Captains and the Kings: The Story of an American Dynasty

After more than three decades of writing novels Taylor Caldwell demonstrated with Captains and the Kings that she could still tell a great story. In it young Joseph Armagh arrives in America in 1854, an impoverished orphan with a younger brother and sister to provide for. The narrative highlights his drive to pursue success and money, and with it the powerful allies and enemies he makes while practically alienating his family. He even gets involved with conspiracies in his drive for success.
Like many of her earlier novels, at least those that I have read, she tells a memorable sprawling story with fascinating characters. Standing at the center of this large cast is Armagh himself. Joseph has an aura or perhaps charisma that he uses to show more make himself fascinating to others, but he is not an easy person to like. His character is filled with contradictions. As he engages in dangerous activities like slave trading, bootlegging, and shady business deals, he wants more of what the people engaged in these enterprises have to offer. His character is dark and he disdains the notion of any hope or optimism. Joseph orders the death or disgrace of most enemies with very little conscience. He marries for position rather than love, while turning to another woman for the sustenance his marriage lacks. He dominates his brother and sister and becomes furious when they begin lives of their own. But Joseph is not a one-dimensional character. He is a very multi-faceted man with a bit of humanity that shows every once in awhile. He has a very romantic and chivalrous side. At first dismissive of his children, he slowly begins to accept them and take pride in them up to the point where he has ambitions that include the presidency for his eldest son (which would make him the first Catholic President of the United States about 50 years before John F. Kennedy). One of the most touching scenes that shows Joseph’s better character is where he shows real regret in disgracing a senator, whom he realizes is a truly good man.
Another theme is the idea that there is a secret group controlling the real power behind the government. Joseph comes into a world of The Committee of Foreign Relations; shadowy men who make decision that affect the world around them. Joseph and later his son, Rory, become involved in some chilling meetings where these men discuss upcoming world wars, stock market panics and crashes, and Communist uprisings in a nonchalant matter as though they were items on a shopping list. This sort of conspiracy theory motif does make for fascinating reading and makes one wonder. Joseph despite all of his money, and cynicism is at heart a naive character and doesn't truly realize how dangerous they can be until they turn on him and his son. The story is well told and the family with all of its warts and issues is interesting to the end. show less

When a book has a lot of pages, it's easy to b put off, as you have to invest a lot of time in it, and it just may not be worth it. It would have to be quite a story to hold your attention, and for me, this was quite the story, caught my attention and never let go, so all those pages just flew by fast.

I can't think of one character in the novel that wasn't both well written and interesting, even people you don't particularly like, even minor characters off center stage.. The main ones deserved the spotlight.

It's not difficult to figure out where Ms. Caldwell got the inspiration for her story. You have an Irish immigrant family, enduring hardship, poverty and prejudice, the eldest son, resentful and angry, determined to change his fate, show more through hard work and ambition (and not being Mr. Nice Guy), becomes wealthy, powerful, a force to be reckoned with, and the family name becomes known throughout the country. His ambitions extend to his children, especially his eldest son, whom he's determined will become the first Irish Catholic U.S. president. The son is a handsome, charming womanizer who also has dreams and ideals and a way with people, who can win over anybody, or almost. Then tragedy strikes. There's a supposed curse on the family, for all their wealth and power, they have more than their share of heartache.

I don't think I need to name the family that inspired the novel. I give Ms. Caldwell a lot of credit for using inspiration only, and making the story her own, no need for lawsuits here. The story's set in the 19thc, starting at a time when Irish immigrants were coming to America after the infamous potato blight was destroying their lives, and how they didn't exactly receive a warm welcome. It focuses on the Armagh family, Joseph in particular, the dynasty he builds and the family he controls, (and those he can't.)

What's best about the novel, is how much you care about the people in it, even if you don't always like them. That's especially true of Joseph, who can be pretty cruel, like when his sister Regina decides to become a nun, despite his plans for her to marry into society; he feels betrayed, turns his back on her and for a long time acts like she no longer exists. When his eldest son, Rory, falls in love with someone he thinks is unsuitable (I won't go into details and spoil things) he interferes with a vengeance. There are times you'll want to hate him, but it just won't happen.

It's like that with all the characters, good and not so good, you just can't help caring. You can really feel for sweet, gentle AnnMarie, and all she goes through, but also care about her mother, Bernadette, despite some of the things she's said and done, and sympathize with her being in love with a husband that was only fond of her and only for a while.

I could say more, but I think I got my point across. There are plenty of characters I didn't mention, but all deserve attention. So give this book a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed. show less

This is an epic story about greed, power, and the price that comes with it. Joseph Armagh, an Irish immigrant caring for his two younger siblings arrives in America with no money and a bleak future. Over the years he schemes, bribes, betrays, and disgraces others to his climb to the top. He marries a Senator's daughter to obtain more power and dismisses her for another woman, her stepmother. He controls his younger siblings then becomes furious when they begin lives of their own and fatally he joins a secret cabal of powerful men becoming their enemy when he schemes to make his son the first Irish-Catholic President of the United States. This book covers this period of American history through events and memorable characters, show more particularly Joseph. He is equally sinister and charming. He could plot an enemy's murder then protect a woman with all of the chivalry of a knight. He succeeds at being both detestable and fascinating. show less

A very rich, detailed saga involving fear, love, hate, poverty, wealth, power and many other themes. It was a wonderful read and worryingly familiar despite the setting being a hundred years ago and beyond. All the main male characters are complex and important. Almost all the female characters are weak and secondary to their men which is probably an accurate reflection of the times but also seems to have been accepted by the author as reasonable. This is a bit surprising as Taylor Caldwell seems such an incredibly well-read and enlightened woman. Much of the book's background is based on the theory that a small international group of very rich men controls everything that happens in the world. This is the worrying part!

I am not sure how I feel about this book to be honest! I found the main character Joseph Armagh an extremely hard character to like. He had a hard start in life to be fair but it left him with a broken personality and an overwhelming desire to have money, but he wanted to have to control everyone's life as well, he schemed, bribed and betrayed everyone, to get what he wanted
Money was his god closely followed by power, which as the saying goes corrupts.
There were some very scary concepts within the story, which if, are true, is more terrifying than anything else you could possibly think of.
Joseph was a very unhappy, lonely man, cursed in more ways than one, to live a sad and futile existence, in the end totally alone.

Well, it's odd, but this is a repackaged version of Glory and the Lightning. In it conspiracy is enduring, inexhaustible, and everywhere, and power is concentrated in the few who can use their wealth to take it. A few exceptional people get to be in charge for a while, until they make a mistake and become unexceptional or unnecessary to those real few with power. Characters basically stay the same throughout the 600 plus pages, which is what would happen in real life, but eventually this becomes boring. Harry Zeff was the most likable character and there were no worthwhile female characters this time, only weak and pathetic ones. Even the more interesting ones, such as Maggie and Elizabeth, are limited to what is constructed here as the show more smallness of women's capabilities.

I'm glad this reading experience is over; nevertheless, this was skillfully written and was better written than Glory and the Lightning even though it contained less interesting characters. One among many annoyances in both books was the seeming need to comment on the end of the story and death for all of the characters. I always wish authors success with their work, but I truly didn't enjoy most of this book and its worthwhile moments were not enough to move it beyond tiresome and as a whole unnecessary. show less

This sweeping saga of a powerful family dynasty, loosely based on the Kennedys, was written in the 70's, but it could be a cautionary tale published yesterday about political corruption and the dangers of socialism. It was actually quite depressing, in the context of what is going on in our country today, so it took me awhile to get through.