The Kennedy Men: 1901-1963

One wonders at this point in time, what more can be said about the Kennedy family, but there seems to be a endless fascination with them, and I am not exempt from this phenomenon. Laurence Leamer's biography concentrates on the men in the family and ends with the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.

Leamer is not an unbiased biographer. He likes JFK despite his many, many character flaws and finds little to admire in either Joseph P. Kennedy or Bobby Kennedy. The former is described as a ruthless businessman and a (mostly) reactionary politician who would do anything to get his son elected to the highest office in the land. The latter, whom the author seems to truly despise, is portrayed as a man unable to see nuances in politics show more or his private life and who was motivated more by his many hates than in any positive program he wanted to put forward.

As for Teddy, he is portrayed largely as a likable boob who is more inclined to partying and good times than in large thoughts, and he appears to have stumbled into politics more in living up to family expectations than in anything he wanted to do himself.

Looking back at the bribes, womanizing, and hidden health problems, the reader realizes that none of these men would be able to be elected today in out era of 24/7 cable news channels. In fact, in today's environment, they wouldn't even make it out of the primaries. And all in all, that is probably a good thing. show less

Leamer has done a fine job weaving together the various strands of the Kennedy Men. He covers a significant portion of the 20th century in his portrayal of this important family - the politics and every day occurences of J.P.'s life and that of his 4 sons. A must read for anyone looking for insights into this tumultuous era of the United States of America.

Interesting to see how the father Joe Kennedy's personality and lifestyle choices is reflected in the lives of his sons.