best biography kennedy family

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History Books » American History

The best books on the kennedys, recommended by david nasaw.

The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw

The story and tragedy of the Kennedys is so incredible you don't need to turn to fiction, says the biographer of Joseph P Kennedy, David Nasaw . He talks us through the Kennedy generations.

Interview by Emma Mustich

Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy by Amanda Smith (editor)

Conversations with Kennedy by Benjamin C. Bradlee

Robert Kennedy and His Times by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

JFK: Reckless Youth by Nigel Hamilton

True Compass by Edward M. Kennedy

1 Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy by Amanda Smith (editor)

2 conversations with kennedy by benjamin c. bradlee, 3 robert kennedy and his times by arthur m. schlesinger, jr., 4 jfk: reckless youth by nigel hamilton, 5 true compass by edward m. kennedy.

F irst, can you tell us about the Joseph Kennedy biography you’re working on at the moment, and how that project got started?

Since Joseph Kennedy was such a family man, does studying him give you a lot of insight into his children, too?

Yes, absolutely. One of the reasons I wanted to do this (and one of the tricky parts about this book) is that Kennedy was so committed to being a good father, that he involved himself heavily in his children’s lives – and not necessarily in a bad way; they welcomed that involvement. He was a remarkably good father. He wanted all of his children to do public service; he wanted all of his children, boys and girls, to find jobs. When they were younger, he let Rose put the girls in school, but when they got older, he took a direct interest in what they were all doing. Eventually, he also effectively retired from public life, in large part because he didn’t want his reputation to hold back his children in any way as the boys entered politics. So the latter part of his life – certainly the last decade – was spent in the shadows, though he was active nonetheless, as a father.

He was very ill toward the end of his life, right?

Well, when I say the last ten years, I’m really talking about up until the stroke. From the moment of the stroke on, he is totally incapacitated. You really can’t make this stuff up! This most dominant of men, who enters the room and is the centre of all attention – he loses his ability to speak and walk, so he can understand everything, but the only word that comes out of his mouth, no matter how hard he tries, is ‘No’.

I get chills up my spine whenever I read about that!

It is chilling. So, my biography is effectively going to end in late 1961, when Kennedy has the stroke. But from ’52, when Jack decides to run for senator, there’s almost a family agreement made that Joe is going to stop speaking, and Joe is going to spend a lot more time in the south of France – certainly around campaign time and election time. And if he had not had a stroke, you would not have seen him at the White House at all, or very rarely.

Let’s talk about your first choice, Hostages to Fortune, which I believe had something to do with your getting involved with the Kennedy biography in the first place.

Yes, it did! It’s a great book; it’s a collection of letters to and from Kennedy, most of them from his children (though there are a lot of other letters in there as well). When I was doing a biography of William Randolph Hearst, I got in touch with Amanda Smith, the editor of Hostages to Fortune , to see if she had any correspondence between Hearst and Kennedy; so I was originally introduced to Kennedy through this Hearst project. It was in his correspondence with Hearst that I discovered that, rather than being this predatory vulture who was swooping down on the Hearst empire, Kennedy really took a liking to the old man, and tried to rescue him from bankruptcy. So that was my introduction, through Amanda, and through Hearst, to Kennedy.

One of the things that comes across so clearly in this book is the family’s extraordinary sense of humour. This is a family – I mean, if they didn’t go into public life, they could have been performers and comedians, humourists! One is more hysterical than the next. It’s really a terrific book, even just for diving in and diving out. Nobody except lunatics like me is going to read it all through.

Have you found much evidence in his letters (or other sources) that Joseph Kennedy made a significant effort to ‘manage’ his own historical legacy?

Listen – I tell this to my students as well – every archive is constructed. There is no archive in the universe that has not been constructed, either by the subject or by the subject’s followers or family. So this archive, and these letters – there’s stuff left out. Nonetheless, you will never find a book or a collection of letters as honest as this one. It is absolutely extraordinary.

That’s pretty remarkable. Let’s move on to Ben Bradlee’s book, Conversations with Kennedy.

I chose Bradlee for two reasons. One, you see Bradlee struggling to be a journalist and a friend at the same time; two, you see Jack Kennedy struggling to have a journalist as a friend. Given that, Bradlee – who only writes this book after Kennedy’s death – is privy to secrets and situations that no one else could have experienced, seen or heard. And you really get a sense of the Kennedy administration and of Kennedy’s personality that you don’t get anywhere else. You get a sense that this is the real Kennedy.

The book is warm, the book is personable; you see a Kennedy who has a temper, who uses language he shouldn’t, who is struggling with an impossible job, and who’s smart as can be in attempting to manage his job and his public image.

So the Bradlee-Kennedy friendship offers more advantages than disadvantages when it comes to the composition of the book?

Does Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., who worked closely with JFK for a significant period, and was an outspoken RFK supporter, manage to navigate the obstacles associated with writing about friends/colleagues with similar deftness in Robert Kennedy and His Times?

I think he does. You know, this is a very different book from A Thousand Days. A Thousand Days is Schlesinger’s big, fat book about the Kennedy administration and his life in it; in that book, he writes from the inside. In Robert Kennedy and His Times, Schlesinger writes from the outside, and he does a remarkable job. You see the brilliance of Schlesinger as a historian that is evident in his books about the New Deal and Roosevelt. You know that Schlesinger worked for Kennedy, and admires him; nonetheless, the advantages of being an insider and trying to write from the outside I think outweigh the disadvantages of reading a book by an insider. With this book. This is rarely the case – but then, rarely do historians come along as talented as Schlesinger was.

Is this the best work on Robert Kennedy that there is?

Let’s move on to Nigel Hamilton’s JFK: Reckless Youth.

Right. Hamilton – I disagree with him much more than I agree with him. This book is very much a book about a father and a son. The father is painted as the bad guy, and the son is the good guy, struggling to break free. I don’t accept that interpretation, or that framework of analysis. Nonetheless, Hamilton writes with a verve, an electricity, a passion, that’s rare among academic historians. As a researcher, he’s extraordinary. He did everything: he read every newspaper clip and every magazine article; he interviewed everybody he could possibly find, and read the interviews that other people had done.

He’s put together a remarkable portrait of young JFK, and I think that portrait will stand. You see this most unlikely of men develop, this incredible transformation take place. Nigel and I agree that Jack Kennedy always had political ambitions; if he backed off a bit, it was because his older brother was first in line. But I think he believed, and certainly his father believed, that, just like the La Follettes had been senator and governor of Wisconsin, so the Kennedy brothers could both have high positions in politics. The reason Jack was not thought of as presidential material early on was that his health was so bad; nobody in the family thought he had the endurance to run a campaign. But when you see the way this young man develops – when you see him going from being unkempt, badly dressed, undisciplined, always late, a man who would much prefer to stay at home reading a history book than go shaking hands… When you see him become the most unlikely of war heroes – a war hero who didn’t want to be known as a war hero – and then a candidate… It’s an extraordinary story, and extraordinarily well told by Hamilton.

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Nigel Hamilton is a Brit who’s written a very popular and influential book about an American icon. Is there any significance to the biographer’s nationality at all? Does it give him any clear advantages or disadvantages?

That’s a great question. I don’t know. Hamilton had written a book about Montgomery before this one, and I think it gave him a fresh view and a new view on Kennedy, coming from the other side of the Atlantic. He admired Jack Kennedy no end, but I think he had a certain advantage in coming at much of this in a way that was different and perhaps more fresh than his approach might have been had he grown up an American during the Kennedy presidency.

What about you, being an American – do you feel you have any particular disadvantages when writing about the Kennedys, given your life experience in this country over the past decades?

I don’t think so. I think there are advantages both ways, and I would hope that my background and my understanding of U.S. history , as a historian, are going to stand me well. And also my ‘ethics’ as a historian, if I can use a horrible word. I don’t think that any historian can be objective, but I think historians have to be fair, and they have to look at all the material out there. I think that approach will stand me well, whether I’m writing about an American or a Hungarian.

Let’s talk a little about the genre of biography before we move on to your final choice. I think you and Nigel Hamilton have both spent a significant amount of time thinking about the genre in the course of your careers. In your opinion, is it superior to other forms of history-writing?

I think Nigel and I disagree a little bit on this. I think he regards biography as almost a separate genre. I don’t. I am a historian, and, at least with the last couple of books I’ve written, I choose to write history from the vantage point or from the perspective of an individual.

As a historian, I believe that no individual is, in and of himself or herself, a fit subject. The individual is only used as a perspective, a way to illuminate a larger truth. This is true of many great biographies. Bob Caro’s biographies of Johnson are about the accumulation and use of political power; David Levering Lewis’s books about Du Bois are about race in America. I hope my biography about Carnegie is about the role of the entrepreneur in the Industrial Revolution, and my book about Hearst is about the coming to power and prominence of the mass media. So again, I regard myself as a historian who, this time around, is writing a biography.

Some time ago, the American Historical Revue did a symposium on historians writing biographies. In the beginning, I refused to take part in it, because I didn’t think I needed to defend writing biography. In the end, I decided to write the introduction to the thing. In it I said that, as a historian, I’m not interested in telling a birth-to-death story – that’s not my intent. I want to use this person’s life to talk about something else. I said that, if you look at great biographies by historians, they don’t begin, ‘X was born at such-and-such a time’, and they don’t end, ‘X died at such-and-such a time’. I think that biography is a credible and an extraordinarily useful form of history writing. And I bow to no one when I write my biographies; I am as rigorous and scrupulous with my sources as when I write something else.

The last book you’ve chosen is Ted Kennedy’s memoir, True Compass.

Generally, I’m not a fan of memoirs . Maybe it’s because I’m a biographer. I don’t like it when autobiographies are confused with biographies; they’re very separate, very different. But there’s just something about the stories that Ted tells in this book that is so engaging; you get a real sense of this Kennedy mission, this Kennedy commitment to public service – and you also get some idea of what holds the family together. It’s religion; it’s love of the sea; it’s commitment to making the world a little bit different. You really get a sense, in this book, of the wit and the glamour that the Kennedys are able to combine with public service and politics in a rather unique way.

This is one of these Kennedy books that is just extraordinarily honest. Ted was a remarkable mimic, and a great storyteller, and that comes across on page after page of this book. He tells such wonderful stories… There’s one about his mother sending him to school in Rhode Island with his brother Bobby. Ted’s only nine years old, and the next-youngest kid is 13. Ted gets picked on and bullied, and his only friend, the only thing he’s got going for him, is his pet turtle who comes with him – and who dies two weeks after he gets there. You just get the sense of this incredible, intense individual life, and then this life as a Kennedy. I loved it.

You said one gets a sense of the uniqueness of the Kennedy family from this book. Is it at all useful to compare them to other ‘dynasties’ – real or fictional?

I think you can certainly compare them to all those families. I mean, that’s how we understand people – by comparisons. But comparisons also focus on differences. The people behind this latest television series, ‘The Kennedys’, said in the very beginning that they were going to tell the Kennedy story as The Godfather. That’s just nonsense; I think it’s absurd.

You can certainly compare the Kennedys to other families, but in the end I think they do stand out in a way. I mean, Franklin Roosevelt ’s children never succeeded in politics, or in any other part of life. Teddy Roosevelt’s children didn’t. The Bush family – I just don’t think it’s possible… The more you compare the Kennedys to other families, the more their uniqueness comes back.

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Is it something about the tragedy that seems to haunt the Kennedys, which also sets them apart?

Oh, yes – it’s incredible. It’s so incredible that you don’t need to make stuff up! There are probably more bad books about the Kennedys, and more bad television shows, and more bad movies, than about any other family, and there’s no need for it. I mean, the drama, the everyday drama… It’s there even in that story about the young Ted Kennedy and his pet turtle that I told before.

Whether you love them or you hate them, I think you’ve got to respect – at least, I respect – their commitment to public service, which comes from their father and their mother.

My final question is about that controversial Kennedy TV series you’ve just mentioned. It’s garnered lots of attention lately, on both sides of the Atlantic. Is it worth watching?

God, I don’t know. I’m not going to watch it. I’m not going to watch it because, one, I know I’m not going to learn any history from it; two, I know I’m probably going to throw things at the screen as they make up stuff; and three, from all the reviews I’ve read, it sounds like there’s no real drama to it! Tom Wilkinson is a great actor, but he has to read somebody else’s lines, and I don’t know if they work. And four, it’s just ludicrous to make the story of this family into a Godfather epic, and structure it like that. So, I’m not going to watch it. That’s all I can tell you.

April 27, 2011

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David Nasaw

David Nasaw is Arthur M Schlesinger, Jr. Professor of History at CUNY’s Graduate Center. His biography of William Randolph Hearst, The Chief , won the Bancroft Prize, and his acclaimed biography of Andrew Carnegie was shortlisted for the Pulitzer. He is currently working on a biography of Joseph P Kennedy. Faculty profile at CUNY David Nasaw on Wikipedia

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My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies

The Best Biographies of John F. Kennedy

31 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by Steve in Best Biographies Posts , President #35 - J Kennedy

≈ 35 Comments

American history , Arthur Schlesinger Jr. , book reviews , Doris Kearns Goodwin , Geoffrey Perret , Herbert Parmet , JFK , John F Kennedy , Michael O'Brien , Nigel Hamilton , Pulitzer Prize , Richard Reeves , Robert Dallek , Ted Sorensen , Thomas Reeves , Thurston Clarke

In the end, JFK proved to be everything I hoped for – and more! Like several of the presidents who preceded him, Kennedy’s life is a biographer’s dream .

His forebears were dynamic, endlessly fascinating, occasionally unscrupulous and, from time to time, oddly dysfunctional. Kennedy himself proved to be no less interesting: he was medically infirm, an ardent bookworm, a serial philanderer, often ruthlessly pragmatic and extremely charismatic.

But after spending five-and-a-half months with JFK and experiencing his presidency nine times (three of the books did not cover his time in the Oval Office) I still find Kennedy undeservedly well-ranked by historians. But that’s a subject for another day.

* “ An Unfinished Life: JFK 1917-1963 ” by Robert Dallek (published 2003) – This comprehensive biography was the first book on JFK that I read. It also proved to be my favorite. Dallek provides a devastating early indictment of JFK’s personal behavior, but more than half of the book is reserved for Kennedy’s presidency where his personal affairs take a back seat to the nation’s issues. Overall, Dallek’s biography provides the best combination of insight, balance and color of any of the JFK biographies I encountered — 4¼ stars ( Full review here )

* “ JFK: Reckless Youth ” by Nigel Hamilton (1992) – This was intended to be the first book in a three-volume series but as a result of his “unflattering” portrayal of the Kennedy family Hamilton lost access to important research documents and, regrettably, abandoned the series. This lively 800-page narrative is riveting and provides unparalleled insight into JFK’s relationships with his older brother and his parents (who are painted in an extremely unflattering light). No other biography I read covers Kennedy’s early life better than this volume — 3¾ stars ( Full review here )

* “ Kennedy: The Classic Biography ” by Ted Sorensen (1965) – Written by Kennedy’s long-time adviser and speechwriter, the author’s proximity to JFK proves both a blessing and a curse. Sorensen’s allegiance to Kennedy is quickly obvious – and occasionally distracting – but the narrative covers events from a unique perspective. But in the end it does not provide balanced, comprehensive coverage of JFK and can only serve as the eloquent observations of a staunchly loyal aide — 3½ stars ( Full review here )

* “ John F. Kennedy: A Biography ” by Michael O’Brien (2005) – This 905-page biography is encyclopedic and provides more detail (and more perspectives) on most events than any other JFK biography. But while it is 200 pages longer than Dallek’s biography (its most comparable counterpart) it is no more potent…and its numerous nuggets of wisdom are buried beneath an avalanche of unnecessary verbosity — 3½ stars ( Full review here )

* “ Jack: A Life Like No Other ” by Geoffrey Perret (2001) – This full-scale (but lightweight, at just 400 pages) biography is easy to read and decidedly informal. Unfortunately, it also provides less insight or analysis of Kennedy than most other biographies. And while readers new to JFK may appreciate its lack of “complexity” almost everyone else will finish this biography still feeling hungry — 3 stars ( Full review here )

* “ A Question of Character: A Life of John F. Kennedy ” by Thomas Reeves (1991) – This study quickly proves to be a captivating, but flawed, critique of its subject. Devoted to exposing the hypocrisy hidden beneath Camelot’s polished veneer, it feels more bluntly partisan, and less scholarly, than Nigel Hamilton’s somewhat similar “JFK: Reckless Youth.” But where Hamilton covers three decades in about 900 pages, Reeves covers JFK’s entire life in just half of that — 3 stars ( Full review here )

* “ Jack: The Struggles of John F. Kennedy ” and “ JFK: The Presidency of John F. Kennedy ” by Herbert Parmet – This two-volume series was published between 1980 and 1983 and totals nearly 900 pages (excluding notes and bibliography). Offering a thoughtful and balanced perspective on Kennedy, this series is serious, scholarly and solid. But where it was the “go to” reference on Kennedy for years, documents which have become available since its publication have left it somewhat stale. Parmet’s writing style also leaves JFK and his family feeling a bit flat and lifeless. Imagine that ! — 3½ star (Full reviews here and here )

* “ The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys ” by Doris Kearns Goodwin (1987) – This non-traditional biography of JFK is actually a family history which ends with a focus on John F. Kennedy – but only up to his presidential inauguration. Despite its heft (943 pages) it is engrossing, clever and insightful. Unfortunately it also left Goodwin embroiled in a plagiarism scandal.  But for readers unconcerned with the author’s failure to adequately cite sources – or her awkward effort to conceal her sins – it is a wickedly entertaining and perceptive (if too friendly) treatment of Honey Fitz, Rose Kennedy and Joseph P. Kennedy. The book does not end as strongly as it starts and the weakest player (ironically) is JFK himself who receives less focus than he deserves — 4½ stars ( Full review here )

* “ A Thousand Days: JFK in the White House ” by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (1965) – This Pulitzer Prize-winning tome (with 1,031 pages) is part memoir, part biography and part interpretive history with a nearly exclusive focus on the Kennedy presidency. The author served as Special Assistant to President Kennedy, providing him an advantageous perch from which to view JFK’s presidency. Schlesinger’s reputation as a historian is unquestioned, but his book proves dense, dry and often tedious – as well as uneven in emphasis and highly sympathetic to Kennedy. A classic, perhaps, but not a balanced account of the Kennedy presidency — 3 stars ( Full review here )

* “ President Kennedy: Profile of Power ” by Richard Reeves (1993) – This unique (and extraordinarily revealing) book follows JFK almost moment-by-moment through his presidency. But where most biographies are written from the point of view of the biographer , Reeves’s audience often views the world through Kennedy’s own eyes. Unfortunately missing from the book is much insight on Kennedy’s family and friends, and there is little analysis to be found. But for a unique point of view, and as a  supplemental book on JFK, “Profile of Power” is hard to beat — 3¾ stars ( Full review here )

* “ JFK’s Last Hundred Days: The Transformation of a Man and the Emergence of a Great President ” by Thurston Clarke (2013) – Ostensibly focused on the last weeks of Kennedy’s life, this book is more comprehensive than its title suggests. Almost continuously throughout its 362 pages it reaches back in time to Kennedy’s past in order to provide unfamiliar readers with adequate context. The resulting lack of continuity, however, is perhaps the book’s greatest weakness. Most confounding, however, is the book’s failure (despite its sub-title) to demonstrate that Kennedy was on the verge of  greatness when he was assassinated. Otherwise, a stimulating and enjoyable read — 3½ stars ( Full review here )

Best Biography of John F. Kennedy: “ An Unfinished Life: JFK 1917-1963 ” by Robert Dallek

Honorable Mention: “ JFK: Reckless Youth ” by Nigel Hamilton (though “incomplete”)

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35 thoughts on “the best biographies of john f. kennedy”.

August 31, 2017 at 2:55 pm

I find it interesting with all that’s been written about him, only one book was rated at 4 stars+. Looking forward to LBJ!

August 31, 2017 at 5:05 pm

Yes, that was slightly disappointing. Other than Dallek’s biography, each book I read was either too narrowly focused for a 4+ rating or was disappointing in some meaningful way. The benefit to reading several biographies (particularly in the case of JFK) is that they tended to complement each other – one making up for another’s weakness, etc.

August 31, 2017 at 5:40 pm

Enjoy your LBJ reads! Robert Caro’s series is fanastic! LBJ is fascinating! Much better books on him than on JFK in my opinion. I agree with you on JFK- his high ranking by many not deserved. Middle of the pack.

September 1, 2017 at 4:45 am

As a native Texan with no direct memory of LBJ I can’t wait to get through his life. I’m saving Caro for a few weeks so I’ll savor the moment(s) a bit more…but when I started with Washington I was really hoping Volume 5 would be out by the time I got to this point(!)

September 1, 2017 at 8:09 am

I am eagerly awaiting for Volume 5- the final volume– too. You have Johnson and Nixon coming up- a lot of good stuff on both of them. Great project!

August 31, 2017 at 7:02 pm

He’s overrated as president, but seems to be an interesting biography subject!

September 1, 2017 at 4:43 am

Indeed – an absolutely fascinating biographical subject! So I was a little surprised the biographies of him weren’t more consistently excellent.

But it seems that in the decades since his death many biographers have dedicated themselves either to tearing apart the Camelot “myth” or excessively praising/eulogizing him.

Can’t wait to see how LBJ turns out!

September 1, 2017 at 10:53 am

I’m amazed one if the top-5 biographers didn’t write on him considering his fame. I don’t care for LBJ as a president at all, but I look forward to your analysis of his biographies!

August 26, 2018 at 12:45 pm

Would the biographies on Kennedy By Michael O’Brien or Robert Dallek be what you would call a good starter birth to death biography on Kennedy if you haven’t read on him before?

August 26, 2018 at 12:57 pm

Yes – though I think Dallek’s book is by far the better (more interesting and efficient) choice. Good luck and enjoy!

September 4, 2018 at 3:33 pm

Would like to do a critical comparison of two biographies on JFK – what two would you recommend?

September 5, 2018 at 6:11 pm

Depending on what, exactly, you mean by “critical comparison” I would heartily recommend reading Dallek’s relatively traditional “An Unfinished Life” and comparing it to Goodwins’s “The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys” which is somewhat less focused on JFK himself and more on his family – but he obviously plays a critical part in the narrative and is the emotional center of the book.

September 6, 2018 at 5:57 am

Thanks – by “critical comparison” I mean one that looks at JFK in a positive view and another in a negative view.

September 6, 2018 at 6:05 am

In that case I might suggest Ted Sorensen’s “Kennedy” as a favorable account of JFK and compare that portrait to the one provided by Nigel Hamilton’s “Reckless Youth.” I think you will find the contrast incredible.

Unfortunately the two books don’t cover the same periods of time with the same intensity (Sorensen spends much more time in JFK’s later life while Hamilton’s book focuses on his earlier years) but from what I recall, the image presented by these two books could almost be of a different person.

January 13, 2019 at 6:37 am

I agree with your statement, “I still find Kennedy undeservedly well-ranked by historians. But that’s a subject for another day.” His legacy made him an outstanding president only after his death. There is very little of consequence that came from his term in office.

January 12, 2023 at 10:51 am

(1) The U.S. was in recession when Kennedy took office. He carried out various measures to boost the economy under his own executive anti-recessionary acceleration program. Among other things, the most significant tax reforms since the New Deal were carried out including a new investment tax credit. GDP which had grown by an average of only 2.2% per annum during his predecessor Eisenhower’s presidency, expanded by an average of 5.5% from early 1961 to late 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated. Also inflation remained steady at around 1%, industrial production rose by 15% and unemployment decreased. This rate of growth continued till 1969 and hasn’t been repeated for such a sustained period yet.

(2) JFK established the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961 by Executive Order 10924.

(3) He stood up to the Soviet Union, forcing/negotiating the dismantling and removal of its nuclear weapons in Cuba.

(4) To slow down the nuclear arms race and to protect the environment from radioactive contamination, JFK began negotiations with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev for a treaty to address these concerns. This resulted in the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which was signed by the governments of U.S.S.R., U.K. and the U.S. in Moscow on August 5, 1963. The provisions of the treaty prohibited nuclear testing on the ground, in the atmosphere, or underwater. All testing was to be driven underground. 125 UN member states have ratified or acceded to the treaty since then.

(5) His domestic program the “New Frontier” provided aid to cities to improve housing and transportation; a water pollution control act was passed to protect rivers and streams; social security benefits and minimum wage increased; and the most comprehensive legislation to assist farmers was carried out since 1938 which included expansion in rural electrification, soil conservation, crop insurance and farm credit.

(6) On March 6, 1961, he signed Executive Order 10925 which required government contractors to take affirmative action to ensure all employees are treated equally irrespective of their race, creed, color, or national origin. His Executive Order 11063 of November 1962 banned segregation in federally funded housing. On June 11, 1963, JFK gave his famous civil rights address calling Americans to recognize civil rights as a moral cause. His proposal to provide equal access to public schools and other facilities, and greater protection of voting rights became part of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.

(7) On 10th June 1963, John F. Kennedy signed into law the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to abolish wage disparity based on sex. It amended the existing Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. EPA was a major step towards closing the wage gap in women’s pay. Although EPA’s equal pay for equal work goals have not been completely achieved, women’s salaries via-à-vis men’s have risen dramatically since its enactment. JFK also proposed an overhaul of American immigration policy that would later lead to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 that abolished the quota system based on national origins with a preference system that focused on the immigrant’s skills and family relationships with US citizens.

(8) On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy federalized National Guard troops and deployed them to the University of Alabama to force its desegregation. The next day, Governor Wallace yielded to the federal pressure, and two African American students—Vivian Malone and James A. Hood—successfully enrolled. In September of the same year, Wallace again attempted to block the desegregation of an Alabama public school—this time Tuskegee High School—but President Kennedy once again employed his executive authority and federalized National Guard troops. Wallace had little choice but to yield.

(9) Kennedy was an unparalleled advocate of the US Army Special Forces (i.e. the Green Berets). During JFK’s tenure as president, the Special Forces regiment grew by seven Special Forces groups. Not long after a visit to Fort Bragg in 1961 with then-Special Forces commander, Brig. Gen. William P. Yarborough, Kennedy authorized the Green Beret as the official headgear of the U.S. Army Special Forces. Today, Special Forces Soldiers still train at the school which bears his name: the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

Was he perfect? Hell, no. He made plenty of mistakes, both large and small. But he had a better aim than most of the lesser ‘men’ that succeeded him.

— a former US Army parachute infantryman (three tours of the sandbox) raised on a West Texas ranch, a former federal law enforcement national security special investigator with a BA in American Political Thought, a current CPA with an MS in Accountancy, and the grandson of Continental, Union and Allied Army soldiers

January 13, 2023 at 6:25 am

If you know the whole story about # 3, you would not include it. #’s 6 & 7 still are not totally used today, but have to be sued for. # 9, special forces had been trained since WWII, he merely gave them a name.

March 5, 2019 at 9:46 pm

I have to admit I haven’t been as fascinated by JFK as many others. So, in my own journey through the presidents, I chose Alan Brinkley’s biography for the American Presidents series. This series has been my go to for presidents lacking great bios or those I just wanted to “get through.” They’re all around 160 pages, often providing factual discussions that let you know what happened to the guy in his life—and little more. They are, in other words … OK.

I felt Brinkley’s book, however, was quite good. It’s portrait of JFK goes beyond factual recitation and was exceedingly well balanced. I now see JFK as admirable in some ways, far from admirable in others, and even have some understanding of how _others_ are partly responsible for the mixed views in which we hold him.

A cut above other entries in the Amer. Presidents series.

September 18, 2020 at 4:36 pm

Early reviews are encouraging:

September 19, 2020 at 5:09 pm

Indeed, everything I’ve read and heard has been positive. Can’t wait to read this one and see for myself. Trying to figure out when exactly to squeeze it in since I’m hoping my next presidential biography will be the “coming soon” biography of Jimmy Carter.

September 19, 2020 at 8:43 pm

I am also looking forward to Alter’s Carter biography. It should be the best available to date given his access to Carter. I am hoping Douglas Brinkley is willing and able to revisit Carter in the future.

January 17, 2023 at 6:14 pm

It is quite good, and the author is in the process of working on Part 2 – 1957-1963.

January 11, 2021 at 5:52 am

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112469.Robert_Kennedy

If you haven’t already read it, I highly recommend this biography of Bobby Kennedy by Evan Thomas.

January 11, 2021 at 8:56 am

Thanks for the suggestion. I’m exploring a couple of titles on Robert Kennedy and this is one of them! Glad to hear you liked it so much.

June 9, 2021 at 11:41 am

The independent publisher I work for is about to release a book written by one of JFK’s long-time friends about his relationship with JFK over the years. Of course it will be available on Amazon but we’re happy to send you a promo copy if you are interested?

June 9, 2021 at 2:21 pm

As a standard practice I don’t ask for or review books I haven’t purchased…but can you confirm this book is on my Upcoming Releases page? If not it sounds like it should appear there-

June 9, 2021 at 2:42 pm

Can you please let me know what you need from me to list it on your upcoming releases page? It will likely be a late June or early July release. Thanks! Michelle

June 9, 2021 at 2:52 pm

Title, author’s name, and publication date would be great. A link to publisher’s page on the book (or Amazon’s pre-publication page for the book, if there is one) would be a bonus.

June 9, 2021 at 4:01 pm

Thanks, Steve. I just now sent you an email with the details.

March 28, 2022 at 5:09 pm

I am truly surprised there is no mention of Red Faye’s “The Pleasure of His Company” a book loved by those who knew the individuals involved.

March 29, 2022 at 4:17 am

Are you surprised it isn’t mentioned because you think it’s a really good biography or because it was written by one of JFK’s friends who doesn’t work too hard to cover him fully, warts and all? (The whole thing is something like 150 pages?) Just curious

July 16, 2023 at 7:46 pm

I spoke with a friend and comrade of Joe Jr. He and others like him revere this book and its loving portrayal of JFK. They believe it captured the man like nothing else. Scholarship is a wonderful thing, but a heart felt appreciation is incredibly enjoyable and valuable.

December 22, 2022 at 10:37 am

Here is the review of another one, released in 2022. You may want to reconsider his rank, I’m biased because I have him #1 out of 45. Why? Because I am still here to write this comment and you are still here to post your blog. https://www.kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-articles/last-president

March 2, 2023 at 5:40 am

I find it interesting you say Kennedy is “undeservedly well-ranked among historians” I find it quite the opposite, he’s extremely popular amongst the general public, but most historians rip into him far too much. I’ve recently been reading about Canadian-American bilateral relations and the general narrative of most historians of the 70s to 90s was that negative tensions amongst the two nations was largely Kennedy’s fault. It’s only recently that the love-to-hate-JFK tide has curbed amongst historians that, in the 2000s, there is more discussion regarding Canadian nationalism, anti-american sentiments, and more importantly the fact that Deifenbaker attempted to blackmail Kennedy, and then blamed JFK and American intervention after he lost his election in 63.

Reading the older historical accounts is such a whirlwind. Multiple historians accused Kennedy of being “arrogant” and one even said “who’s posture towards deifenbaker’s canada was that of a president stretching his legs across the border demanding a shoe shine” which is beyond ridiculous considering he actually showed a great deal of patience towards a highly nationalist prime minister that attempted to blame and blackmail him. Historians made the cat the mouse and made the mouse the cat. Madness

December 26, 2023 at 11:49 pm

Has anyone read the kennedys by Horowitz and collier to provide some insight or the kennedys by John h. Davis?thanks

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Hemingway's Books and Records

Unveiling the Best Kennedy Family Books in this 2024 Update

If you’re fascinated by American history and the iconic Kennedy family, you’ll love delving into these 20 best books about the Kennedys. From biographies and memoirs to historical accounts and political analyses, these books offer an in-depth look into one of America’s most influential families. Whether you’re a history buff or simply intrigued by the Kennedy legacy, there’s a book on the Kennedy family that’s sure to captivate you.

• 1 20 Best Books About Kennedy Family
• 2 The Kennedy Heirs: John, Caroline, and the New Generation
• 3 The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy
• 4 Jackie, Janet & Lee: The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill
• 5 The Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family
• 6 Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter
• 7 The Kennedy Brothers: The Rise and Fall of Jack and Bobby
• 8 The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga
• 9 The Kennedy Men: 1901-1963
• 10 The Kennedy Half-Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy
• 11 The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America’s First Family for 150 Years
• 12 The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After
• 13 The Kennedy Autopsy
• 14 The Kennedy Wives: Triumph and Tragedy in America’s Most Public Family
• 15 The Kennedy Years: From the Pages of The New York Times
• 16 The Kennedy White House: Family Life and Pictures, 1961-1963
• 17 The Kennedy Legacy: Jack, Bobby and Ted and a Family Dream Fulfilled
• 18 Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero
• 19 An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963
• 20 Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years
• 21 End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
• 22 Conclusion

20 Best Books About Kennedy Family

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The Kennedy Heirs: John, Caroline, and the New Generation

By j. randy taraborrelli.

The Kennedy Heirs: John, Caroline, and the New Generation by J. Randy Taraborrelli is a captivating book about the Kennedy family that delves into the lives of John F. Kennedy’s children, John and Caroline, and the new generation of Kennedys. Through in-depth research and interviews, Taraborrelli offers a compelling look at the triumphs and tragedies that have shaped this iconic American family. The kennedy family book provides an intimate portrait of the siblings as they navigate their roles in the public eye while carrying on their family’s legacy. With a blend of personal anecdotes and historical context, the book offers a fascinating exploration of the complexities and challenges faced by the Kennedy heirs. Readers will be engrossed by the behind-the-scenes glimpse into the lives of this influential family.

The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy

By david nasaw.

The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw is a compelling biography that delves into the complex and controversial life of the patriarch of the Kennedy family. Nasaw provides a comprehensive look at Joseph P. Kennedy’s rise to power, his role as a prominent businessman, and his influential political career. The book explores his relationships with his children, his involvement in shaping American history, and the scandals that surrounded his life. Nasaw paints a vivid portrait of a man who played a significant role in shaping the American landscape and the trajectory of the Kennedy dynasty. This meticulously researched and engagingly written book offers a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of one of America’s most prominent families.

Jackie, Janet & Lee: The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill

Jackie, Janet & Lee: The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill by J. Randy Taraborrelli is a captivating book on the Kennedy family that delves into the complex and intriguing lives of Janet Auchincloss and her daughters, Jackie and Lee. This book about the Kennedy family explores the intimate details of their relationships, triumphs, and struggles, offering a fascinating glimpse into their private lives.

Through meticulous research and insightful storytelling, Taraborrelli uncovers the secrets, rivalries, and enduring bond that shaped the Auchincloss sisters and their remarkable journey from privileged childhood to iconic status. From Jackie’s marriage to John F. Kennedy to Lee’s glamorous life as a socialite, this Kennedy family book is a compelling exploration of power, fame, and the enduring legacy of a remarkable family.

The Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family

By laurence leamer.

The Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family by Laurence Leamer is a captivating and in-depth look at the influential women of the Kennedy dynasty. Through the pages of this compelling book, readers will gain insights into the lives and legacies of the remarkable women who played a significant role in shaping the Kennedy family’s history. From the matriarchal figure of Rose Kennedy to the iconic Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, this book offers a rich portrayal of the triumphs and tribulations of these extraordinary women. Leamer’s meticulous research and engaging storytelling bring to life the complexities and nuances of the Kennedy family, making this a must-read for anyone interested in American history and the enduring legacy of this iconic family.

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter

By kate clifford larson.

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson is a captivating book about the Kennedy family that sheds light on the lesser-known story of Rosemary Kennedy. Larson delves into the life of the eldest Kennedy daughter, who was born with intellectual disabilities and was hidden away from public view due to the stigma surrounding mental illness at the time. Through meticulous research and intimate interviews, Larson uncovers the heartbreaking truth behind Rosemary’s life and the impact it had on the Kennedy family. This compelling biography offers a poignant and powerful exploration of the complexities of the Kennedy family dynamics and the lengths they went to in order to protect their image. Larson’s writing is both engaging and empathetic, making this kennedy family book a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the untold stories of one of America’s most iconic families.

The Kennedy Brothers: The Rise and Fall of Jack and Bobby

By richard d. mahoney.

The Kennedy Brothers: The Rise and Fall of Jack and Bobby by Richard D. Mahoney is a captivating book about the Kennedy family that delves into the remarkable lives of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. Mahoney provides an insightful look into the complex relationship between the two brothers, exploring their rise to power and the impact they had on shaping American history. The book offers a detailed account of their political careers, personal struggles, and the enduring legacy they left behind. With meticulous research and compelling storytelling, Mahoney paints a vivid portrait of the Kennedy family and the tumultuous era in which they lived. This gripping narrative is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, politics, and the enduring influence of the Kennedy family.

The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga

By doris kearns goodwin.

The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga by Doris Kearns Goodwin is a captivating book on the Kennedy family that delves into the fascinating history of one of America’s most influential dynasties. Goodwin paints a vivid portrait of the Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, exploring their rise to power, their triumphs, and their struggles. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, the author provides a comprehensive look at the complex relationships, political ambitions, and personal tragedies that shaped this iconic family.

The Kennedy Men: 1901-1963

The Kennedy Men: 1901-1963 by Laurence Leamer is an in-depth exploration of the influential and controversial Kennedy dynasty. This captivating book delves into the lives of Joseph, John, Robert, and Edward Kennedy, providing a comprehensive look at their political careers, personal struggles, and the lasting impact they had on American history. Leamer’s meticulous research and engaging storytelling skillfully bring to life the triumphs and tragedies of this iconic family, offering readers a compelling glimpse into the inner workings of one of the most influential families in American politics. Whether you’re a history buff or simply intrigued by the captivating dynamics of the Kennedy clan, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the legacy of this legendary political dynasty.

The Kennedy Half-Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy

By larry j. sabato.

The Kennedy Half-Century by Larry J. Sabato is a compelling book about the Kennedy family that delves into the presidency, assassination, and lasting legacy of John F. Kennedy. Sabato provides a comprehensive analysis of Kennedy’s presidency, the tragic events of his assassination, and the enduring impact of his legacy on American politics and culture. Through meticulous research and insightful commentary, the author offers a fresh perspective on the Kennedy family, shedding light on their complexities and influence on the nation. This book on Kennedy family is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the enduring fascination with the Kennedys and their enduring impact on American history.

The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America’s First Family for 150 Years

By edward klein.

The Kennedy family has been plagued by tragedy for over a century, and Edward Klein’s book on the Kennedy family delves into the history of this enduring curse. From the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to the untimely deaths of his brothers Robert and Ted, the Kennedy family has faced one heartbreak after another. Klein explores the various theories and rumors surrounding this infamous curse, shedding light on the family’s inner workings and the events that have contributed to their misfortunes. Through meticulous research and insightful analysis, Klein offers a compelling and poignant look at the Kennedy family’s enduring legacy and the forces that have shaped their history. This book about the Kennedy family is a captivating and poignant exploration of one of America’s most iconic dynasties, making it a must-read for history enthusiasts and those fascinated by the complexities of the human experience.

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The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After

By steven m. gillon.

The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After by Steven M. Gillon is a gripping account of the immediate aftermath of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Gillon provides a detailed and immersive narrative that takes readers through the tumultuous 24 hours following the tragic event. The book offers a unique perspective on the Kennedy family and their inner circle, shedding light on their reactions, decisions, and the impact of the assassination on both a personal and political level. Gillon’s meticulous research and compelling storytelling make this book a must-read for anyone interested in the Kennedy family, the events of November 22, 1963, and the broader impact on American history.

The Kennedy Autopsy

By jacob hornberger.

The Kennedy Autopsy by Jacob Hornberger is a gripping and controversial book about the Kennedy family. This thought-provoking account delves into the details surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the subsequent autopsy. Hornberger challenges the official narrative, presenting evidence and analysis that sheds new light on this pivotal moment in American history. With meticulous research and compelling storytelling, this kennedy family book provides a fresh perspective on the events that shook the nation and continues to fascinate the world. Whether you’re a history buff, a conspiracy theorist, or simply curious about the truth behind the headlines, The Kennedy Autopsy is a must-read that will challenge your understanding of one of the most iconic families in American politics.

The Kennedy Wives: Triumph and Tragedy in America’s Most Public Family

By amber hunt and david batcher.

The Kennedy Wives: Triumph and Tragedy in America’s Most Public Family, written by Amber Hunt and David Batcher, delves into the captivating and tumultuous lives of the women who were married into the prominent Kennedy dynasty. This insightful book about Kennedy family explores the triumphs and tragedies experienced by these women, shedding light on their individual stories and the impact they had on the Kennedy family as a whole. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, the authors bring to life the complexities of being a Kennedy wife, from the glamorous public image to the private struggles and heartaches. The book offers a compelling and intimate look at the women who stood alongside one of America’s most influential families, revealing the highs and lows that shaped their lives and left an indelible mark on history.

The Kennedy Years: From the Pages of The New York Times

By richard reeves.

The Kennedy Years: From the Pages of The New York Times by Richard Reeves is a captivating book about the Kennedy family. This meticulously curated collection of articles and photographs from The New York Times provides a comprehensive overview of the iconic family’s time in the spotlight. Richard Reeves, a renowned journalist and author, offers readers an intimate look at the triumphs and tribulations of the Kennedy years, shedding light on their political achievements, personal struggles, and enduring legacy.

Through the lens of one of the most influential newspapers in the world, this kennedy family book presents a compelling narrative of the family’s journey, capturing the essence of an era that continues to captivate and inspire. The book is a must-read for history enthusiasts, political aficionados, and anyone intrigued by the enduring mystique of the Kennedy dynasty.

The Kennedy White House: Family Life and Pictures, 1961-1963

By carl sferrazza anthony.

The Kennedy White House: Family Life and Pictures, 1961-1963 is a captivating book about the Kennedy family during their time in the White House. Written by Carl Sferrazza Anthony, this book provides a unique and intimate look into the personal lives of the Kennedys, showcasing rare photographs and offering insights into their family dynamics. Readers will be transported back to the early 1960s, experiencing the glamour and challenges of this iconic American family. With its focus on family life, the book offers a refreshing perspective on the Kennedys, showing the human side of this historic political dynasty. Whether you’re a history buff, a fan of the Kennedys, or simply curious about life in the White House, this kennedy family book is sure to captivate and enlighten.

The Kennedy Legacy: Jack, Bobby and Ted and a Family Dream Fulfilled

By vincent bzdek.

The Kennedy Legacy: Jack, Bobby and Ted and a Family Dream Fulfilled by Vincent Bzdek is a captivating book on the Kennedy family, exploring the lives and legacies of three influential brothers. Through detailed research and compelling storytelling, Bzdek delves into the political careers, personal struggles, and enduring impact of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy. This book about the Kennedy family offers a nuanced and intimate portrayal of their triumphs and tragedies, showcasing their unwavering commitment to public service and the fulfillment of their family’s enduring dream. Readers will be drawn into the captivating narrative of the Kennedy brothers and gain a deeper understanding of their profound influence on American history.

Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero

By chris matthews.

Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero by Chris Matthews is a captivating biography that delves into the life of the enigmatic Kennedy family. Matthews skillfully paints a vivid portrait of John F. Kennedy, exploring his rise to power, his leadership during challenging times, and his enduring legacy. The book offers a unique glimpse into the complexities of the Kennedy family dynamics, shedding light on their triumphs, struggles, and enduring influence on American history. Matthews’ masterful storytelling and in-depth research make this book an engaging and insightful read for anyone interested in the fascinating saga of the Kennedy clan. Whether you’re a history buff, a political enthusiast, or simply curious about the iconic Kennedy family, this book is sure to captivate and enlighten.

An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963

By robert dallek.

An Unfinished Life is a comprehensive biography of John F. Kennedy, a prominent figure in American history. Written by Robert Dallek, this book delves into the complexities of Kennedy’s personal and political life, providing a captivating insight into the inner workings of the Kennedy family. Dallek’s thorough research and engaging writing style offer a compelling portrayal of Kennedy’s rise to power, his presidency, and the tragic events that cut his life short. This book about the Kennedy family is a must-read for anyone interested in American politics, history, and the enigmatic figure of John F. Kennedy. Dallek’s masterful storytelling and attention to detail make An Unfinished Life a rich and immersive reading experience, shedding light on the legacy of one of the most influential families in American politics.

Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years

By david talbot.

Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years by David Talbot is a captivating and revelatory book about the Kennedy family. Talbot delves deep into the complexities of the relationship between John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, shedding light on the hidden history and untold stories of the Kennedy years. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, Talbot uncovers the powerful bond and the tumultuous journey of the Kennedy brothers as they navigated through the political landscape of the 1960s. This book on the Kennedy family offers a fresh perspective on the iconic political dynasty, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the personal and political dynamics that shaped the Kennedy legacy. Brothers is a must-read for history enthusiasts and anyone intrigued by the enigmatic and influential Kennedy family.

End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

By james l. swanson.

End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by James L. Swanson is a gripping and meticulously researched account of one of the most significant events in American history. Swanson delves into the life, presidency, and tragic assassination of John F. Kennedy, providing a detailed and immersive exploration of the events leading up to and following that fateful day in Dallas. With a focus on the Kennedy family’s influence and impact on American politics, this book offers a compelling narrative that sheds light on the complexities of power, conspiracy, and tragedy. Swanson’s vivid storytelling and attention to detail make End of Days a must-read for anyone interested in the Kennedy family, the presidency, and the enduring legacy of JFK.

Exploring the lives of the Kennedy Family through literature offers a captivating and insightful journey into one of America’s most iconic political dynasties. The 20 best books about Kennedy family provide a rich tapestry of history, personal stories, and political intrigue that continue to fascinate readers. Delving into these books offers a deeper understanding of the influential family and their enduring legacy in American history.

Which Kennedy Family book is best?

The best book on Kennedy Family can vary with personal preference, but three widely recommended titles are:

• The Kennedy Heirs: John, Caroline, and the New Generation by J. Randy Taraborrelli ,
• The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw ,
• Jackie, Janet & Lee: The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill by J. Randy Taraborrelli .

Each offers valuable insights and could be a great starting point.

What are the best books to learn about Kennedy Family?

For those looking to learn about Kennedy Family, there is a wealth of literature that can provide a comprehensive understanding of the subject. Some of the most highly recommended books include:

• Jackie, Janet & Lee: The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill by J. Randy Taraborrelli ,
• The Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family by Laurence Leamer ,
• Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson ,
• The Kennedy Brothers: The Rise and Fall of Jack and Bobby by Richard D. Mahoney ,
• The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga by Doris Kearns Goodwin ,
• The Kennedy Men: 1901-1963 by Laurence Leamer ,
• The Kennedy Half-Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy by Larry J. Sabato ,
• The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America’s First Family for 150 Years by Edward Klein

These books offer a range of perspectives on Kennedy Family, covering various aspects and approaches to the subject.

What are the best books on Kennedy Family?

The best books on Kennedy Family include:

• The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After by Steven M. Gillon ,
• The Kennedy Autopsy by Jacob Hornberger ,
• The Kennedy Brothers: The Rise and Fall of Jack and Bobby by Richard D. Mahoney .

Each offers unique insights into the subject. While these books on the topic of Kennedy Family are highly regarded, it’s important to note that any list of ‘best’ books is subjective and reflects a range of opinions.

What are the best Kennedy Family books of all time?

Choosing the best Kennedy Family books of all time can vary depending on who you ask, but seven titles that are often celebrated include

• The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America’s First Family for 150 Years by Edward Klein ,
• and The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After by Steven M. Gillon .

Each of these books has made a significant impact in the field of Kennedy Family and continues to be influential today.

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Congressman John Fitzgerald Kennedy (circa 1946-47) in his Congressional Office.

Courtesy of John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

A portrait of JFK, in full

Brett Milano

Harvard Correspondent

New biography aims to chronicle a complex life amid a pivotal time for a nation

One of the revelations about John F. Kennedy in Fredrik Logevall’s new biography, “JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917‒1956,” is that the man was an excellent letter-writer and diarist. The Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School and professor of history makes effective use of the collection at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, part of which has become available only recently.

“He always had a knack for the English language, even if he was an indifferent student in prep school and in his first years at Harvard,” Logevall says. “His teachers, frustrated by his lack of application overall, were always impressed by his way with words. It is an interesting contrast with his older brother, Joe Jr., the family’s supposed golden child, whose writings had a more dutiful, less imaginative quality.”

The first of a two-volume set, “JFK” aims to give the clearest picture yet available of the 35th president set against the historical, political, and cultural context of a pivotal age. The book begins with great-grandfather Patrick Kennedy’s arrival in Boston during the Irish potato famine and runs through Jack’s childhood, studies at Harvard, and military duty, and finally his rise in politics in 1956, when he almost became the Democrats’ vice presidential pick. Logevall spoke with the Gazette recently about the man and the book.

Fredrik Logevall

GAZETTE: There have certainly been many books written about JFK. What were you able to find that hadn’t been found before?

LOGEVALL: You’re quite right. There are a lot of excellent books out there on various aspects of his life and career, and especially the presidency — one thinks, for example, about the many studies of the Cuban missile crisis, Civil Rights, the Bay of Pigs disaster, the marriage with Jackie, and the assassination in Dallas. But we don’t have many true biographies, even one that is a full-scale examination of the entire life and that looks closely at his early life, in particular his teens and 20s, which I believe were key years for him (as they are for most of us). Mine is a “life and times” biography that places Kennedy in his own context, that of a rising American power in world affairs. I guess the conceit of the book is that I can tell two stories together: the story of John F. Kennedy’s rise and the story of America’s rise. I believe we can better understand the first half of the so-called American Century through the lens of Kennedy’s life.

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (from left), Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., and John F. Kennedy in Southampton, England, July 2, 1938.

Courtesy of John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

GAZETTE: What did you find that people have missed about JFK in the past?

LOGEVALL: One thing that people have underplayed is the degree to which he was a serious student of democracy and world affairs at an earlier point than we imagine. We tend to think of him as a callow playboy, not serious about public policy or his career until quite late, until he runs for Congress in 1946, and maybe not even then. But you can look at the papers he wrote as an undergraduate at Harvard, some of which are available, and you can look at his senior thesis which became a best-selling book [“Why England Slept”] and see a young man already thinking deeply and in sustained fashion about important issues. A second finding is that the young Jack Kennedy was in important respects his own master. Though his father was a towering force in his life and those of his eight siblings, Jack proved willing and able, to a degree I did not expect, to chart his own course. The Harvard years are interesting in this regard: In 1939‒40, as World War II began and debate raged in the U.S. about how to respond, Jack showed himself willing in a way his older brother, Joe Jr., never was to separate himself from his father. Long before Pearl Harbor, Jack had become an interventionist while his father adhered throughout to a staunch isolationist position. Later, during his political campaigns, Jack always kept the key decision-making role for himself, notwithstanding the common misconception that his father called the shots. [gz_soundcloud title=”John F. Kennedy recording for public speaking class at Harvard, 1937″ track_id=”321147626″ playlists=”” height=”350″ show_artwork=”false”] [/gz_soundcloud]

GAZETTE:   Another family relationship we learn more about is with his brother Bobby, and how this became increasingly important.

LOGEVALL:  Yes, the age difference between the two brothers was such — 8½ years — that in the early years, when Jack was at prep school and then at Harvard, they weren’t particularly close. But what we see especially in 1951, when they traveled together along with their sister Patricia on an extended tour of the Middle East and Asia, is that they developed a strong bond. Bobby admired his brother to no end, and Jack could now see Bobby’s intelligence and loyalty and good cheer. Then in 1952 Bobby, all of 26 at the time, came aboard to take charge of Jack’s floundering Senate campaign against Henry Cabot Lodge and helped to turn the thing around. Jack could now see just how important Bobby could be to his career, could see the powerful combination of doggedness, shrewdness, and ruthlessness that his brother possessed.

The Kennedy family at Hyannisport, Mass., 1931. Robert (from left), John, Eunice, Jean (on lap of) Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (behind) Patricia, Kathleen, Joseph, Rosemary.

Photo by Richard Sears, courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

GAZETTE: He was quite a complex character. He did have his playboy side, but some of his war actions can be called heroic.

LOGEVALL:  Yeah, I think that is right. There is a seriousness of purpose which you see in his letters home from the South Pacific, and more dramatically in the actions he took to help save his crew after his boat, the PT-109, was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Was there heroism there? I believe so, even if he deserves no accolades for allowing his boat to be rammed. The efforts he made in the succeeding days to try to save his crew were really quite extraordinary. We might note here as well that he came back from the war, as many of the servicemen did, with a seriousness of purpose evinced to some degree before but deepened as a result of seeing combat. He was convinced that the U.S. would need to play a leading role in world affairs, even as he also had a skepticism about the use of the military’s power that he would carry with him for the rest of his days.

GAZETTE: His coming out against Joseph McCarthy seems to be a bit of a political turning point.

LOGEVALL: Well, he never fully came out in stark opposition, which was a problem. The relationship with McCarthy was complicated, partly because of family ties. He never felt the kind of personal connection to McCarthy that Joe Sr. felt and that Bobby felt. And there were a lot of aspects of McCarthy’s political persona that he found off-putting — the disdain for senatorial good manners, the disregard for facts, for reasoning from evidence. That said, liberals at the time had good reason to be frustrated by JFK’s reluctance to really condemn McCarthy. Even in 1954, when McCarthy’s influence was in decline and the Senate held a censure vote, JFK, recovering in the hospital following a serious surgery, did not instruct his aide Ted Sorensen to register his position on the vote. He could have done so, but he didn’t, and that caused a lot of grief for him with liberals later on. He preferred to sidestep the issue, aware that there were an awful lot of Irish Catholic voters in Massachusetts who still backed McCarthy. He didn’t want to get on their bad side.

A page in Kennedy’s diary from fall 1951. The first part reads: “Oct. 3 — Paris — I talked with General Eisenhower Biddle and MacArthur at SHAEF Headquarters. Eisenhower looking very fit — seemed disturbed at news of last few days.” Lt. Kennedy on board PT 109, July 1943.

Photo by Joel Benjamin (left), courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

GAZETTE: The book deals a lot with the influence of World War II on his character development. Do you think he took a lot from other aspects of American life at the time, including popular culture?

LOGEVALL: To a degree, certainly. When he returned from the war and was figuring out what he wanted to do, he had a fascinating stint as a journalist. He showed good reporting instincts and could have made it a career. In this period he also liked to pal around in Hollywood, where his father had been a movie mogul in the 1920s and still had connections. Jack dated actresses like Gene Tierney and liked to be on the set, liked to go to movies. Popular music I think interested him less, and until Jackie came along he evinced little interest in art. He did like poetry, and he memorized a lot of it starting already in prep school at Choate. But the Hollywood connection is interesting to me, and probably plays some role in his later skill at using images and film to advance his political career. He was among the first politicians to see that images matter, that the right use of film can make a powerful difference. Television was a huge emerging thing as his career builds, and he had that savvy understanding of the medium and how he could use it to his advantage, kind of like FDR used radio so effectively.

GAZETTE: Many of the reviews I’ve read have focused on his womanizing, which we already knew about. Do you think that’s ultimately that important a part of his character?

LOGEVALL:  Yes, the womanizing is an important part of who he is. His father led by example, carrying on with innumerable women in the 1920s and 1930s, and the older kids knew very well what was going on. Joe Sr. made clear he expected his sons to follow his ways. But I can’t have it both ways: If I’m going to argue that JFK was able to resist his father’s pressure and be his own man when it came to politics and career choices, I have to maintain that he could have broken with him on this issue too. Here he was his father’s son, with a tendency to see women as objects to be conquered. But there are paradoxes here, among them the fact that his administration took important progressive steps, establishing, for example, the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, with Eleanor Roosevelt as chair. In 1962, at the urging of the commission, Kennedy ordered federal agencies to cease sex discrimination in hiring.

Sen. John Kennedy and his then-fiancée Jacqueline Bouvier in Hyannis Port, Mass.

Photo courtesy of Harvard Fine Arts Library, Digital Images & Slides Collection

GAZETTE: In the second volume you’ll have to unravel the mystery around the assassination. Do you have a sense of how you will approach that?

LOGEVALL: There is certainly a fascination, and it shows few signs of fading. It is a vexing issue to any biographer of JFK, and it has spawned a whole cottage industry of its own. I haven’t yet written Volume 2 so I haven’t fully decided how I will proceed on this. But certainly I will talk about Lee Harvey Oswald’s background, about what led him to take this action, and will give the reader a full sense of how it all culminated in this terrible moment. And I think I will owe the reader my assessment of what I believe happened. So I will provide it. I don’t think I will get heavily into the deliberations of the Warren Commission or the various conspiracy theories that have sprouted up over the years. That’s another book, not to mention a potential morass.

GAZETTE: What do you think happened?

LOGEVALL: My reading of the evidence we have indicates pretty clearly to me that Oswald was the lone gunman. Claims to the contrary all come up short. Oswald’s associations and meetings in the weeks leading up to the assassination are worthy of investigation, however, and have been examined in recent studies. I will delve into that material and be interested to see what I find.

Interview was lightly edited for clarity and length.

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12 Notable Members of the Kennedy Family

The American political family has been devoted to civil service for more than a century.

With their wealth and power, the Kennedys have been touted as the closest thing to royalty in America. Having left their homeland of Ireland in the 1840s to escape the potato famine, the Kennedys — starting with Boston-born Patrick Joseph "P.J." Kennedy (1858-1929) — built their future from the ground up and became heavily involved in the Democratic Party in Boston.

Two generations later and beyond, the Kennedy name would expand its political reach to both the national and world stage, producing a U.S. president, a U.S. attorney general, four members of the U.S. House and Senate and a number of publicly appointed and elected government officials. What the Kennedys didn't anticipate, however, was that intertwined with their unimaginable ascent to power were a series of unimaginable tragedies.

While not nearly a comprehensive list, here are a dozen notable Kennedys who've helped shape the American political landscape and contributed to their family's historical legacy of public service.

Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.

Outside of being a wealthy investor in real estate, alcohol and entertainment, Kennedy briefly served as a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman and an American ambassador to the U.K. Although he left a controversial legacy behind (he was known to have anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi leanings), he, along with his wife Rose and his children, were a testament to public service. Out of his nine children, he would outlive four.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

A staunch Catholic, matriarch Rose F. Kennedy (1890-1995), grew up in a wealthy and political Irish-American household (her father, John F. Fitzgerald was the mayor of Boston). After a lengthy courtship with Joseph Kennedy Sr., which was partially due to her father's disdain for him, Rose married Kennedy in 1914 and the couple went on to have nine children.

Before Rose died at the age of 104, she was honored with the rank of Papal countess by Pope Pius XII for her exemplary religious life and devotion to Catholicism.

John F. Kennedy

After the tragic death of older brother Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) took up the political mantle for the next generation of

Kennedys. A Harvard graduate, Kennedy later became a decorated Naval officer in World War II. After serving as a House member and Senator of Massachusetts, he reached the highest office of the land in 1961. At 43 Kennedy became America's youngest elected president.

Kennedy launched his administration at the bleakest point of the Cold War, later authorizing the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and taking the country through the Cuban Missile Crisis, which almost brought the U.S. and the Soviet Union to nuclear war.

After Kennedy's assassination in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald , Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson took over the administration and brought forth many of Kennedy's civil rights and tax proposals.

READ MORE: Inside John F. Kennedy's Lifelong Admiration of Winston Churchill

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

As wife to John F. Kennedy and the youngest first lady of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994) became an international fashion icon and transformed the White House through her various restoration projects. A graduate of George Washington University, Onassis first met the then-Congressman Kennedy in 1952 and married him the following year. She and Kennedy had a total of four children, two of whom survived.

When JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Onassis' blood-stained pink dress and pillbox hat became a symbol of the tragedy. Known for her love for the arts and culture, Onassis helped shaped the "Camelot Era" mythology. She later married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis (to much controversy) and became a book editor in New York City.

READ MORE: How Jacqueline Kennedy Transformed the White House and Left a Lasting Legacy

Robert F. Kennedy

As the seventh child of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy went on to follow in his big brother JFK's footsteps, serving in the Navy and graduating from Harvard. After receiving his law degree from the University of Virginia, Kennedy worked at the Justice Department but soon after left his post to help his brother win a Senate seat in 1952.

Under JFK's administration, he became the 64th United States Attorney General and built his reputation on fighting organized crime, advocating for civil rights, and shaping U.S.-Cuba foreign policy.

After JFK's assassination, Kennedy became a U.S. Senator in 1964 and ran as a presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in 1968. While campaigning in California that year, Kennedy was gunned down by a young Palestinian man, Sirhan Sirhan , who claimed he killed the senator for being a supporter of Israel.

Ted Kennedy

As the ninth and last child born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Kennedy, Edward "Ted" Kennedy (1932-2009) would end up having the largest influence on American politics than any of his siblings before him.

With the same Ivy League pedigree as his brothers before him, Kennedy prepared himself to live up to his family's name and even earned his way into the vacant Senate seat that older brother John left behind when he was elected president. (Kennedy would be elected eight more times to the Senate by the people of Massachusetts.)

But Kennedy's political career was in deep peril after the infamous Chappaquiddick incident in 1969, resulting in the accidental drowning death of Mary Jo Kopechne. After a failed attempt to win the presidential nomination in 1980, Kennedy continued his life of public service and became known as "The Lion of the Senate," emerging as a symbol of American liberalism and one of the longest-serving senators in American history. His legislative record will be remembered for its advocacy for social and economic justice and towards the end of his life, universal health care.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver

As the fifth child born to Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921-2009) was deeply affected by her sister, Rosemary, who was sent away to a psychiatric institution after undergoing a disastrous lobotomy for an intellectual disability.

After graduating from Stanford University with a degree in sociology, Shriver worked at the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Department of Justice and later moved to Chicago to focus on social work. In 1968 she established the Special Olympics and later that year, hosted the First International Special Olympics Summer Games in Chicago, which provided children with physical and intellectual disabilities an opportunity to compete in athletics on a larger, organized scale. In 1984 she was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work.

From 1953 until her death in 2009, Eunice was married to Sergeant Shriver, a former U.S. Ambassador to France and U.S. Vice Presidential candidate. The couple went on to have five children.

Caroline Kennedy

Daughter of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Caroline Kennedy (b. 1957) has lived her life under the radar, despite the scrutiny and fame surrounding her family. She attended Harvard as an undergraduate like her father and went on to graduate from Columbia Law School. In 1986 she married designer Edwin Schlossberg, whom she met while working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and together they have three children.

Appointed by President Barack Obama , Kennedy served as U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017.

John F. Kennedy Jr.

From being the three-year-old toddler famously saluting his fallen father's casket in 1963 to transforming into one of the most eligible bachelors in New York City, John F. Kennedy Jr. (1960-1999) couldn't manage to steer clear of the limelight like his older sister Caroline.

While the Kennedy name had produced many Harvard alums, JFK Jr. paved his own way and attended Brown University for his undergraduate studies. After earning his law degree from New York University School of Law, he briefly served as a Manhattan assistant district attorney and dabbled in acting before ultimately becoming co-founder of George , a magazine fusing the world of politics and entertainment, in 1995.

After marrying fashion publicist Carolyn Bessette in 1996, JFK Jr.'s life was cut short three years later when he accidentally flew his plane into the Atlantic, killing himself, Carolyn, and her older sister Lauren.

READ MORE: The Final Days of John F. Kennedy Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

As the first-born son of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (b. 1954) was nine years old when his uncle JFK was assassinated and 14 when he lost his own father.

In honor of RFK Sr., Kennedy attended Harvard and got his law degree at the University of Virginia. He also earned his Masters of Law degree at Pace University, where he would later teach as a professor of environmental law.

As an environmental lawyer and activist, Kennedy worked at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) as a senior attorney (1986-2017) and the Hudson, New York waterways nonprofit called Riverkeeper as its chief prosecuting attorney (1984-2017). He has also authored multiple books and published essays regarding environmental issues.

Also known for his anti-vaccine stance, Kennedy has come under fire from both the public and his family in recent years.

Maria Shriver

The second eldest child and first daughter to Sergeant and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Maria Shriver (b. 1955) has built a successful career as an award-winning broadcast journalist, philanthropist and children's book author.

After graduating from Georgetown University in 1977, Shriver embarked on her broadcast career — working at both CBS and NBC. She later met and married actor Arnold Schwarzeneggar who, like his famous in-laws, had political ambitions of his own. After Schwarzeneggar won the governorship of California starting in 2003, Shriver served as its First Lady (2003-2011).

The couple divorced in 2011. They have four children together.

Patrick J. Kennedy

As the youngest child of Ted and Joan Bennett Kennedy , Patrick J. Kennedy (b. 1967) hadn't even completed his undergraduate degree at Providence College in Rhode Island when he beat a longstanding incumbent for a seat in the state's House of Representatives in 1988. At 21 he became the youngest Kennedy elected to office.

In 1994 he took to the national stage as a House Representative for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District and continued to serve in seven additional election cycles, finishing his term in 2011. An advocate for mental health, Kennedy — who has publicly discussed his own struggles with addiction and bipolar disorder — has founded and continues to work with various organizations to bring attention to drug addiction and promoting research for brain diseases.

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5 Books to Read in Honor of JFK’s Centennial

C ountless pages have been written about John F. Kennedy , and America’s 35th president will likely serve as fodder for biographers for decades and centuries to come. In addition to general biographies, authors have honed in on niches from his famous Anglophilia to how the Vietnam War would have ended differently if he’d lived longer.

For those who don’t have infinite time to sort through these manifold volumes, here are five of the most essential books about JFK , in honor of the 100th anniversary of his May 29, 1917, birth.

An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917 – 1963

By Robert Dallek

Dallek essentially rewrote the story of JFK, surprising readers with revelations about his poor health, love affairs and family dynamics. Many critics and historians now consider the 2003 book to be the essential general interest biography of Kennedy.

A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House

By Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

For a look at Kennedy as his friends and associates knew him, try Schlesinger’s 1965 volume covering the period from JFK’s presidential campaign to his funeral. While the coverage was perhaps friendlier than the average biography, given Schlesinger’s relationship with its subject, it’s a valuable close-up and provides insight on how Kennedy wished to be seen.

Profiles in Courage

By John F. Kennedy

In Kennedy’s own landmark 1955 book, the then-senator profiled eight U.S. senators throughout history who had bravely taken stands against threats to democracy, from John Quincy Adams to Robert A. Taft. The book (written in collaboration with ghostwriter Ted Sorensen) went on to win a Pulitzer Prize.

The Death of a President: November 20-November 25, 1963

By William Manchester

Manchester began work on this 1967 account of Kennedy’s assassination at the request of his widow Jacqueline — but by the time he finished, after two intense years of work, she and Robert F. Kennedy were unhappy with the result and asked him to make changes that would be more flattering. A major bestseller at the time, the book went on to fade into obscurity before returning to prominence with a 50th anniversary edition. It continues to hold a special place in the canon of JFK literature.

JFK: A Vision for America

By Stephen Kennedy Smith and Douglas Brinkley

This new volume combines JFK’s speeches with commentary by leading historians and thinkers, from David McCullough to Kofi Annan. Edited by Brinkley and Smith, a nephew of JFK’s, the volume is illustrated with more than 500 photos and facsimiles of documents from the archives.

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The 15 Best Books on President John F. Kennedy

Essential books on john f. kennedy.

There are countless books on John F. Kennedy, and it comes with good reason, aside from being the youngest man elected President of the United States, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, becoming also the youngest President to die.

“Let us not despair but act. Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past – let us accept our own responsibility for the future,” he remarked.

In order to get to the bottom of what inspired one of America’s most consequential figures to the height of political power, we’ve compiled a list of the 15 best books on John F. Kennedy.

An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek

An Unfinished Life  describes the birth of the Kennedy dynasty, the complexity of Jack’s early years, and the mixture of adulation and resentment that tangled his relationships with his mother, Rose, and his father, Joseph. Forced into the shadow of his older brother, Joe, Jack struggled to find a place for himself until World War II, when he became a national hero and launched his career. Dallek reveals for the first time the full story of Kennedy’s wartime actions and the true details of how Joe was killed, opening the door to Jack’s ascendancy.

Here is the gripping story of Jack’s transformation from an awkward speaker into a brilliant politician with irresistible charm. The book carries us from Jack’s work as a senator from Massachusetts, through the fiercely contested 1960 campaign against Nixon, and takes us on to the White House itself.

This hallmark among books on John F. Kennedy also discloses for the very first time that he was far sicker than we ever knew. While laboring to present an image of robust good health, Kennedy was secretly in and out of hospitals throughout his life, so ill that he was administered last rites on several different occasions. Here is a vivid portrait of a man who, because he knew how close he was to death, lived as much as he could – sometimes hurting others in the process.

JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century by Fredrik Logevall

By the time of his assassination in 1963, John F. Kennedy stood at the helm of the greatest power the world had ever seen, a booming American nation that he had steered through some of the most perilous diplomatic standoffs of the Cold War. Born in 1917 to a striving Irish American family that had become among Boston’s wealthiest, Kennedy knew political ambition from an early age, and his meteoric rise to become the youngest elected president cemented his status as one of the most mythologized figures in American history. And while hagiographic portrayals of his dazzling charisma, reports of his extramarital affairs, and disagreements over his political legacy have come and gone in the decades since his untimely death, these accounts all fail to capture the full person.

Beckoned by this gap in our historical knowledge, Fredrik Logevall has spent much of the last decade searching for the “real” JFK. The result of this prodigious effort is a sweeping two-volume biography that properly contextualizes Kennedy amidst the roiling American Century.

This volume spans the first thirty-nine years of JFK’s life – from birth through his decision to run for president – to reveal his early relationships, his formative experiences during World War II, his ideas, his writings, his political aspirations. In examining these pre-White House years, Logevall shows us a more serious, independently-minded Kennedy than we’ve previously known, whose distinct international sensibility would prepare him to enter national politics at a critical moment in modern U.S. history.

A Thousand Days by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. served as special assistant to President John F. Kennedy throughout his presidency – from the long and grueling campaign to Kennedy’s tragic and unexpected assassination by Lee Harvey Oswald. In A Thousand Days , Schlesinger combines intimate knowledge as one of President Kennedy’s inner circle with sweeping research and historic context to provide a look at one of the most legendary presidential administrations in American history.

From JFK’s battle with Nixon during the 1960 election, to the seemingly charmed inaugural days, to international conflict and domestic unrest, Schlesinger takes a close and fond, but unsparing, look at Kennedy’s tenure in the White House, covering well-known successes, like his involvement in the Civil Rights movement; infamous humiliations, like the Bay of Pigs; and often overlooked struggles, like the Skybolt missile mix-up, alike.

The House of Kennedy by James Patterson

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.

Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy

During 1954-55, Kennedy, then a junior senator from the state of Massachusetts, profiled eight American patriots, mainly United States Senators, who at crucial moments in our nation’s history, revealed a special sort of greatness: men who disregarded dreadful consequences to their public and private lives to do that one thing which seemed right in itself. They were men of various political and regional allegiances – their one overriding loyalty was to the United States.

Courage such as these men shared, Kennedy makes clear, is central to all morality – a man does what he must in spite of personal consequences – and these exciting stories suggest that, without in the least disparaging the courage with which men die, we should not overlook the true greatness adorning those acts of courage with which men must live.

John F. Kennedy and PT-109 by Richard Tregaskis

In the early morning hours of August 2, 1943, US Navy motor torpedo boat  PT-109  patrolled the still, black waters of Blackett Strait in the Solomon Islands. Suddenly, the Japanese destroyer  Amagiri  loomed out of the darkness, bearing directly down on the smaller ship. There was no time to get out of the way – the destroyer crashed into PT-109 , slicing the mosquito boat in two and setting the shark-infested waters aflame with burning gasoline. Ten surviving crewmembers and their young skipper clung to the wreckage, their odds of survival growing slimmer by the instant.

Lt. John F. Kennedy’s first command was an unqualified disaster. Yet over the next three days, the privileged son of a Boston multimillionaire displayed extraordinary courage, stamina, and leadership as he risked his life to shepherd his crew to safety and coordinate a daring rescue mission deep in enemy territory. Lieutenant Kennedy earned a Navy and Marine Corps Medal and a Purple Heart, and the story of  PT-109 captured the public’s imagination and helped propel the battle-tested veteran all the way to the White House.

The Kennedy Brothers by Richard D. Mahoney

Eight years apart in age, John F. and Robert F. Kennedy were wildly different in temperament and sensibility. Jack was the leader – charismatic, ironic, capable of extraordinary growth and reach, yet also reckless. Bobby was the fearless, hardworking Boy Scout – unafraid of dirty work and ruthless about protecting his brother and destroying their enemies. Jack, it was said, was the first Irish Brahmin, Bobby the last Irish Puritan.

Richard D. Mahoney demonstrates with brilliant clarity in this impeccably documented, magisterial book, how the Kennedys lived their days of power in dangerous, trackless territory. Mahoney gives us the Kennedy days and years as we have never before seen them. Here are Jack and Bobby in all their hubris and humanity, youthfulness and fatalism.

Two Days in June by Andrew Cohen

On two consecutive days in June 1963, in two lyrical speeches, John F. Kennedy pivots dramatically and boldly on the two greatest issues of his time: nuclear arms and civil rights. In language unheard in lily white, Cold War America, he appeals to Americans to see both the Russians and the “Negroes” as human beings. His speech on June 10 leads to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963; his speech on June 11 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Based on new material – hours of recently uncovered documentary film shot in the White House and the Justice Department, fresh interviews, and a rediscovered draft speech – Two Days in June captures Kennedy at the high noon of his presidency in startling, granular detail.

Moment by moment, JFK’s feverish forty-eight hours unspools in cinematic clarity as he addresses “peace and freedom.” In the tick-tock of the American presidency, we see Kennedy facing down George Wallace over the integration of the University of Alabama, talking obsessively about sex and politics at a dinner party in Georgetown, recoiling at a newspaper photograph of a burning monk in Saigon, planning a secret diplomatic mission to Indonesia, and reeling from the midnight murder of Medgar Evers.

Prelude to Leadership by John F. Kennedy

One of the few books by John F. Kennedy, Prelude to Leadership is his private diary from when he was a 28-year-old reporter in Europe. It offers a short yet intimate look into the mind of the man who was to become the 35th President of the United States.

As World War II was ending and the Cold War was just beginning, a young naval hero decommissioned before war’s end because of his crippling injuries, traveled through a devastated Europe. During the trip, John F. Kennedy kept a diary, never before published. As the diary makes clear, that European trip was a turning point in the future President’s life. It was on this trip that Kennedy first confronted the “long twilight struggle” for the preservation of Western freedom that would define his Presidency.

Counselor by Ted Sorensen

Sorensen returns to January 1953, when he and the freshman senator from Massachusetts began their extraordinary professional and personal relationship. Rising from legislative assistant to speechwriter and advisor, the young lawyer from Nebraska worked closely with JFK on his most important speeches, as well as his book  Profiles in Courage .

In this necessary installment among books on John F. Kennedy, Sorenson describes in thrilling detail his experience advising the President during some of the most crucial days of his term, from the decision to go to the moon to the Cuban Missile Crisis, when JFK requested that the thirty-four-year-old Sorensen draft the key letter to Khrushchev at the most critical point of the world’s first nuclear confrontation.

After Kennedy was assassinated, Sorensen stayed with President Johnson for a few months before leaving to write a biography of JFK. In 1968 he returned to Washington to help run Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign. Through it all, Sorensen never lost sight of the ideals that brought him to Washington and to the White House, working tirelessly to promote and defend free, peaceful societies.

Once Upon A Secret by Mimi Alford

In the summer of 1962, nineteen-year-old Mimi Beardsley arrived in Washington, D.C., to begin an internship in the White House press office. After just three days on the job, the privileged but sheltered young woman was presented to the President himself. Almost immediately, the two began an affair that would continue for the next eighteen months.

Emotionally unprepared to counter the President’s charisma and power, Mimi was also ill-equipped to handle the feelings of isolation that would follow as she fell into the double life of a college student who was also the secret lover of the most powerful man in the world. After the President’s assassination in Dallas, she grieved alone, locked her secret away, and tried to start a new life, only to be blindsided by her past.

JFK and the Unspeakable by James W. Douglass

At the height of the Cold War, JFK risked committing the greatest crime in human history: starting a nuclear war. Horrified by the specter of nuclear annihilation, Kennedy gradually turned away from his long-held Cold Warrior beliefs and toward a policy of lasting peace. But to the military and intelligence agencies in the United States, who were committed to winning the Cold War at any cost, Kennedy’s change of heart was a direct threat to their power and influence. Once these dark “Unspeakable” forces recognized that Kennedy’s interests were in direct opposition to their own, they tagged him as a dangerous traitor, plotted his assassination, and orchestrated the subsequent cover-up.

Douglass takes readers into the Oval Office during the tense days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, along on the strange journey of Lee Harvey Oswald and his shadowy handlers, and to the winding road in Dallas where an ambush awaited the President’s motorcade. As Douglass convincingly documents, at every step along the way these forces of the Unspeakable were present, moving people like pawns on a chessboard to promote a dangerous and deadly agenda.

The Death of a President by William Manchester

As the world still reeled from the tragic and historic events of November 22, 1963, William Manchester set out, at the request of the Kennedy family, to create a detailed, authoritative record of the days immediately preceding and following President John F. Kennedy’s death.

Through hundreds of interviews, abundant travel and firsthand observation, and with unique access to the proceedings of the Warren Commission, Manchester conducted an exhaustive historical investigation, accumulating forty-five volumes of documents, exhibits, and transcribed tapes. His ultimate objective – to set down as a whole the national and personal tragedy that was JFK’s assassination – is brilliantly achieved in this galvanizing narrative, a book universally acclaimed as a landmark work of modern history.

JFK: Reckless Youth by Nigel Hamilton

In retelling JFK’s extraordinary life story, Nigel Hamilton has finally succeeded in getting beyond the many accretions and distortions of recent years. Here at last – often in JFK’s own inimitable words – is the real John F. Kennedy, at once roguish and intelligent, reckless and yet possessing fine judgment. Based on a wealth of never previously published letters and documents, and access to more than two thousand interviews, this gem among books on John F. Kennedy paints a profoundly touching portrait of the tormented, fun-loving, deeply amorous, and yet ambitious youth who grew up to become our thirty-fifth President.

Mary’s Mosaic by Peter Janney

Who really murdered Mary Pinchot Meyer in the fall of 1964? Why was there a mad rush by CIA counterintelligence chief James Angleton to locate and confiscate her diary? What in that diary was so explosive? Had Mary Meyer finally put together the intricate pieces of a plan to assassinate her lover, President Kennedy, with the trail ultimately leading to the CIA? And was it mere coincidence that Mary was killed less than three weeks after the release of the Warren Commission report?

These are the questions that author Peter Janney finally answers in a way that no one else ever has. In doing so, he may well have solved Washington’s most famous unsolved murder. Based on years of painstaking research and interviews, much of it revealed here for the first time, the author traces the key events and influences in the life of Mary Pinchot Meyer, including her first meeting with Jack Kennedy at the Choate School in 1936; her explorations with psychedelic drugs; her relationship with Timothy Leary; and finally how she supported the president as he turned away from the Cold War toward the pursuit of world peace.

The Man Who Killed Kennedy by Roger Stone

Consummate political insider Roger Stone makes a compelling case that Lyndon Baines Johnson had the motive, means, and opportunity to orchestrate the murder of John F. Kennedy. Stone maps out the case that Johnson blackmailed his way onto the ticket in 1960 and was being dumped in 1964 to face prosecution for corruption at the hands of his nemesis attorney, Robert Kennedy. Stone uses fingerprint evidence and testimony to prove Kennedy was shot by a long-time Johnson hitman – not Lee Harvey Oswald.

Johnson would use power from his personal connections in Texas, from the criminal underworld, and from the United States government to escape an untimely end in politics and to seize even greater power. Here, in one of the most popular books on John F. Kennedy and his assassination, you will find out how and why he did it.

On the Trail of the Assassins by Jim Garrison

On March 1, 1967, New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison shocked the world by arresting local businessman Clay Shaw for conspiracy to murder the president. His alleged co-conspirator, David Ferrie, had been found dead a few days before. Garrison charged that elements of the United States government, in particular the CIA, were behind the crime.

From the beginning, his probe was virulently attacked in the media and violently denounced from Washington. His office was infiltrated and sabotaged, and witnesses disappeared and died strangely. Eventually, Shaw was acquitted after the briefest of jury deliberation and the only prosecution ever brought for the murder of President Kennedy was over.

On the Trail of the Assassins – the primary source material for Oliver Stone’s hit film  JFK – is Garrison’s own account of his investigations into the background of Lee Harvey Oswald and the assassination of President Kennedy, and his prosecution of Clay Shaw in the trial that followed.

if you enjoyed this guide to essential books on John F. Kennedy, check out our list of The 10 Best Books on President Franklin D. Roosevelt !

clock This article was published more than  1 year ago

Two books capture the messy, monumental life of Ted Kennedy

New biographies from neal gabler and john a. farrell provide definitive accounts of the longtime senator’s personal dramas and legislative legacy.

In his 47 years in the United States Senate — from the high promise of his brother Jack’s presidency to the hard slog of Barack Obama’s first months in the White House — Edward M. Kennedy accomplished as much as anyone who ever served in that body.

During that half-century, Kennedy’s large extended family was at the center of a cascade of unimaginable tragedies, including his brothers’ assassinations, his near-fatal plane crash, cancer diagnoses for two of his children, divorce, drug addiction, sex scandals and the premature deaths of several other relatives.

Perhaps most important, Ted Kennedy emerged after his brother Robert’s death in 1968 as the chief torchbearer of American liberalism, even as it came under attack from an insurgent political right.

Kennedy’s rich, dramatic, consequential life has been chronicled in several books. But two new, deeply researched accounts should establish themselves as the go-to sources for anyone interested in the Massachusetts senator’s momentous career. Neal Gabler, the author of laureled lives of Walter Winchell and Walt Disney, among others, has written the 1,227-page “ Against the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Rise of Conservatism, 1976-2009 ­,” which follows his 928-page first volume, “ Catching the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Liberal Hour, 1932-1975 .” John A. Farrell, whose other biographies have tackled Tip O’Neill and Richard Nixon, weighs in at a relatively economical 738 pages in “ Ted Kennedy: A Life .” (Yes, even the title is shorter.)

Each biography has strengths and limitations. Gabler’s taste for the epic mode makes for some beautifully rendered chapters, such as his patient illustration, through the accretion of nifty anecdotes, of how Kennedy came to master the Senate’s byways. But his prose often turns verbose and bombastic. He pastes in simplistic political analyses from undiscerning historians and reprints swaths of perishable punditry from journalists of yore. The index contains 16 references to Elizabeth Drew, 13 to David Broder, eight to Garry Wills. (Gabler even quotes a dozen times from the Boston Globe reporting of John A. Farrell.) Perhaps striving to emulate LBJ biographer Robert Caro’s inimitable style, Gabler repeats words, phrases and ideas excessively, as if continual reiteration will invest them with profundity and grandiosity.

Farrell writes briskly and clearly, and despite its girth his book never feels overlong or uninteresting. Sometimes, indeed, one craves more. Early in the book he drops the bombshell that as a boy Ted was molested at boarding school — but he never mentions the incident or its psychic consequences again. Without elaboration, he describes Ted’s father as a “purveyor of forbidden liquor,” but readers who know that David Nasaw debunked the myth of Joe Kennedy as a bootlegger in “ The Patriarch ” (2012) will want to know what exactly Farrell means.

What propels the reader through these biographies is not only these authors’ writerly talents but the sheer drama of Ted Kennedy’s saga. That tale didn’t start auspiciously. Elected to the Senate in 1962 to fill Jack’s old seat, Ted faced rampant suspicions — as had his brothers when they began their careers. He wasn’t deserving, everyone said; he owed his position to the family name and fortune. Yet also like his brothers, Ted dispelled those doubts through hard work and a serious commitment to mastering public policy. Within a few years he was flourishing as a capable, canny legislator and a rising star in his party.

A trifecta of tragedies, however, nearly derailed everything. First came the assassinations of his two brothers. As burdensome as the grief were the world’s new expectations. Ted was suddenly supposed to fulfill the legacies of two of the most visionary, eloquent liberal voices of his time. Weeks after Robert’s murder in June 1968, Democrats were clamoring to nominate Ted, 36, for president. Wisely, he declined the draft. Whereas his brothers had seen the Senate as a steppingstone, Ted intuited that the body’s collegial, collaborative ways might in fact suit him better than the splendid isolation of the White House — though the temptation of a presidential run remained.

Then came Chappaquiddick. In July 1969, after a night of drinking, Kennedy drove his car off a narrow Martha’s Vineyard bridge, drowning a woman in the passenger seat. He did not tell the police immediately, hoping to hide his inebriation. The deed was widely seen as an act of self-sabotage, a way to flee the new burdensome expectations — a “death wish,” one family friend said. It hamstrung his White House ambitions thereafter.

Gabler and Farrell both link Kennedy’s personal travails to liberalism’s woes in these years. The strained claim is unpersuasive, even glib. The backlash against 1960s liberalism stemmed from forces deeper than one man’s recklessness: the fizzling of postwar prosperity, deindustrialization, the humiliation of Vietnam, surging crime, fear of liberalizing values, resistance to outcome-based racial policies. Current punditry notwithstanding, working-class Whites began trending Republican long before the presidencies of Donald Trump or Ronald Reagan.

Both authors vividly depict this backlash through Kennedy’s confrontation with angry protesters against court-ordered school busing. For all its storied liberalism, Boston had to reckon with vicious racial conflict after a liberal judge ordered South Boston Irish Catholic students bused to schools in Black neighborhoods and vice versa. In 1974, a largely Irish American mob jeered Kennedy, pelting him with rocks and garbage, when he came to one of their rallies — an ugly symbol of how Kennedy and the Democrats had lost the loyalty of a longtime core constituency.

Chastened, Kennedy retooled. Without forsaking his values, he began acknowledging when conservatives made legitimate critiques of Democratic policies and trying to devise fresh solutions. Kennedy, to be sure, never identified as a “neoliberal” (a much-misused term today that properly refers not to Reaganite free-marketeers but to practical-minded welfare-state liberals seeking new policies for a changed economy). While still carrying the liberal banner, he championed causes like airline deregulation and criminal sentencing reform, deviating from the old orthodoxies to regain the support of economically downscale voters.

By now a seasoned master of the Senate, he crafted and passed a bevy of laws. Some of them rankled ideological purists, but they brought hardheaded liberals and conservatives together in fruitful alliances. “The ACLU thinks that it defines liberalism in this country,” Kennedy said when accused of selling out. “ I define liberalism in this country.”

Kennedy’s status as liberalism’s standard-bearer led him to run against his own party’s president, Jimmy Carter, for the 1980 nomination. Both Farrell and Gabler recount the dramatic primary battle with verve. Part Southern populist, part technocrat, Carter was the first Democratic president since Grover Cleveland who wasn’t in the liberal tradition; a surprise victor in 1976, he remained distrusted by important Democratic blocs. His reluctance to tackle health-care reform drove Kennedy to take him on. But Carter deftly locked up support from power brokers around the country, while Kennedy, despite soaring rhetoric and a few exhilarating upsets, ran a dreadful campaign.

Ironically, while the feckless Carter lost the presidency to Reagan, Kennedy returned to the Senate revitalized. Even though Republicans now ran the chamber, he continued to notch victories, artfully shaping legislation, such as a renewal of the Voting Rights Act, to gain bipartisan support. He knew when to refuse compromise, too. His early, strident opposition played a crucial role in blocking right-wing judge Robert Bork’s ascent to the Supreme Court, ultimately leading Reagan to appoint the milder Anthony Kennedy. Gabler comprehensively reviews Ted Kennedy’s Senate accomplishments, in minute detail, but Farrell attends to many of them, too; both make clear how lengthy and substantive the record was.

But the old instincts for self-sabotage reared up again. Kennedy had always drunk and eaten too much. He was unfaithful to his wife, Joan, whom he divorced in 1982. Though he could be a loving and fun-loving father and uncle, he had troubled relationships with his three children, especially Patrick (who was elected to Congress himself in 1994). By the early 1990s, though Ted was at the top of his political game, he was floundering personally. He would get drunk in public, grope women in restaurants or otherwise carry on like a teenage fraternity brother, not a 60-year-old Senate lion. The press wrote about it.

His double life crashed down in 1991 when, over Easter weekend at Palm Beach, Fla., he joined younger relatives carousing, and one of them, nephew Willie Smith, was accused (and later acquitted) of rape. Ted not only behaved crassly but misled the police to dodge questioning. It was Chappaquiddick redux. For the first time since 1962, the elder statesman’s reelection to the Senate was in peril, as he braced to battle the popular, slick businessman Mitt Romney.

Defying predictions, Kennedy repelled Romney’s challenge. An unexpectedly dominant debate performance showed that he still possessed the fire voters admired, while his TV ads showcased the luckless workers devastated by Romney’s hardhearted business practices. More fundamentally, Kennedy had turned his life around, thanks largely to his new wife, Victoria Reggie, 22 years his junior. Her love and good sense calmed him, and his devotion to her helped him stop his womanizing, moderate his boozing, and find stability and peace.

Kennedy’s comeback was also aided by Bill Clinton, whose rocky but successful two-term presidency rejuvenated liberalism as a governing philosophy. Before Clinton, Democrats had lost five of six presidential races, mostly in landslides; after Clinton, they lost the popular vote only once, barely. Both Farrell and Gabler — as is too common today — badly misread Clinton as a cynical “centrist” triangulator. They salt their treatment of him with gratuitous digs. But their evidence belies their rhetoric.

In truth, Clinton’s strategy for renewing trust in activist government amid a conservative climate was, as Kennedy’s top aide Carey Parker aptly explained, “to come up with incremental steps to reach” traditional liberal ends, “which was basically what we saw as Clinton’s Third Way.” Pragmatists at heart, the 40-something Arkansan and the 60-something Bostonian both saw that by demonstrating government’s efficacy and their party’s concern for “working families” (a poll-tested phrase they both liked), they might reverse the decades-long loss of faith in liberal rule.

Clinton and Kennedy collaborated often, on raising the minimum wage and on safeguarding Medicare and Medicaid. Kennedy also continued to corral Republican senators such as Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas and Orrin Hatch of Utah to co-sponsor major health-care bills that Clinton would sign. Both men grasped the axiom that Americans, while “rhetorically conservative,” are “operationally liberal” — that even as we rail against Washington, we want government to deliver the goods. Even under George W. Bush, Kennedy persisted in compromising, notably on education reform and on expanding Medicare to cover prescription drugs. Yet these deals didn’t dilute his authority as liberalism’s voice. When Bush in 2002 wanted to invade Iraq, Kennedy marshaled the Democratic opposition, albeit in vain.

Today, hunkered in our ideological trenches, we may find it hard to square Kennedy’s record of legislative compromise with his unflinching rhetorical defenses of liberal values. But liberal politicians from Franklin Roosevelt to John Kennedy to Joe Biden have always known, if intuitively, that pragmatism is a core component of liberalism — that in a diverse nation, progress is of necessity eked out through the fits and starts of the democratic process. So long as there is a will to join the struggle, Kennedy insisted, the dream shall never die.

David Greenberg is a professor of history and of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University. The author of several books, he is currently writing a biography of Rep. John Lewis.

Against the Wind

Edward Kennedy and the Rise of Conservatism, 1976-2009­

By Neal Gabler

Crown. 1,227 pp. $45

Ted Kennedy

By John A. Farrell

Penguin Press. 738 pp. $40

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Meet Jack Schlossberg, John F. Kennedy's 31-year-old grandson who was rumored to be dating Selena Gomez

• Jack Kennedy Schlossberg , 31, is the grandson of John F. Kennedy and the son of Caroline Kennedy.

Schlossberg is on track to follow the family tradition of becoming a lawyer.

• He's also shown that he has a sense of humor and is an avid paddleboarder. 

There's a new Kennedy in town.

Jack Kennedy Schlossberg is the 31-year-old grandson of President John F. Kennedy and the son of Caroline Kennedy.

He was recently the subject of internet rumors claiming he dated pop singer Selena Gomez, 31, between 2020 and 2021. 

"Never met this human sorry," Gomez, who is dating music producer Benny Blanco , commented on a post shared by a fan-made Instagram account.

Despite being known as a member of one of America's most iconic political families, Schlossberg has asserted he has no plans to enter a race of his own. However, he's already making a name for himself. 

Here's what you need to know about Jack Schlossberg.

John "Jack" Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg is the 31-year-old grandson of President John F. Kennedy and the son of Caroline Kennedy.

He was named for his maternal grandfather, John F. Kennedy, and his maternal great-grandfather, John Vernou Bouvier III.

He is the youngest child of Caroline Kennedy and designer Edwin Schlossberg, who have been married since 1986.

Kennedy came from an Irish-Catholic background, while Edwin Schlossberg was raised Jewish. 

Jack Schlossberg was born in New York City on January 19, 1993.

In 2011, he graduated from The Collegiate School, a prestigious all-boys private school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg share two other children besides Jack: Tatiana Schlossberg, 33, and Rose Schlossberg, 35.

Schlossberg is the lone grandson of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy and the eldest surviving male descendant of the former president's immediate family.

Rose and Tatiana Schlossberg are both married, but Jack appears to be single.

When appearing on the "Today" show in 2022, Schlossberg shared that his sister Tatiana had recently welcomed a son named Edwin, after their father. Schlossberg also said he'd moved back to his "childhood bedroom" to be closer to his family after graduating from Harvard.

He bears a striking resemblance to his maternal uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., who died in a plane crash in 1999.

John F. Kennedy Jr. died after an aircraft he was piloting crashed off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on July 16, 1999. His wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister Lauren Bessette also perished in the accident. 

The couple did not have any children together, so there were no surviving Kennedy heirs through Kennedy Jr.

After Schlossberg graduated from Yale University in 2015 with a history degree, he entered Harvard Law School in the fall of 2017 and Harvard Business School in the fall of 2018.

"I'm inspired by my family's legacy of public service," Schlossberg said in his first live interview on "Today" in 2017. "It's something that I'm very proud of."

He graduated from the university in 2022, and in April 2023 he shared that he had passed the New York State bar exam.

His mother, Caroline, passed the same bar exam in 1989. According to People , his uncle John F. Kennedy Jr. famously failed the New York bar exam twice before ultimately passing on his third try in 1990.

He appears to share his family's interest in politics and civic justice.

"I'm still trying to make my own way, figure things out, so stay tuned. I don't know what I'm going to do," he told "Today" in 2017. He again told Savannah Guthrie in 2022 that he had "no plans" to enter politics at the moment. 

While he hasn't committed to a career in politics just yet, Schlossberg has taken an increasingly public role with the family's Profile in Courage Awards , which honors world leaders, and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

According to People , Schlossberg has also worked as a Senate page and intern for former Secretary of State John Kerry.

Schlossberg spoke at the 2020 Democratic National Convention as a representative of his family and has appeared with his mother at many public events. In December 2022, the Harvard graduate was pictured alongside his mother and sister Tatiana meeting with Prince William at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Schlossberg has become the face of a new generation of Kennedys.

Schlossberg boasts over 101,000 followers on Instagram , where he often shares photos and videos related to his paddleboarding hobby. 

He's also shown that he has a sense of humor. In July 2023, a series of light-hearted videos Schlossberg posted to Instagram about the downsides of eating at restaurants went viral .

"We have to wait there to eat something that we don't get to choose, really, what it is," Schlossberg said to the camera in one video. "We only get a few choices and you don't know what any of them are gonna taste like or what's good … and we're gonna sit there and wait for some guy to ask us a question. And we're gonna have to talk to some guy about what we wanna eat."

Secretary of State John Kerry once said of him, "A sense of humor is not genetic, but apparently in the Kennedy family, it can be inherited. In President Kennedy's grandson, Jack Schlossberg, this quality seems to abide."

• Main content

Ethel Kennedy Celebrates Her 96th Birthday Surrounded by Her Family

For the milestone occasion, her daughter Kerry shared a video set to a song that Taylor Swift wrote about Ethel.

Ethel Kennedy turned 96 yesterday!

The Kennedy family matriarch—the widow of Robert F. Kennedy—was joined by her children and grandchildren on her birthday, as shown in a photo shared by one of her grandsons, Joseph Kennedy III, on X (formerly twitter). "Happy 96th to the World’s most amazing Gramma!!" he wrote, adding a birthday cake emoji:

Ethel's daughter, Kerry, posted on Instagram yesterday a video montage of her mom, set to Taylor Swift's 2012 song "Starlight." Kerry captioned the video, "Today is my mom‘s 96th birthday! To celebrate her, please listen to this great song that @taylorswift wrote about my parents!"

Back when her album Red came out, Swift shared , "Starlight is a song I wrote actually after seeing a picture of um, Ethel and Bobby Kennedy when they were seventeen. I saw this picture about a year a half ago, and I didn’t know anything about like, what they were doing or what was going on in the picture, but I just thought ‘They look like they’re having the best night.’ And, um, and so I wrote this song about what the night might’ve been like. And um, I ended up meeting Ethel and going and playing it for her and she just loved it. It was such a fun moment when she was just in love with the song and so happy about it and um, it’s just this adorable picture that to me, it just like brought forth all these potentials for how that night could’ve been."

Notably, Taylor Swift previously dated one of Ethel's grandsons, Connor Kennedy.

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma , a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram .

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All About Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 6 Children

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is a father to sons Bobby, Conor, Aidan and Finn and daughters Kick and Kyra

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a proud dad to six children.

The controversial politician and environmental lawyer, who is one of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy ’s 11 children, grew up in the spotlight as a member of the Kennedy family . But when it came time to raise his own kids, he kept their childhoods relatively private.

When Kennedy was still a law student at the University of Virginia, he met his first wife, Emily Ruth Black. The couple wed in 1982 and welcomed two children during their relationship: Robert “Bobby" Kennedy III and Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy. After 10 years together, Kennedy and Black separated and later divorced in 1994.

By the time the couple’s divorce was made official, Kennedy was already dating Mary Richardson, a longtime friend of his sister Kerry. They married in 1994 and had their first son, Conor Kennedy , a few months later. They went on to have three more children before filing for divorce in 2010: Kyra Kennedy, Aidan Kennedy and William "Finn" Kennedy. In 2012, Richardson died by suicide.

Aside from his six children, Kennedy is also a stepfather to his wife, actress Cheryl Hines ' daughter from a previous relationship. Kennedy and Hines have been married since 2014.

Some of Kennedy's children were by his side when he launched his 2024 presidential campaign in April 2023. The controversial candidate has since left the Democratic party and is now running for president as an independent .

Here’s everything to know about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s children.

Robert Francis “Bobby” Kennedy III, 39

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

On Sept. 2, 1984, Kennedy and his then-wife Black welcomed their first child, son Robert Francis Kennedy III. Named after his father and grandfather, the little boy was given the nickname Bobby.

While much of Bobby’s childhood was out of the spotlight, he was occasionally spotted attending events with his famous family. In 2000, when he was 16, he accompanied his father to the Democratic National Convention. He went on to attend Brown University, and shortly after graduation, he helped launch the website Ameritocracy.com. The now-defunct site was created in 2008 as a way to filter and fact-check political news shared by the media.

“For so many people our age, understanding this election is one of the most important things right now,” he told Teen Vogue at the time. “But we live in a culture of sound bites. But you have to dissect them, you have to look at their sources.”

Several years later, Bobby chose to pivot into more creative pursuits, stepping away from the world of politics. While Bobby had previously been public about his support for President Barack Obama , he shared that he wanted to try something different.

“People that, I feel at least, get into politics too early before they've had a chance to express themselves and kind of be free and do what they want to do, end up being the most corrupt politicians,” Bobby said in 2011, per HuffPost . “I don’t really care for American politics as they're currently playing out. Campaign finance is basically legalized bribery.”

Instead, Bobby entered the entertainment industry, writing and starring in Eurotrapped — a 2013 film following a lazy recent grad who gets cut off by his rich parents and ends up on a wild tour of Italy where he accidentally gets wrapped up in an organized crime ring. Around the same time, Bobby also made his directorial debut with ELEW: Live from Infinity , a one-act comedic play about immortality, which featured puppets and a live performance by rock-jazz pianist Eric Lewis.

In the following years, Bobby turned his focus to writing and directing a film about Hunter S. Thompson, telling the true story of his run to be elected Pitkin County Sheriff in 1970. Looking back, Bobby told The Independent that he got the idea for the movie while living out of a bus “as a ski bum in Aspen” and saw a “Hunter Thompson for Sheriff” poster in his favorite bar. He went on to write the script and then chose to finance the film through independent donors instead of a major studio. Through production and COVID-19-related delays, Fear and Loathing in Aspen finally premiered in 2021.

Bobby has been married to wife Amaryllis Fox, a former CIA officer, since 2017. The couple married in a stunning ceremony on the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Bobby and Fox share a daughter, Bobby, and a son, Cassius , as well as a daughter, Zoë, from Fox's previous relationship.

Kathleen Alexandra “Kick” Kennedy, 36

Andrew Toth/Getty

Kennedy and Black welcomed their second child, daughter Kathleen Alexandra Kennedy, on April 13, 1988. She earned the nickname Kick after her great-aunt Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, who died in 1948 at age 28. Although the younger Kick was admittedly a handful as a toddler, she says it wasn’t until later in life she realized how similar she was to her rebellious namesake.

“I always thought Dad and I were the same person, but I got fascinated by Kick a few years ago, and it's funny how similar we are,” Kick told Town & Country in 2012. “She was fun and social and a performer in many ways.”

Like her older brother Bobby, Kick was raised among her family’s animals on their sprawling property. Looking back, Kick says there were “dogs and cats and chickens and alligators” around — as well as falcons, as her father is a master falconer.

After graduating high school, Kick attended Stanford University to study history and theater. There, she focused on two of her passions: activism and acting. She inherited her interest in philanthropy from her father and they now both share an interest in bringing clean water to areas in need. As a student, she hiked Mount Kilimanjaro with actors Emile Hirsch and Jessica Biel in an effort to raise water shortage awareness. In 2008, she also created an IMAX 3-D film with her father titled Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk , which followed the father-daughter duo on a whitewater rafting adventure down the Colorado River in hopes of raising awareness of the world water crisis.

“I’ve been really connected to water issues since I can remember, as my father made it his passion. We knew what PCPs were before we knew how to tie our shoes. I've also spent so much time on the water, whether it's sailing with friends and family or doing a river cleanup on the Hudson. Being on the water ... is where I'm the happiest,” Kick told Resident in 2014.

Kick also kicked off her acting career as a Stanford student. In 2011, she landed one of her first roles in her stepmother Hines’ show Curb Your Enthusiasm and later made a cameo as herself on an episode of Gossip Girl . After graduating from college, she went on to study acting at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Institute.

Since then, Kick has been focused on her philanthropic efforts and has been a contributing editor at several publications. In her spare time, she travels the world — and shares her adventures on her Instagram . Kick was previously linked to Paul Simon ’s son, Harper, and also dated billionaire banking heir Matthew Mellon before he died in 2018 .

Conor Richardson Kennedy, 29

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Following Kennedy's split with Black, he married his second wife Richardson. The couple welcomed their first child together, son Conor Richardson Kennedy, on July 25, 1994.

Much of Conor’s childhood was out of the public eye, but his family was thrust into the news in 2012 when he was still a teenager. In May of that year, his mother died by suicide, which was extensively covered in the media. Then, just a few months later, the 18-year-old made headlines when he briefly dated Taylor Swift .

Conor graduated from the prestigious Deerfield Academy and has gone on to follow in his family’s philanthropic footsteps. In 2013, he joined his father at a protest outside the White House against the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The pair were arrested and taken into police custody for civil disobedience — but were later released.

Three years later, Conor was arrested again for allegedly fighting outside a Colorado nightclub while defending a gay friend who had been called a homophobic slur. He pled guilty and was given a six-month deferred sentence and was required to write an apology letter to the victim, pay a $500 fine and abstain from drugs and alcohol for the six months.

“Like any father, I don’t want to see my son fighting or involved with the police. But on the other hand, I’m proud that he stands up to bullies,” Kennedy told PEOPLE at the time.

While Conor kept a low profile in the wake of the incident, he made headlines in 2022 when he revealed that he had joined Ukraine’s International Legion of foreign fighters amid the Russian invasion — despite having no prior military training. He was set to take a summer job with a Los Angeles law firm but rescinded the offer to head to Ukraine. In a lengthy Instagram post, Conor explained that he was “deeply moved” by the situation and was “willing to die there” if it came to it.

He noted that he had kept his mission a secret, only telling one person that he was headed to Ukraine and only telling one fighter his real name. He explained that he “didn't want [his] family or friends to worry” and “didn't want to be treated differently there.” While he admitted his two-and-a-half months in Ukraine “wasn't long,” he said that he “saw a lot” and “felt a lot.”

As of October 2022, Conor was heading into his final year of law school at Georgetown. He is currently dating Latin Grammy-nominated singer Giulia. While the couple are private, they have shared several photos of one another on Instagram.

Kyra LeMoyne Kennedy, 28

Victor Boyko/Getty

Kennedy and Richardson welcomed their second child, daughter Kyra LeMoyne Kennedy, on Aug. 22, 1995. She officially made her society debut when she was 18 at the prestigious Bal des Debutantes in 2013 . By that time, Kyra had already interned for Dior and Kenneth Cole, per Harper’s Bazaar , and was about to enroll at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City to pursue her interest in clothing design.

In the years that followed, Kyra gained notoriety as a member of the “The Snap Pack,” a group of young, wealthy New Yorkers who chronicled their exclusive jet-set lifestyles on social media. The group, which included Donald Trump ’s daughter Tiffany as well as Gaia Matisse, the great-great-granddaughter of the painter Henri Matisse, made headlines for their outings and Instagram posts. One of those headlines included an incident where Kyra allegedly attempted to use a fake ID to get into a nightclub — a story which she later said “was basically fabricated.”

“I couldn’t bear to see anyone,” Kyra told Du Jour of hiding away after the incident. “My dad said, ‘I’m sorry, but hiding is not the right thing to do. You just have to face the truth and be like, this is not me. This is not true.’ ”

While Kyra is still on social media, the 28-year-old maintains a lower online profile. She continues to post fashion content and photos from her travels around the world on Instagram and appears to spend time with family often. She even starred on Celebrity Game Face with her stepmother Hines in 2021.

William Finbar “Finn” Kennedy, 26

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. X

On Nov. 8, 1997, Kennedy and Richardson welcomed their third child, William Finbar Kennedy. Nicknamed Finn, he is one of the most private members of the family, shying away from social media and public appearances.

Still, Finn has followed in his father’s footsteps with his passion for aquatic activities and wildlife. While attending Brown University, he studied biology and even appeared in a National Geographic documentary titled Sea of Hope . In the film, he could be seen swimming with a group of playful dolphins near Buck Island Reef National Monument in the U.S. Virgin Islands — an area that his great uncle President John F. Kennedy established as the world’s first marine park in 1961.

“I felt so lucky for that experience,” Finn told EcoWatch in 2016. “There were six to eight of them. They would follow me down to about 35 feet and brush up against me repeatedly, then accompany me back to the surface swimming tight circles around me till we all breached together ... It was like they were reaching out to distant cousins from across the millennium.”

Finn is also an avid skier. In 2016, he spoke about climate change and the ski industry at the White House Innovation Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Aidan Caohman Vieques Kennedy, 22

Kennedy and Richardson's youngest child, son Aidan Caohman Vieques Kennedy, was born on July 13, 2001. At the time of his birth, his father was serving a 30-day sentence in prison after being arrested for trespassing on U.S. Navy land during protests against military bombing of Vieques, an island off Puerto Rico. The situation inspired Aidan’s parents to give him the middle name Vieques.

“I think that when he is older, the child will understand why he has the name of Vieques and how important it is. And he'll be proud to be a part of that history,” Richardson told reporters in 2001, per the Tampa Bay Times .

According to Aidan’s LinkedIn , he attended the boarding school Salisbury School, during which he worked as a United States Senate Page in the office of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. He also interned on his uncle Chris Kennedy’s campaign for governor of Illinois as well as Pete Buttigieg’s campaign for president. Additionally, he spent time interning for film and television production company Grand Electric, where he evaluated screenplay submissions.

In 2022, he was accepted into Harvard University and recently interned at Morgan Stanley’s Los Angeles office as a private wealth management analyst.

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Screen Rant

1000-lb sisters’ tammy slaton introduces new family member amid weight loss transformation.

1000-Lb Sisters star Tammy Slaton is sharing an adorable video featuring the newest member of his family as she celebrates her 420-pound weight loss.

• Tammy Slaton, star of 1000-Lb Sisters, welcomes a pregnant cat named Chocolate home.
• Tammy is living her best life post-weight loss, showing off her dancing and singing skills while enjoying the company of her new feline friend.
• Despite facing challenges, including the death of her husband, Tammy shines as a weight-loss champion, having lost over 420 pounds and finding joy in life.

1000-Lb Sisters ' Tammy Slaton is welcoming an adorable new member of her family while she continues to flaunt her 400-plus pounds weight loss. Tammy used to weigh 725 pounds when she started her reality TV career in 2020. A health scare landed Tammy in hospital while she knew she had to get serious about weight loss as she woke up from a medically induced coma. Tammy lost enough weight to qualify for bariatric surgery and continues to transform herself using her consistent diet and exercise routine. Tammy’s journey has been nothing short of extraordinary, as revealed on the show.

1000-Lb Sisters star Tammy Slaton has a “new member” in her family she’s showing off in her new video.

Tammy posted a TikTok update where she made a pouty face at the camera.

As “Me Too” by Meghan Trainor played in the background, Tammy zoomed out to show something black and furry in her lap. Tammy continued petting the majestic black cat as it settled down comfortably in her lap. Tammy turned the phone horizontally to reveal that the cat was actually pregnant. She posted another clip with her in a blue shirt and the cat lying down on her lap.

20 Best Reality TV Shows Right Now

Tammy slaton’s quality of life improves since weight loss, tammy is living her best life after losing weight.

In her caption, Tammy gushed about how happy she was to introduce the newest member of her family to her fans. Tammy repeated that her cat was pregnant, but she was in really good hands. Tammy also revealed that she’s named the cat “ Chocolate. ” Tammy chose the name because the cat is “so freaking sweet” and felt that the same seemed to fit the kitty cat perfectly. Fans told Tammy about their own pets at home, while they also praised Tammy for how cute she looked in the video and praised her hairstyle.

Little Chocolate is making Tammy happy with her presence in the Slaton family.

Meanwhile, Tammy’s good mood is also courtesy of her improved health since her massive weight loss progress. Dancing queen Tammy has been showing off her moves and lipsyncing skills in her new videos. Tammy has been experimenting with singing and dancing since she lost weight, and she’s also become aware of her eating habits. Weight loss has helped Tammy improve her mental health. Weight loss surgery has been wonderful for Tammy’s hair growth. She’s proud of how much it has grown since last February.

Tammy's Quality Of Life Has Improved Since Weight Loss

Rehab helped tammy turn over a new leaf.

Tammy hit a low point in her life before spending time at the weight-loss clinic and undergoing bariatric surgery in 2022. She’s now focused on improving her physical and emotional well-being. Tammy used to be bitter, unhappy, and depressed. She was mean and used to have a short temper. Now, Tammy is cautious about what she says. She doesn’t let things affect her the way they used to. Tammy’s also smiling a lot more thanks to her new fur baby. Tammy's new role as a pet parent will help her grow kinder as she offers unconditional love to Chocolate.

Tammy’s weight-loss journey on 1000-Lb Sisters has truly been life-changing for her. It wasn’t easy for Tammy to lose weight and her mental health was impacted greatly when she couldn’t meet the weight requirements for surgery. Tammy faced multiple challenges in her way, including the death of her husband Caleb Willingham in June 2023, yet, she has emerged as a champion who has lost more than 420 pounds since she started her transformation. Tammy’s life is improving day by day. She’s starting to truly enjoy life and Chocolate is helping Tammy stay cheerful and happy.

1000-Lb Sisters seasons 1-5 can be streamed on MAX and Discovery +.

Source: Tammy Slaton /TikTok

1000-LB Sisters

1000-lb Sisters follows sisters Amy Salton-Halterman and Tammy Slaton in their home in Dixon, Kentucky, covering their daily lives, weight loss attempts, and subsequent weight loss surgery. The show covers such moments as attempts to have children, medical visits, and dramatic emergency room visitations. The family wrestles with supporting their daughters and their weight loss efforts while struggling with their own life troubles.