The Founding Father: The Story of Joseph P. Kennedy : A Study in Power, Wealth and Family Ambition [Paperback]

Richard J. Whalen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1993

An invaluable book... it approaches the members of the Kennedy family as denizens of history and not of mythology...Whalen makes many fascinating contributions to history. --Chicago Tribune

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fine and Hauntingly detailed, evoking the image of a man whose most stunning characteristic was the naked and sustained force of his want.... What makes the story so great is simply that Joseph Kennedy is a great literary character, a character in the oldest tradition, a flawed figure on a grand stage, moving toward his destiny unaware of his flaws. It is precisely because Mr. Whalen recognizes Kennedy as a literary character that this book is so brilliantly memorable." -- Joan Didion, National Review

"I think it is one of the great modern biographies. It stands with The Making of the President by Theodore White, head and shoulders above all the literature that has been written about the Kennedy Family." -- Iain Macleod, The Spectator, London

About the Author

Richard J. Whalen is a former Senior Editor of The Wall Street Journal and Fortune, and the author of six books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 551 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing; 1St Edition edition (May 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895267330
• ISBN-13: 978-0895267337
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,374,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the kennedys are viewed favorably, July 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Founding Father: The Story of Joseph P. Kennedy : A Study in Power, Wealth and Family Ambition (Paperback)

oddly, you may be surprised about the kennedy's of massachusetts when you finish Whalen's work. It is possible that many have been quick to judge the family in a negative manner. Whalen, however, certainly points out Joseph Kennedy's very wonderful points including love of his family and gracious help for mankind. His charity for a man who wandered into his office off of the streets of Boston having just lost his son-and Mr. Kennedy buying the man a suit and paying for the funeral of that son-is particularly touching. Also of great interest to anyone interested in making a buck is how Mr. Kennedy made so much money in so many different arenas-sold out and took his profit on to the next venture-a sixth sense he had for making big money! author whalen points out this was almost always the case except his keeping ownership of Chicago's Merchandise Mart in the Kennedy name up, I believe, until currently-1998. Buy this work and then be prepared to not put it down for 48! ! hrs.! Of added interest was a historical look at how Joseph Kennedy got into B grade motion picture producing in Hollywood in the early days.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good PR Job, July 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Founding Father: The Story of Joseph P. Kennedy : A Study in Power, Wealth and Family Ambition (Paperback)

Back in AD 1964, the sordid details of Joe Kennedy's life were kept secret. So what you have here is a very incomplete picture. But, if you want to understand his stock trading or his ambassadorship to Great Britain, then this book is for you. But compared to Kearns-Goodwin and Kessler, this is very lop-sided.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too Dry to Read, June 29, 2005

By 

Matthew D. Felix (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Founding Father: The Story of Joseph P. Kennedy : A Study in Power, Wealth and Family Ambition (Paperback)

This book reads like a a middle school textbook. I found it impossible to read more than a page w/o falling asleep. After a chapter,I gave up. If you want to learn about Joe K.,look elsewhere.