Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America's First Family for 150 Years by Edward Klein ISBN: 031231292X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 08 July, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.77
Rating: 2
Summary: All the hype about about JFK Jr., not much meat
Comment: I'll be honest. I bought the book solely to read the "dirt" regarding the marriage of JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. Guess what? There's not much of that here, and what there is comes at the end. First one has to wade through the history of the Kennedy ancestors, which is at times interesting, but mostly at turns boggling and boring. It's tough keeping them straight, what with the tendency to use the same names each generation. For the most part, I don't particularly care what those long-ago Kennedy's did; sure, it's intriguing to see the pattern of devil-may-care behavior that apparently started hundreds of years ago and continues to this day, but overall, a synopsis would've done the trick for me.
Once the book moved into JFK's father's lifetime, it did become more readable, because I could relate Joseph Kennedy to figures I am more familiar with. There is some interesting history there, and it was good reading. He certainly seemed to be an arrogant man, and I pity his family, so caught up in his machinations that they had to turn off emotion and caution to please their father. Couple that with a mother bound in the tenets of her religion, and you have a volatile combination.
Is the Kennedy family cursed? I'd say no more than what they make themselves. Examining each incident, if you will, on its own merit leads me to believe that in large part, many of the tragedies that have befallen the members over the years could have been avoided, or at least lessened. Unfortunately, I think that money, pride, arrogance, and outright worship by outsiders at times have created in some of the "Kennedy Clan" a sense of infallibility that makes them feel above the laws of God and man, when in fact they are just as human as the rest of us.
It's trite to say that JFK, Jr. had potential to rise above this, to do what his father never got to, to perhaps "finish" what his father started, things like that, but I think that there is truth there somewhere. He was different, somehow, than the rest of his family, yet as we all know, still carried enough of whatever it is that led him to make one too many foolish choices. That is perhaps the greatest tragedy to befall the Kennedy family.
Rating: 4
Summary: Leaves you wanting more...
Comment: I enjoyed the book, particularly the first chapters which are on the patriarchs of the [Fitzgerald/Kennedy] family. However, take it as you will, the book leaves you wanting more. Well, at least for me it did. That's probably a good thing to say about this book, how Klien was able to spark my interest to learn more about the Kennedys. And by the way, the book is NOT all about JFK Jr. as mentioned earlier. If that's what you're seeking, try instead The Day John Died by C. Anderson. The Kennedy Curse instead simply touches upon some (not all) of the notorious Kennedy's &/or their notorious behavior & events.
Rating: 2
Summary: No good unless you're a Kennedy worshipper AND superstitious
Comment: What can I say about a sentence like this: "The sons of these (Irish) immigrants (such as the Kennedys) were often treated worse than Negro slaves."
Geez, with such historically uninformed, Kleenix-inducing blather like that (with which professional historians AND the descendants of those slaves would disagree), what else can you say about the suck-up level of this book?
There are a few historical nuggets to be found if you can get past BOTH the hagiography AND the superstitiousness of the author believing in a literal Kennedy family curse.
But, it's really not worth that much effort, probably.
Also, the Bushes, and with far more justification, the Adamses, might object to the Kennedys being labeled America's greatest political dynasty.
 |
Title: Kate Remembered by A. Scott Berg ISBN: 0399151648 Publisher: Putnam Pub Group Pub. Date: 11 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
 |
Title: Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton ISBN: 0743222245 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 09 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
 |
Title: An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek ISBN: 0316172383 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 13 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
 |
Title: Once Upon a Time: Behind the Fairy Tale of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier by J. Randy Taraborrelli ISBN: 0446531642 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 15 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
 |
Title: A Royal Duty by Paul Burrell ISBN: 0399151729 Publisher: Putnam Pub Group Pub. Date: 25 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
