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hkihm's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't know anything about Bobby Kennedy prior to reading this. It was a readable, fascinating biography that pulled no punches.
1outside's review
5.0
I'll watch a documentary about anything. But committing to a 600+ page book? Now, that's way rarer.
Earlier this month marked the 50th anniversary of RFK's death, hence many articles and a brand new 4-part documentary about his presidential run saw the light of day throughout the first half of the year. The Netflix documentary was excellent and made me wanna learn more. And so here we are, at the end of an intense and intensive 9 or 10 day immersion into the complex life and nature of this interesting man.
I never quite understood the Kennedy magic until I saw this documentary - and frankly, I still don't quite understand the Kennedy magic of the rest of them (though RFK's grandson Joe Kennedy III is hella cute), but this slight, boyish, vulnerable looking but tough guy definitely caught my interest. There was something authentic about him.
This book is thorough, its looong chapters organised somehow both thematically and more-or-less chronologically. It does a good job of putting across its title. This man definitely made quite a journey in his thinking and his actions.
It also points out clearly and repeatedly what a man of contradictions RFK was, right to the way too premature and tragic end.
I think if you've got enough interest in this man to even contemplate reading a long-ass book about him, this one should be a great choice. Otherwise, stay away.
Earlier this month marked the 50th anniversary of RFK's death, hence many articles and a brand new 4-part documentary about his presidential run saw the light of day throughout the first half of the year. The Netflix documentary was excellent and made me wanna learn more. And so here we are, at the end of an intense and intensive 9 or 10 day immersion into the complex life and nature of this interesting man.
I never quite understood the Kennedy magic until I saw this documentary - and frankly, I still don't quite understand the Kennedy magic of the rest of them (though RFK's grandson Joe Kennedy III is hella cute), but this slight, boyish, vulnerable looking but tough guy definitely caught my interest. There was something authentic about him.
This book is thorough, its looong chapters organised somehow both thematically and more-or-less chronologically. It does a good job of putting across its title. This man definitely made quite a journey in his thinking and his actions.
It also points out clearly and repeatedly what a man of contradictions RFK was, right to the way too premature and tragic end.
I think if you've got enough interest in this man to even contemplate reading a long-ass book about him, this one should be a great choice. Otherwise, stay away.
pmthelen's review against another edition
funny
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.5
- Lots of new information in this one (to me at least) fast read that will be an easy revisit as it’s broken down chronologically so neatly. Legit cried at the end
kennedydechant's review against another edition
3.0
Not my usual choice, was good to branch out. Kennedy family is very interesting
sc85sis's review against another edition
5.0
Robert Kennedy was far from a perfect man. But he grew—in character, compassion, and knowledge—throughout his too short life. Larry Tye’s book does a beautiful job of showing the many facets of Kennedy the man and the politician. I can’t help but wonder what our country would be had RFK lived and possibly become President.
lohanesian's review against another edition
4.0
I didn’t know much about Jack and Bobby before reading this book, and what little I knew caused me to think of them as one and the same: progressive to be sure, but they didn’t do as much as they could have on civil rights and entangled us further in Vietnam. Now I know just why Bobby was so loved, and so hated. Hated because he could be a bit of a jerk, the consummate politician who had no qualms about using dirty tricks to get his brother elected or using heavy-handed prosecutorial tactics while serving on Joe McCarthy’s staff (WHO KNEW?!?!). The word the author Larry Tye uses time and time again (quoting people who knew Bobby) is ruthless. Tye does not hold back his criticism of Bobby, whom he accuses of writing a self-serving and untrue account of his role in the Cuban Missile Crisis in “Thirteen Days”.
But Bobby was loved because somewhere along the way, he acquired a heart. The book hints that the cause of his transformation was his brother’s assassination. Doris Kearns Goodwin argues that FDR’s suffering at the hands of polio made him much more compassionate to the suffering of others, and I think his brother’s death had a similar effect on Bobby. He brought attention to poverty in our own United States, advocating for an underclass of people that was ignored by every other politician. Tye describes him in his brief presidential campaign as a “reverse demagogue” who told his audiences the exact opposite of what they wanted to hear, causing even the most cynical of political reporters fell in love with him. I did too, and promptly burst into tears on the metro during my morning commute when I got to his own assassination after winning the California primary (spoiler alert).
Much like Obama, Bobby also had a talent for making a good speech, such as “Ripple of Hope” in apartheid South Africa, and the speech where he delivered the news, in an Indianapolis urban ghetto, of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, tying it to his own pain in losing his brother, who was also “killed by a white man.” It’s enough to give you chills, that in such volatile, painful moments, anyone could still appeal to love and common humanity.
But Bobby was loved because somewhere along the way, he acquired a heart. The book hints that the cause of his transformation was his brother’s assassination. Doris Kearns Goodwin argues that FDR’s suffering at the hands of polio made him much more compassionate to the suffering of others, and I think his brother’s death had a similar effect on Bobby. He brought attention to poverty in our own United States, advocating for an underclass of people that was ignored by every other politician. Tye describes him in his brief presidential campaign as a “reverse demagogue” who told his audiences the exact opposite of what they wanted to hear, causing even the most cynical of political reporters fell in love with him. I did too, and promptly burst into tears on the metro during my morning commute when I got to his own assassination after winning the California primary (spoiler alert).
Much like Obama, Bobby also had a talent for making a good speech, such as “Ripple of Hope” in apartheid South Africa, and the speech where he delivered the news, in an Indianapolis urban ghetto, of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, tying it to his own pain in losing his brother, who was also “killed by a white man.” It’s enough to give you chills, that in such volatile, painful moments, anyone could still appeal to love and common humanity.
mglady's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. The author didn’t try to paint Bobby Kennedy in any specific light. Instead, he focused on the progression of his ideologies and his person throughout his tragically short-lived life.
Being a biography it was certainly dense with little to no dialogue. That being said I still found myself turning my way through each page, eager to learn more. I would recommend this for anyone that enjoys biographies.
Being a biography it was certainly dense with little to no dialogue. That being said I still found myself turning my way through each page, eager to learn more. I would recommend this for anyone that enjoys biographies.