The House of Kennedy

The world's bestselling author James Patterson has an interest in politics and recently collaboratedon a thriller with President Bill Clinton. His specialty is not the political content but his gift ofstorytelling. The narrative is in the present tense which adds to its sense of immediacy.The Kennedy family has always had many of the highs and lows of humanity, which can be framedas blessing and curse. It is striking to me that even this year, with Covid-19, there were moreaccidental tragic deaths in the family. So as Patterson's narrative begins with this mythologyof blessing and curse, I couldn't help but keep in mind that it continued even beyond the recentpublication in the past few months.There is some preliminary stuff on Patrick Sr.'s generation, but the real force is the personalityof Joe Sr. He was a man of deep flaws but great ambition, going to New York and Hollywood.The great dreams he had for his family led to its tremendous success but also the pressurethat may have worsened the various cases of emotional and mental illness, including addictions.Patterson's narrative is not all that sympathetic to Joe Sr., with views that are bigoted by today'sstandards. With regard to womanizing, it seems like more or less all of them were into it.The names of the chapters show Patterson's emphasis, with the two Roses, the second onebeing the daughter Rosemary, and the "favorites", Joe Jr. and "Kick" or Kathleen. I hadn't knownmuch about Rosemary, who inspired her sister Eunice with the Special Olympics. For people of myGeneration X, the Shrivers are basically Maria's parents. Jack of course is "the President", while Bobbyis "the Prophet". Much of this story will be familiar to political people. The curse may have been due tothe influence of Frank Sinatra. With regard to Marilyn Monroe, the connection was not so much withJack as Bob. The portrayal of Jackie is interesting, with her very devoted to Jack after his death,and certainly attached to the kids John and Caroline, but fairly detached about his behaviors. Bob isbasically interpreted as moving from "bad Bobby" to "good Bobby", but of course that depends on one'spolitics as he moved from right to left. Then there's "the Senator", Teddy, who was believed not to be assmart, but was all heart to Jack's head. Although he died of cancer, he was one of the few to make it toan old age.In the next generation, it is easy to get lost among all the grandchildren. Bobby and Ethel had 11,so many of them are from that part of the family, and apparently they considered themselves the"most Kennedy". There are explorations of the troubles of Billy, Joe, Michael and others. The tragediesare portrayed as tragic and inspiring pathos, as the price of the life of privilege and the attitudesit fosters. Finally, there is JFK Jr. who was a figure of interest in the 90s. He married Carolyn andstarted the magazine George. The main part of the story closes with their death along with hersister in the plane crash. He had loved planes since he was a toddler.There's a great mystique to the Kennedy family, with their sticking together and addictions,ODs, murders, coverups and obviously lots of sex. The storyteller is able to weave all thismaterial into a narrative that brings some sense of unity and meaning to the story.

Because of my age, I remember the history of the Kennedy family. I was in middle school when JFK was assassinated and in high school when Bobby was killed. Like many people, I cried and felt that both were the end of an era. This book stirred up all of those memories. I didn't have as much knowledge of the next two generations of the family so I found much of that information to be interesting and a bit like national enquirer in the way it was presented. Overall, this would be an interesting book for someone who knew very little about the Kennedy family - if there is anyone like that. For me, it was a trip down memory lane with very little information. Much of this book read like fiction and in my opinion, James Patterson should stick to fiction where he excels.

Liked the book. Lots of information not previously known. I was 10 yrs old at the time of President Kennedy's assassination and still remember where I was at the time. It was a horrible day in our history. I also remember MLK and Bobby Kennedy's assassinations. Sad days as well. So much in the book and as I was reading I felt my heart racing knowing what was coming. But I agree with Eunice Kennedy. It isn't so much a curse as it is that their lives played out in public so they've never had the privacy they needed. Even today they still bring intrigue because of their family name. I recommend this book so you can learn how they came into such prominence and how they still pay the price for it.

Story line is excellent

I enjoyed learning of their internal competitiveness and recklessness which of course ended with many tragic results. The family's dark side was particularly painful.

It was very repetitious to what we already know of most of these people, did not enjoy this as much as I usually do with his books, disappointed

First off, I am NOT a fan of James Patterson. However, it seems as though the co-author, Cynthia Fagen did most of the research here.I thought I had read everything there was to know about the Kennedys but this did offer a more gritty look at the dishonesty and conniving of Joe Sr. for example. The book reads more like a scandal sheet than anything else but does offer new perspectives and details from the opinions and interviews with extended family members. If you're Kennedy-curious, it's an interesting read.

I grew up in Massachusetts so the Kennedys were like distant wealthy family. Always being talked about and I’m the news. I was 9 when JFK was was killed and we were sent home from school. I was in the 9th grade when Bobby was killed and how strange it felt to try to understand and again we were sent home...the book was well written and I believe that they did a great job with the facts. I learned a lot about the Kennedys from this book. I was flying home to Florida from Massachusetts when John Jr died in the plane crash. It was announced on the plane. So much devastation for one family to go through...

Not bad. Real life of Kennedy basically tells the story most of us know. Get a little convoluted through out tho. Worth it

I was very disappointed to see that the House of Kennedy was exactly the same as The Kennedy curse. Same author. Similar cover. So basically I had already read it. Not sure how this can happen

Book price reduced by about 18% ($6.07) three days after I took delivery of it.

I received my book earlier that expected and started to read already and a very good read for sure! very pleased.Thank you highly recommend

James Patterson is the best!