The Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family
by Laurence Leamer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Laurence LeamerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1996-09-29
ISBN: 0449911713
Number of pages: 960
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of The Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family
Book Review: A Brilliant and Tragic Family . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an epic book (about 800 pages excluding the acknowledgements) about a legendary family. It is extremely well researched and well written, but it could have lapsed into being a long tome of minutia given its level of detail if the saga itself had not been so gripping. It's almost a potboiler as you move from character to character, from triumph to tragedy, from decade to decade. The title is a bit of a misnomer, as you can't tell the story of the Kennedy women as distinct from that of that of their men and, of course, their many children. The story begins with their Irish forebears who came to America and had a hard time of it. One gets a deep sense of the Irish-American immigrant experience and, along the way, a better understanding of their deep and abiding Catholicism.
But then the tale shifts to Joe and Rose and their nine children. Although quite in love when they married, it didn't take long for Joe to veer off into business and politics and womanizing and for Rose to pursue her separate path of children and devote religiosity. Then the tragedies with the children began. Rosemary was born mildly retarded because of anoxia (with an IQ in the 70's), after the nurse delayed the birth so that the doctor arriving late could collect his fee. She was the most beautiful of the Kennedy girls and respectable enough to be presented to the King and Queen of England for her "debut." But she was a potential embarrassment to Joe, and he sought to "improve" her condition with a lobotomy. Thereafter, she spent her ruined life alone in institutions, no longer a part of the family. Joe, Jr. was next. After John's PT-109 fame, he was trying to outdo his brother as a WW II hero. So he flew a plane loaded with explosives, intending to bail out and send it on its way into enemy territory. Trouble is, the plane blew up with him in it and he was exploded to smithereens. Then came Kathleen, or "Kick" as they called her. She was their third oldest child, and the girl with the most sparkle in the family. Several years after a five-week marriage to a Protestant who died in combat, she began an adulterous affair with another Brit whom she intended to marry against second-time-around fierce opposition from her mother. However, when their plane crashed en route from Paris to Cannes on a tryst, her death settled all issues. Of course, we all know what happened then to JFK and RFK and Ted at Chappaquiddick. Pat lapsed into alcoholism with her husband Peter Lawford, just as Joan did with Ted. Steve Smith, Jean's husband, died of cancer at the relatively young age of 62, after a long but mostly estranged marriage and many infidelities. And, of course, shortly thereafter her son Willie was tried for rape. (It seems like few of the Kennedy men, by blood or by marriage, could keep their pants on.) Jackie died at 64, also from cancer, never having wed her best love, Maurice Tempelsman. Eunice, founder and champion of the Special Olympics, had a near-fatal car accident at 69. Of this generation, only the Shrivers and Jackie emerged with most of their dignity still intact.
The author also touches upon the granddaughters briefly, but theirs is an ancillary tale better elaborated elsewhere. However, this book is a "must read" for anyone interested in this celebrated family. It is well written, well researched, and a very compelling story. Five stars--I loved it!
Summary of The Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family
"A FRESH AND UNVARNISHED PORTRAIT OF A FASCINATING, TALENTED, AND DEEPLY FLAWED FAMILY."?Boston Herald
Laurence Leamer was granted unheralded access to private Kennedy papers, and he interviewed family and old friends, many of whom had never been interviewed before, for this incredible portrait of the women in America?s "royal family." From Bridget Murphy, the foremother who touched shore at East Boston in 1849, to the intelligent, independent Kennedy women of today, Laurence Leamer tells their unforgettable stories.
Here are the private thoughts of Kathleen, the flirtatious debutante in prewar England . . . the truth behind Joe Kennedy?s insistence that his mildly retarded daughter, Rosemary, be lobotomized . . . the real story behind Joan and Ted?s whirlwind romance . . . Jackie?s desire for a divorce from JFK in the 1950s . . . Pat Lawford?s disastrous Hollywood marriage . . . how Caroline discovered her cousin David?s death by overdose, and more.
Tough enough to withstand the unimaginable, these Kennedy women soldier on in the name of their extraordinary family and what they believe is right.
"MASTERFUL . . . AN ENDLESSLY FASCINATING READ . . . A wealth of beautifully rendered social detail, at times reading like a realist novel by Edith Wharton . . . [A] page-turner from start to finish."
?The Dallas Morning News
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