|
THE KENNEDYS: America's Emerald Kings is a colossal work that details not only the better-known family names, but also the lesser known figures at the roots of the Kennedy legacy.
Maier starts his story by introducing Irish immigrant Patrick Kennedy as he arrives in Brahmin-laced Boston in 1848. Like many Irish immigrants he is escaping the hardships of the Potato Famine. The book describes Kennedy's struggles in Boston and his untimely death nine years later as he leaves his wife Bridgett a widow with four mouths to feed.
Readers will be interested to learn that Kennedy's four children were listed as "foreigners" on a Boston census report, even though they were born in America. Bridgett worked as a maid to support her family and had to deal with job advertisements in Boston that read "Irish Need Not Apply", which Maier chronicles in fine fashion.
The family's ongoing relationship with Ireland reverberates throughout the book, which includes lesser-known facts about JFK's trip to the Emerald Isle in 1963, when he visited New Ross, the town his great-grandfather left for America.
Maier reveals the relationship the Kennedys had with the Irish Republican Army. While JFK might not have been aware of his family's ties to the IRA, Kennedy cousin Mary Ann Ryan tells Maier about her mother's --- Mary Kennedy Ryan's --- involvement in the IRA women's group.
P.J. Kennedy, JFK's grandfather, also is given prominent play in Maier's tome. In 1886, P.J. Kennedy was elected by a landslide margin to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and the torch of the initial Kennedy involvement in politics was ablaze.
THE KENNEDYS chronicles JFK's unforgettable rise to become the first Irish-Catholic president of the United States and his one thousand days in office with unbridled vigor and enthusiasm. Maier conveys the spirit of Camelot and JFK's days in the White House possibly better than any other biographer.
When the book was first released, much press attention was given to the revelation of Jackie's suicide threats to the late Father Richard McSorley. This is a testament to Maier's dogged reporting and it shows his strong journalistic background. To this reviewer, it is extremely troubling that Georgetown University is considering sealing the diaries from further study. Maier interviewed McSorley before his death, which he states in the book's preface. Maier's work should be hailed rather than faulted, based on the fact that John F. Kennedy's assassination some 40 years later is still a major topic of controversy.
THE KENNEDYS is a pleasure to read and a legitimate page-turner, even though it is a biography that spans five generations. Besides touching upon the Kennedys' quest as the consummate Irish-Catholic family in America, Maier reports on the family's involvement with the Vatican. He also keeps tabs on Joseph Kennedy, JFK's father, and how he dealt with tragedy after tragedy in the deaths of his beloved children.
THE KENNEDYS belongs next to JFK's Pulitzer Prize-winning book PROFILES IN COURAGE.
--- Reviewed by David Exum
• Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.
© Copyright 1996-2009, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
