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Search - The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America's First Family for 150 Years
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The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America's First Family for 150 Years Author: |
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Book Information
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Other Versions of this Book: Paperback, Hardcover
Book Description:
Death was merciful to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, for it spared her a parent's worst nightmare: the loss of a child. But if Jackie had lived to see her son, JFK Jr., perish in a plane crash on his way to his cousin's wedding, she would have been doubly horrified by the familiar pattern in the tragedy. Once again, on a day that should have been full of joy and celebration, America's first family was struck by the Kennedy Curse.
In this probing expose, renowned Kennedy biographer Edward Klein-a bestselling author and journalist personally acquainted with many members of the Kennedy family-unravels one of the great mysteries of our time and explains why the Kennedys have been subjected to such a mind-boggling chain of calamities.
Drawing upon scores of interviews with people who have never spoken out before, troves of private documents, archives in Ireland and America, and private conversations with Jackie, Klein explores the underlying pattern that governs the Kennedy Curse.
The reader is treated to penetrating portraits of the Irish immigrant Patrick Kennedy; Rose Kennedy's father, "Honey Fitz"; the dynasty's founding father Joe Kennedy and his ill-fated daughter Kathleen, President Kennedy, accused rapist William Kennedy Smith, and the star-crossed lovers, JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. Each of the seven profiles demonstrates the basic premise of this book: The Kennedy Curse is the result of the destructive collision between the Kennedy's fantasy of omnipotence-an unremitting desire to get away with things that others cannot-and the cold, hard realities of life.
In this probing expose, renowned Kennedy biographer Edward Klein-a bestselling author and journalist personally acquainted with many members of the Kennedy family-unravels one of the great mysteries of our time and explains why the Kennedys have been subjected to such a mind-boggling chain of calamities.
Drawing upon scores of interviews with people who have never spoken out before, troves of private documents, archives in Ireland and America, and private conversations with Jackie, Klein explores the underlying pattern that governs the Kennedy Curse.
The reader is treated to penetrating portraits of the Irish immigrant Patrick Kennedy; Rose Kennedy's father, "Honey Fitz"; the dynasty's founding father Joe Kennedy and his ill-fated daughter Kathleen, President Kennedy, accused rapist William Kennedy Smith, and the star-crossed lovers, JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. Each of the seven profiles demonstrates the basic premise of this book: The Kennedy Curse is the result of the destructive collision between the Kennedy's fantasy of omnipotence-an unremitting desire to get away with things that others cannot-and the cold, hard realities of life.
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Genres:
- Biographies & Memoirs >> General
- Biographies & Memoirs >> Leaders & Notable People >> Political
- Biographies & Memoirs >> Leaders & Notable People >> Presidents & Heads of State
- Biographies & Memoirs >> Historical >> United States >> General
- Biographies & Memoirs >> Leaders & Notable People >> Rich & Famous
Top Member Book Reviews
Marian C. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
I felt sure I had read all the news and gossip surrounding this well known family. But being a Kennedy follower since JFK first appeared on the horizon, I decided to read yet one more story. It begins generations ago, where the beginnings of greed and power first sprouted its ugly head. Through the years the fight for power, being competitive with everyone including your own kin, along with disregard and total disrespect for anybody's feelings except theirs, left me breathless.
They say children suffer the sins of their fathers. I feel it is so with these people.
It may not be a curse but rather coincidence, but it made me wonder. I'm sure it will give you yet another insight into this large and complicated family.
Great book. Does not disappoint.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
An investigation of one of the great mysteries of our time - the Kennedy Curse. The stories in this book illustrate how the Kennedy Curse began in the common Irish immigrant experience of poverty and humiliation and developed into an obsessive lust for power and dominance over others at the expense of all ethical behavior.
Vicki M. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Back cover reads:
This book is a detective story.
It is an investigation of one of the great mysteries of our time-the Kennedy Curse. It explores the underlying pattern that governs the curse and examines the many influences-historical, psychological, and genetic-that have shaped the Kennedy's character and led their self-defeating behavior.
The stories in this book illustrate how the Kennedy Curse began in the common Irish immigrant experience of poverty and humiliation,and developed into an obessive lust for power and dominance over others at the expense of all ethical behavior....
The people in this book were, for the most part, on a fatal collision course with reality. They felt immune to mortal laws and somehow divinely protected from the inevitable consequences of their deeds and misdeeds. In their hunger for unlimited power, they saw themselves as superior beings who resided above the common herd. They felt special-omnipotent and worthy of being worshiped...
Our inclination to idolize the Kennedy's has obscured their human attributes. And so, finally, this book is an attempt to demystify the Kennedy's by telling the story of how the descendents of Patrick Kennedy, a poor Irish immigrant who came to the shores of the New World in 1849, pulled, tore, scratched, scraped, clutched, and clawed their way to the top of the American society-and, in the porcess, made the fatal mistake of thinking of themselves as divine. - From the Kennedy Curse
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Although it manages to uncover every sexual pecadillo of President Kennedy and other Kennedy men, it also shows how hard it was for the Irish to be accepted into American society. And they spoke English!
Please Rate these Book Reviews
I really enjoyed this book. Much of the Kennedy legacy was much before my time but I still did find the book very interesting. It was hard to put down.
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