mentioned in this book. So the conclusion must be: very, very unreliable. But I don't think that will bother mister Heymann anyway. As long as he get paid, he even will write a book in which mother Theresa is having an affair with the pope, I presume.

Rating:
Summary: totally disgusting book,
Review: one star is too much, the book doesn't do anything tern RFK?s legacy. the arguments are false, and the book is boring.
DONT SPEND EVEN ONE CENT ON THIS BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: totally disgusting book,
Review: one star is too much, the book doesn't do anything tern RFK?s legacy. the arguments are false, and the book is boring.
DONT SPEND EVEN ONE CENT ON THIS BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: This Book is Something Else
Review: This author may be the male version of Kitty Kelly. Basically the book is a history of JFK that has a good amount of scandalous details about his pre married life and a few bits after he is married. We also get some bits about his father and JFK thrown in for good measure. The reason I read this book was I wanted a better understanding of his White House years, his relationship with JFK and some info on the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs issue. The book does touch on these two topics, but not in the kind of depth I was looking for. To be fair I should have really found a book that just dealt with these topics solely so I can not mark this book down too far on this issue.

The book did cover the FRK relationship with Hoover, which I found very interesting. They really disliked each other and they both held some power over one another. It looked like an interesting game of chess the two played. The other interesting relationship detailed was between RFK and LBJ. Again no love lost here. Overall the book was interesting if not a little on the gossipy side. It is a good overview of the man and some added info on the family. It is easy to get through and the author does a good job with some of the less exciting topics.

Rating:
Summary: Trashy, tawdry character assassination
Review: This work seems to pay inglorious homage to a number of souls who held such dislike for RFK that, years after the fact of his horrible, untimely [end of life], they couldn't wait to spew sordid "detail" about the man in the hope of damaging his legacy. He cared about his family, he cared about the less fortunate, he cared about the powerless. He personnified those convictions. No politician on either side of the spectrum has ever succeeded in achieving what he did for a few crazy months in the craziest year of the latter half of the 20th century. We're a poorer society and culture because we were deprived of RFK far too early. Mr. Heyman should be ashamed of himself for writing this.