The House of Kennedy

By James Patterson and Cynthia Fagen, Little, Brown and Company, 2020 by, 433 pages
Reveiwed by David Kern, march 17, 2021

If you are a Kennedyphile, you might know much of what is revealed in this book.

But for me, this was an entertaining yet often depressing read, as it reminds of the triumphs and the tragedies of the storied family.

It’s a crash course on the Kennedy clan.

The book is told in segments of its most famous members, starting with the patriarch, Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr.

His motto: “Win at all costs.”

We learn of him becoming rich off the liquor business, getting an appetite for politics, and becoming a banker and a power broker.

His empire extends from Boston to Hollywood, where he becomes a studio head. Kennedy is instrumental in bringing the talkies to theaters. The book details how he adds millions to his wealth, and his affair with film star Gloria Swanson.

We now know one thing: He is ruthless.

Eventually, Joe becomes the Ambassador to Great Britain, and his brood of nine are celebrated in London. The authors quote Will Swift, who remarked, “The Kennedys were the royal family England wanted to have.”

One of a multitude of the family’s miseries involves daughter Rosemary. Her birth comes in 1918 during the Spanish flu pandemic. The doctors are busy with the dying and cannot get to the mother, Rose Kennedy, but the baby is coming. Waiting for the doctor, a nurse actually pushes the baby’s head back into the womb, apparently depriving it of oxygen.

The girl is born, and is beautiful, but problems are in her future. Labeled retarded, her behavior at 23 is considered erratic. Joe Sr. thinks a lobotomy will cure her. The surgery is a tragic mistake and Rosemary is left barely able to speak with the mental capacity of a preschooler.

She is sent to St. Coletta’s School for Exceptional Children in Wisconsin where she will spend most of the life.

A World War II crash during a mission takes the life of the eldest son, Joe Jr., who his father called the “star of our family.” Another air crash in Europe takes the life of Joe’s sister, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy. She lost a brother and a husband, killed in the war, within a month.

The other sections highlight the lives of JFK, Bobby, Ted, the Kennedy cousins, Jackie, and JFK Jr. Of course, there is fascinating insight about crimes and indiscretions, sex, trials, scandals, society’s elite and more tragedy.

The Kennedys and related families were so assured of their greatness that cousin Chris Lawford is quoted as saying, “We were all, every one of us, raised to be president.”

Author Patterson says he is the “world’s best-selling author and most trusted storyteller.”

The book is well-sourced, with 11 pages of notes.