Download or read book LIFE The Kennedys End of a Dynasty written by Editors of Life and published by Life. This book was released on 2009-10-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the passing of Edward Moore Kennedy on August 25, 2009, a climactic chapter in a thunderous American political saga came to an end, a chapter that featured the very greatest triumphs and the darkest tragedies. In this commemorative book, the Kennedys' remarkable story is retold-the clan's rise from the grinding poverty of America's immigrant stock to the highest reaches of power and influence. With the driven patriarch Joe piloting the political machine, the second son of the Kennedy's greatest generation, Jack, achieved the unthinkable and became the nation's first Catholic president. The came Bobby and Ted-cultural icons as much as legislators, each of the men instantly knowable by his first name-and the Kennedy's epic extended, with ever more glory and ever more sorrow. In this new book from the editors of LIFE, the constant drama of the Kennedy tale are captured in a riveting narrative and characteristically stunning photography, much of which first appeared in the pages of the renowned magazine. The great moments on the public stage are here, as are intimate photographs of warm family gatherings on Cape Cod and at Hickory Hill. In LIFE The Kennedys, which gives a complete account starting with the desperate 19th century flight from the famine in Ireland through the late senator's recent funeral, all the characters come to life-the legendary politician called Honey Fitz; the ruthless Joe; the matriarch Rose; the charismatic Joe Jr., killed in World War II; the famous trio of brothers; their remarkable sisters, including the heroic Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who died just before her younger brother in August; the next generation-John Jr., Caroline, Bobby Jr. and their many kin-who have also experienced life's joy and pain. The Kennedys have legions of Americans who are devoted to them and their legacy, and, yes, they have their detractors. But one point is inarguable: In the history of our country, there has never been a family like them. Their story is truly Shakespearean. In these pages, that story comes vibrantly to life.

Download or read book The Kennedys written by John H. Davis and published by SP Books. This book was released on 1993-11 with total page 898 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now revised and fully updated, this "definitive Kennedy biography" (Cleveland Plain Dealer) includes exclusive, previously unknown information on the Palm Beach scandal, the newest revelations on the JFK and RFK assassinations, as well as the latest on America's most notorious family. The author is first cousin to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis.

Download or read book Sons of Camelot written by Laurence Leamer and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-02-22 with total page 849 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From renowned biographer and New York Times bestselling author of The Kennedy Women and The Kennedy Men comes THE SONS OF CAMELOT, the second volume in a multi-generational history bound to be considered an American epic. Almost a year before publication, THE SONS OF CAMELOT: The Fate of an American Dynasty was already being widely discussed and debated in the media. Based on exclusive interviews with many Kennedy family members, their closest friends and associates, and five years of research, THE SONS OF CAMELOT is neither tabloid fodder nor a sanitized authorized biography but a stunningly revealing, deeply truthful account with intimate new information on every page. In this outstanding continuation of The Kennedy Men, his powerful American epic of the Kennedy family, Laurence Leamer chronicles the lives of the Kennedy sons and grandsons after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and their struggle to fulfill the family legacy. These lives make for a book of overwhelming drama full of exalted aspirations, notable achievements and the most spectacular mishaps, excesses and tragedies. For the most part, these Kennedy men fell far short of the great vision that Joseph P. Kennedy had for his sons and grandsons. Their lives have been a bewildering juxtaposition of the most notable achievements and the most spectacular failures. There have been needless deaths, crippling accidents, drug addiction, alcoholism and allegations of rape. Their pratfalls, mishaps, excesses and tragedies have been one of the most certain forms of American popular entertainment for the last four decades. Yet among them are those who have helped Americans to have better health care, to sail on clean waters, to raise the rights and lives of those with mental retardation, to assist the poorest of African nations, to enable those with disabilities to lead normal lives, and to give health care givers opportunities. In Leamer’s passionate narrative, each Kennedy man becomes not the passive victim of the happenstance of birth and upbringing, but a full participant in his own fate. The good that the Kennedy sons have done is amply chronicled, and so is the bad and the tragic. John F. Kennedy Jr.’s life is a thread running through the pages of THE SONS OF CAMELOT. Some may be drawn to the book largely to read the definitive portrait based largely on the full cooperation of his eight closest friends. Others may come intrigued to read the intimate story of Senator Edward Kennedy or the stirring tale of Timmy Kennedy Shriver’s rise to the head of Special Olympics International. But whatever draws the readers, they will read on driven by the powerful dramatic narrative with its impeccably researched details. Some of these pages are inspiring, some are shocking, but all the pages are truthful. THE SONS OF CAMELOT is a spellbinding history of individuals and a family, a journey of character through time told by a brilliant, masterful writer.

Download or read book The Kennedy Heirs written by J. Randy Taraborrelli and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2019-06-11 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From New York Times bestselling author J. Randy Taraborrelli comes The Kennedy Heirs, his most revealing Kennedy book yet. A unique burden was inherited by the children of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his celebrated siblings, Senators Robert and Ted Kennedy. Raised in a world of enormous privilege against the backdrop of American history, this third generation of Kennedys often veered between towering accomplishment and devastating defeat. In his revelatory new book, acclaimed Kennedy historian J. Randy Taraborrelli draws back the curtain on the next generation of America’s most famous family. John Kennedy, Jr.’s life in the public eye is explored, following the Kennedy scion as he faced the challenges posed by marrying his great love, Carolyn Bessette. Riveting new details are shared about the couple’s tragic demise—and why Ethel Kennedy advised Carolyn not to take the trip that would ultimately end her life. John’s sister, Caroline Kennedy, had her own complicated relationships, including a marriage to Ed Schlossberg that surprised her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and an unexpected bond with her mother-in-law, Mae Schlossberg. Additional stories, many shared here for the first time, illuminate the rest of the Kennedy dynasty: Kara Kennedy, Ted’s daughter, and her valiant battle against lung cancer; how Ted’s wife, Vicki, introduced a new era of feminism to the Kennedy family; the lifelong struggles with addiction faced by Bobby Kennedy Jr. and Patrick Kennedy; the unexpected way pop star Taylor Swift helped Conor Kennedy heal after the death of his mother, Bobby’s wife Mary; and Congressman Joe Kennedy III’s rise to prominence. At the center of it all is the family’s indomitable matriarch, Ethel Kennedy—a formidable presence with her maddening eccentricities and inspiring courage. Based on hundreds of exclusive first-hand interviews and cultivated over twenty years of research—including numerous Oral Histories from the JFK Library and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute—The Kennedy Heirs is an epic drama of ambition, scandal, pride and power.

Download or read book John F Kennedy written by Hourly History and published by Hourly History. This book was released on 2017-04-05 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John F. Kennedy is the president that everyone knows. He was a rich man’s son, an athlete, a war hero, a ladies’ man, an author, a president, his face rendered forever young because the last time Americans saw him, he was riding in a convertible in Dallas, his glamorous wife at his side. Then the bullets struck, and the assassinated president became a legend, the truth of his life obscured by his tragic and untimely death. But JFK had more depth to his character than the magazine covers indicated. Inside you will read about... ✓ No Irish Need Apply ✓ War and the Kennedys ✓ Kennedy in Congress ✓ Kennedy for President ✓ Kennedy Women ✓ The Presidency And much more! The rich man’s son was the grandson of Irishmen who knew what it was to be denied jobs because Irish weren’t welcome in Boston. The athlete suffered from poor health all his life, from a bad back to Addison’s disease. The war hero whose PT-109 boat became part of his campaign legend was the son who survived; elder brother Joe, flying on a secret mission, was killed for his heroism. The ladies’ man loved his wife, but fidelity was not a concept revered by the Kennedy men. The Pulitzer Prize that he was awarded for Profiles in Courage should have gone to the person who actually wrote it. In 1963, death in Dallas ended his first term as president, bringing an end to the optimism that he inaugurated when he narrowly defeated Vice President Richard Nixon in the 1960 election. But the Kennedy legend, like Camelot, lives forever.

Download or read book The First Kennedys written by Neal Thompson and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2022-02-22 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Here is that rare thing: an untold chapter in the Kennedy saga. . .Compelling and illuminating.”—Jon Meacham Based on genealogical breakthroughs and previously unreleased records, this is the first book to explore the inspiring story of the poor Irish refugee couple who escaped famine; created a life together in a city hostile to Irish, immigrants, and Catholics; and launched the Kennedy dynasty in America. Their Irish ancestry was a hallmark of the Kennedys’ initial political profile, as JFK leveraged his working-class roots to connect with blue-collar voters. Today, we remember this iconic American family as the vanguard of wealth, power, and style rather than as the descendants of poor immigrants. Here at last, we meet the first American Kennedys, Patrick and Bridget, who arrived as many thousands of others did following the Great Famine—penniless and hungry. Less than a decade after their marriage in Boston, Patrick’s sudden death left Bridget to raise their children single-handedly. Her rise from housemaid to shop owner in the face of rampant poverty and discrimination kept her family intact, allowing her only son P.J. to become a successful saloon owner and businessman. P.J. went on to become the first American Kennedy elected to public office—the first of many. Written by the grandson of an Irish immigrant couple and based on first-ever access to P.J. Kennedy’s private papers, The First Kennedys is a story of sacrifice and survival, resistance and reinvention: an American story.

Download or read book The Patriarch written by David Nasaw and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-09-24 with total page 914 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this pioneering new work, celebrated historian David Nasaw examines the life of Joseph P. Kennedy, the founder of the twentieth century's most famous political dynasty. Drawing on never-before-published materials from archives on three continents and interviews with Kennedy family members and friends, Nasaw tells the story of a man who participated in the major events of his times: the booms and busts, the Depression and the New Deal, two world wars and the Cold War, and the birth of the New Frontier. In studying Kennedy's life, we relive the history of the American century. "Riveting . . . The Patriarch is a book hard to put down . . . As his son indelibly put it some months before his father was struck down: 'Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your county.' One wonders what was going through the mind of the patriarch, sitting a few feet away listening to that soaring sentiment as a fourth-generation Kennedy became president of the United States. After coming to know him over the course of this brilliant, compelling book, the reader might suspect that he was thinking he had done more than enough for his country. But the gods would demand even more." - New York Times Book Review

Download or read book The House of Kennedy written by James Patterson and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2020-04-13 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now with an all-new bonus chapter—in the bestselling The House of Kennedy, “James Patterson applies his writerly skills to real-life history . . . re-telling the political clan’s rise and fall and rise again (and fall again) with novelistic style” (People). The Kennedys have always been a family of charismatic adventurers, raised to take risks and excel, living by the dual family mottos: "To whom much is given, much is expected" and "Win at all costs." And they do—but at a price. Across decades and generations, the Kennedys have occupied a unique place in the American imagination: charmed, cursed, at once familiar and unknowable. The House of Kennedy is a revealing, fascinating account of America's most storied family, as told by America's most trusted storyteller.

Download or read book America s Reluctant Prince written by Steven M. Gillon and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-07-09 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *A New York Times Bestseller* A major new biography of John F. Kennedy Jr. from a leading historian who was also a close friend, America’s Reluctant Prince is a deeply researched, personal, surprising, and revealing portrait of the Kennedy heir the world lost too soon. Through the lens of their decades-long friendship and including exclusive interviews and details from previously classified documents, noted historian and New York Times bestselling author Steven M. Gillon examines John F. Kennedy Jr.’s life and legacy from before his birth to the day he died. Gillon covers the highs, the lows, and the surprising incidents, viewpoints, and relationships that John never discussed publicly, revealing the full story behind JFK Jr.’s complicated and rich life. In the end, Gillon proves that John’s life was far more than another tragedy—rather, it’s the true key to understanding both the Kennedy legacy and how America’s first family continues to shape the world we live in today.

Download or read book Catching the Wind written by Neal Gabler and published by Crown. This book was released on 2020-10-27 with total page 953 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • “One of the truly great biographies of our time.”—Sean Wilentz, New York Times bestselling author of Bob Dylan in America and The Rise of American Democracy “A landmark study of Washington power politics in the twentieth century in the Robert Caro tradition.”—Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author of American Moonshot The epic, definitive biography of Ted Kennedy—an immersive journey through the life of a complicated man and a sweeping history of the fall of liberalism and the collapse of political morality. Catching the Wind is the first volume of Neal Gabler’s magisterial two-volume biography of Edward Kennedy. It is at once a human drama, a history of American politics in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and a study of political morality and the role it played in the tortuous course of liberalism. Though he is often portrayed as a reckless hedonist who rode his father’s fortune and his brothers’ coattails to a Senate seat at the age of thirty, the Ted Kennedy in Catching the Wind is one the public seldom saw—a man both racked by and driven by insecurity, a man so doubtful of himself that he sinned in order to be redeemed. The last and by most contemporary accounts the least of the Kennedys, a lightweight. He lived an agonizing childhood, being shuffled from school to school at his mother’s whim, suffering numerous humiliations—including self-inflicted ones—and being pressed to rise to his brothers’ level. He entered the Senate with his colleagues’ lowest expectations, a show horse, not a workhorse, but he used his “ninth-child’s talent” of deference to and comity with his Senate elders to become a promising legislator. And with the deaths of his brothers John and Robert, he was compelled to become something more: the custodian of their political mission. In Catching the Wind, Kennedy, using his late brothers’ moral authority, becomes a moving force in the great “liberal hour,” which sees the passage of the anti-poverty program and the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts. Then, with the election of Richard Nixon, he becomes the leading voice of liberalism itself at a time when its power is waning: a “shadow president,” challenging Nixon to keep the American promise to the marginalized, while Nixon lives in terror of a Kennedy restoration. Catching the Wind also shows how Kennedy’s moral authority is eroded by the fatal auto accident on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969, dealing a blow not just to Kennedy but to liberalism. In this sweeping biography, Gabler tells a story that is Shakespearean in its dimensions: the story of a star-crossed figure who rises above his seeming limitations and the tragedy that envelopes him to change the face of America.

Download or read book The Sins of the Father written by Ronald Kessler and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 1996-03-14 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this new personal history--the first serious volume focusing exclusively on Joseph Patrick Kennedy in 30 years--Ronald Kessler recreates the life and times of this ambitious, powerful, masterfully manipulative man. Utilizing extensive research and interviews with Kennedy family members and their intimates, speaking on record for the first time, Kessler reveals stunning new details of JPK's enormous accomplishments and the terrible personal losses he suffered. 16-page photo insert.

Download or read book Ted Kennedy written by Edward Klein and published by Crown Archetype. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the most inspiring speech of his career, Ted Kennedy once vowed: "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." Unlike his martyred brothers, John and Robert, whose lives were cut off before the promise of a better future could be realized, Ted lived long enough to make many promises come true. During a career that spanned an astonishing half-century, he put his imprint on every major piece of progressive legislation–from health care and education to civil rights. There were times during that career–such as after the incident in Chappaquiddick–when Ted seemed to have surrendered to his demons. But there were other times–after one of his inspiring speeches on the floor of the Senate, for example–when he was compared to Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John Calhoun, and other great lawmakers of the past. Indeed, for most of his life, Ted Kennedy played a kaleidoscope of roles–from destructive thrill seeker to constructive lawmaker; from straying husband to devoted father and uncle. In Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died, celebrated Kennedy biographer Edward Klein at last reconciles these contradictions, painting a stunningly original, up-to-the-moment portrait of Ted Kennedy and his remarkable late-in-life redemption. Drawing on a vast store of original research and unprecedented access to Ted Kennedy’s political associates, friends, and family, Klein takes the reader behind the scenes to reveal many secrets. Among them: • Why Caroline Kennedy, at Ted’s urging, aspired to fill the New York Senate vacancy but then suddenly and unexpectedly withdrew her candidacy. • How Ted ended his longest-lasting romantic relationship to marry Victoria Reggie, and the unexpected effect that union had on his personal and political redemption. • What transpired between the parents of Mary Jo Kopechne and Ted Kennedy during two private meetings at Ted’s home. • Which feuds are likely to erupt within the Kennedy family in the wake of Ted’s demise, and what will become of Ted’s fortune and political legacy. Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died does not shrink from portraying the erratic side of Ted Kennedy and his former wife, Joan. But both in spirit and tone, it is a compassionate celebration of a complex man who, in the winter of his life, summoned the best in himself to come to the aid of his troubled nation.

Download or read book The Kennedys written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-02-19 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures of the Kennedys and important people, places, and events in their lives. *Includes an introduction for each of the 4. Over the last 50 years, the name Kennedy has become the most famous one in America, with the Kennedy brothers coming to political power during the mid-20th century, while John's beautiful wife Jackie became a political wife and First Lady unlike any the nation had ever witnessed. In time, the Kennedys forged a political dynasty, leaving a lasting legacy in American politics that endures to this day. In many ways, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his young family were the perfect embodiment of the '60s. The decade began with a sense of idealism, personified by the attractive Kennedy, his beautiful and fashionable wife Jackie, and his young children. Months into his presidency, Kennedy exhorted the country to reach for the stars, calling upon the nation to send a man to the Moon and back by the end of the decade. In 1961, Kennedy made it seem like anything was possible, and Americans were eager to believe him. The Kennedy years were fondly and famously labeled "Camelot," suggesting an almost mythical quality about the young President and his family. The famous label came from John's fashionable and beautiful wife, Jackie, whose elegance and grace made her the most popular woman in the world. Her popularity threatened to eclipse even her husband's, who famously quipped on one presidential trip to France that he was "the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris." Americans were fascinated by the young First Lady's style, and the manner in which she glamorously positioned both the First Family and the White House in those years, and Jackie remains one of the country's most popular First Ladies. Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968) is the quintessential middle brother among the Kennedys, eclipsed in life while working in his brother John's administration, eclipsed in death both by his older brother's assassination and his younger brother's long, influential career in the Senate as a liberal lion. And yet, the politics of the 1960s and the ultimate legacy of the Kennedys, including the "Kennedy Curse," would have been incomplete without Bobby's place in the narrative. Today, unfortunately, Bobby is best remembered for his assassination, the way in which it helped perpetuate the "Kennedy Curse," and the fact that his political promise, including potentially becoming president in 1968, was never fulfilled. Ted may not have been the center of attention in the Kennedy family then or now, but he had the same charisma and skills of his older brothers, as well as the same controversial vices. And as fate would have it, Ted's political legacy may have eclipsed them all. His brothers were victims of two of the country's most tragic assassinations, two other siblings died in plane crashes, and he would have to eulogize nephews. But Ted had the extra gift of length of years, surviving his encounter with the "Kennedy Curse," a 1964 plane crash that severely injured and nearly killed him. Although controversy ensured Ted would never be president, he spent nearly half a century in the U.S. Senate, forging a legacy that earned him the nickname "The Lion of the Senate." Indeed, in the course of becoming the 4th longest serving Senator in American history, Ted became the patriarch of both the Kennedy family and the Democratic Party, as well as one of the most forceful and outspoken advocates of progressivism. The Kennedys tells the story of John, Jackie, Robert, and Ted, weaving their lives and legacies together into one narrative. Along with pictures of the Kennedy family and important people, places, and events in their lives, you will learn about the Kennedys like you never have before, in no time at all.

Download or read book Joseph P Kennedy Sr written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-11-22 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "We have a rich man, untrained in diplomacy, unlearned in history and politics, who is a great publicity seeker and who apparently is ambitious to be the first Catholic president of the U.S." - British MP Josiah Wedgwood's description of Joe Kennedy, Sr. as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom In many ways, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his young family were the perfect embodiment of the '60s. The decade began with a sense of idealism, personified by the attractive Kennedy, his beautiful and fashionable wife Jackie, and his young children. Months into his presidency, Kennedy exhorted the country to reach for the stars, calling upon the nation to send a man to the Moon and back by the end of the decade. In 1961, Kennedy made it seem like anything was possible, and Americans were eager to believe him. The Kennedy years were fondly and famously labeled "Camelot," by Jackie herself, suggesting an almost mythical quality about the young President and his family. As it turned out, the '60s closely reflected the glossy, idealistic portrayal of John F. Kennedy, as well as the uglier truths. The country would achieve Kennedy's goal of a manned moon mission, and the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 finally guaranteed minorities their civil rights and restored equality, ensuring that the country "would live out the true meaning of its creed." But the idealism and optimism of the decade was quickly shattered, starting with Kennedy's assassination in 1963. The '60s were permanently marred by the Vietnam War, and by the time Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated in 1968, the country was irreversibly jaded. The events of the decade produced protests and countercultures unlike anything the country had seen before, as young people came of age more quickly than ever. While JFK was the member of the Kennedy dynasty to reach the White House, he was hardly the first to seek the presidency. In fact, that ambition was held by his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., the family's most controversial figure. The son of working class Irish Americans, Joe, Sr. fought his way to fame and fortune in every way available to him, both legal and illegally, morally and immorally. As he was in business, so he was with his family - devoted and underhanded, determined and cutthroat. He knew what he wanted for himself, his wife, and his children, and he was unwilling to let anyone or anything stand in the way. From his wife, he wanted children, devotion, and silence about his many affairs. From his sons, he wanted power and position. From his daughters, he expected beauty, grace, and absolute loyalty. For the most part, the Kennedy patriarch would get what he wanted, but he frequently paid a terrible price for it. Of course, Kennedy also had his own personal ambitions, which included residing in the White House. A mover and shaker in Democratic politics, he threw his support behind Franklin Roosevelt, a man he later came to hate. The most he got out of this alliance was a brief appointment as the U.S. Ambassador to the UK, where he made himself increasingly unpopular by devoutly opposing American involvement in World War II even as the situation got more desperate for the British by the day. Later, he wanted the presidency for his sons, three of which he would help bury. Finally, he wanted peace for himself and his family, a simple desire that proved to be more elusive than any of his more ambitious hopes. In the end, one of his peers may have summed it up best when he said, "I like Joe Kennedy but I have no illusions about him. He understands power. Everywhere he went, from Brahmin Boston to the Court of St. James's, he saw great hypocrisy about the philosophy of those who rule. Power is the end. What other delight is there but to enjoy the sheer sense of control?"

Download or read book Jackie s Girl written by Kathy McKeon and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-05-09 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller “McKeon's delightful memories have been tucked away for fifty years, and thankfully, she has brought them out to share the enchanting magic of Camelot with us all.” —Kirkus Reviews “Celebrity watchers who covet an insider’s role will find McKeon’s frank yet benevolent memoir to be both a sobering reality check and an engaging foray into the ever-fascinating world of the Kennedy dynasty.” —Booklist An endearing coming-of-age memoir by a young woman who spent thirteen years as Jackie Kennedy’s personal assistant and occasional nanny—and the lessons about life and love she learned from the glamorous first lady. In 1964, Kathy McKeon was just nineteen and newly arrived from Ireland when she was hired as the personal assistant to former first lady Jackie Kennedy. The next thirteen years of her life were spent in Jackie’s service, during which Kathy not only played a crucial role in raising young Caroline and John Jr., but also had a front-row seat to some of the twentieth century’s most significant events. Because Kathy was always at Jackie’s side, Rose Kennedy deemed her “Jackie’s girl.” And although Kathy called Jackie “Madam,” she considered her employer more like a big sister who, in many ways, mentored her on how to be a lady. Kathy was there during Jackie and Aristotle Onassis’s courtship and marriage and Robert Kennedy’s assassination, dutifully supporting Jackie and the children during these tumultuous times in history. A rare and engrossing look at the private life of one of the most famous women of the twentieth century, Jackie’s Girl is also a moving personal story of a young woman finding her identity and footing in a new country, along with the help of the most elegant woman in America.

Download or read book The Kennedy Women written by Laurence Leamer and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 1996-09-29 with total page 994 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "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

Download or read book After Camelot written by J. Randy Taraborrelli and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2012-04-24 with total page 634 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this ambitious and sweeping account, Taraborelli continues the family chronicle begun with his bestselling Jackie, Ethel, Joan and provides a behind-the-scenes look at the years "after Camelot." For more than half a century, Americans have been captivated by the Kennedys - their joy and heartbreak, tragedy and triumph, the dark side and the remarkable achievements. He describes the challenges Bobby's children faced as they grew into adulthood; Eunice and Sargent Shriver's remarkable philanthropic work; the emotional turmoil Jackie faced after JFK's murder and the complexities of her eventual marriage to Aristotle Onassis; the the sudden death of JFK JR; and the stoicism and grace of his sister Caroline. He also brings into clear focus the complex and intriguing story of Edward "Teddy" and shows how he influenced the sensibilities of the next generation and challenged them to uphold the Kennedy name. Based on extensive research, including hundreds of exclusive interviews, After Camelot captures the wealth, glamour, and fortitude for which the Kennedys are so well known. With this book, J. Randy Taraborrelli takes readers on an epic journey as he unfolds the ongoing saga of the nation's most famous-and controversial-family.