A review by dtpsweeney
Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon, by Larry Tye
4.0
It is a testament to the short life of Bobby Kennedy that a ~450 page biography feels like a light treatment of his story. This biography is split into 10 chapters, each of which could have easily been expanded to stand alone as separate books. Nonetheless, this is a well written and researched account of the man -- not merely the politician -- that Bobby Kennedy was. It is expansive and revealing, though not exactly even-handed as it, like so many other Kennedy appraisals, tends to glow rather forgiving. I'd still recommend it to any who would like more than a cursory familiarity with this profound and promising figure from our past whose personal transformation and last messages are sorely missed today.
I will caution that this biography does not seem to offer any particularly new material, interpretation, or contextualization when compared to past treatments of RFK's life (with the exception of some interesting and new, if not essential, interviews with Ethel Kennedy about her husband). It does not argue anything about RFK outside of mainstream understanding, and it is therefore more well-suited as a comprehensive biography for those who are new to detailed accounts of his life.
I will caution that this biography does not seem to offer any particularly new material, interpretation, or contextualization when compared to past treatments of RFK's life (with the exception of some interesting and new, if not essential, interviews with Ethel Kennedy about her husband). It does not argue anything about RFK outside of mainstream understanding, and it is therefore more well-suited as a comprehensive biography for those who are new to detailed accounts of his life.