Customer Reviews

Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Famed patriarch Joseph Kennedy Sr.'s granddaughter, Amanda Smith (she is the daughter of Jean Kennedy Smith) did an extraordinary job of collecting missives written by various family members over a period of nearly half a century. The years 1914-1961 are meticulously laid out in militarily neat precision; it is through these letters that readers glean insights into the dynamics of a famous family.

My favorite parts in the book were the letters to, by and about the late Senator Robert Kennedy. Third son and seventh child of patriarch Joseph Kennedy, readers are treated to witness his growth and development, almost from the beginning. A composition he wrote at age 13 describing himself and his preferences is enlightening. One can smile at the boy who strove to keep up with his older siblings revisited in the man who achieved leadership status. From all accounts, Robert Kennedy was a diligent worker; the boy who sought to make himself heard by his siblings and by Joe, Sr. became the man who served as the voice for many. In adult life his voice was one that was very much heard and resounded throughout history. In reading this, it was impossible not to cheer his progress and feel encouraged by what he accomplished in his lifetime.

This is a delightful "peek behind the curtain" into the dynamics of generations of Kennedys.

I loved it.

I have read countless books on the Kennedys and I've got to say this is, by far, one of the most valuable books I've read.

Amanda Smith, who is Joseph P. Kennedy's grandaughter, did a phenomenal job gathering correspondences between Joe Kennedy and family members, dignitaries, colleagues and friends during the years of 1914-1961. The manner in which Smith compiled the letters allows for a smooth and enjoyable read of the book.

I am quite impressed (and thankful!) that Smith meticulously documented and made footnotes of the individuals who were either the recipient or author of a letter or are mentioned in the correspondence - as it provides the reader with a much better understanding of the context of the letter.

I've always had a strong appreciation and interest in reading original documents and writings. Amanda Smith truly did a fantastic job editing the letters and showing a new side of Joe Kennedy which I never saw before.

Definately well worth the cost of the book and most certainly recommended with the highest regard for those who enjoy reading about the Kennedys, political science, or correspondences.

What a nice surprise to see a book about the Kennedy family based on fact. Smith's choice of letters help the reader visualize Joseph Kennedy as father, businessman, and ambassador. These letters are as historically important as they are touching. Smith's work has given us first hand accounts of many great historical events of the 20th century. This book will prove to be an important resource for biographers as well as a wonderful gift to Smith's own family. Highly recommend.

Unfortunately, not many biographies of Joe Kennedy are available, and most of them are written by authors who make no effort to hide their hostility towards him. So it's about time that a balance was brought to the equation, and Amanda Smith has done a fine job of that.

Perhaps a book like this could only be written by a member of the Kennedy family, as most of JPK's personal and business papers remain off limits to researchers at the Kennedy Library.

Those expecting this book to be a whitewash will be pleasantly surprised by how honest this portrayal is (at times disarmingly so) -- Smith certainly does not shy away from the more controversial aspects of his life. Rather, she uses his letters, memos, diaries and unpublished manuscripts to reveal Kennedy's true personality and political beliefs.

As someone who initially approached this book with a healthy skepticism, I must say that Smith's documentation is impeccable; she approaches her subject with the kind of objectivity one would expect from a journalist or academic, not that of a family member trying to protect the legacy of a deceased relative.

While some might think that an 800-page book of letters and documents could make for a boring read, this is not the case here. Actually, this book is quite the page-turner! I honestly couldn't put it down and was hooked from start to finish. In many aspects, "Hostage to Fortune" is better than a traditional biography because there is no room here for outside interpretation by the author. Reading Joe Kennedy in his own words is probably the closest any of us will ever get to understanding this very fascinating, ambitious, opinionated, and complex man.

Highly recommended for serious researchers and all who are interested in how the Kennedy family dynasty came to be.

Amanda Smith does a fair job in assembling a number of letters to, from and about her grandfather, Amb. Joseph P. Kennedy. She does not hold back some of the more unsavory parts of his life, from the affair with Gloria Swanson to the use of racist terms for blacks and disparaging comments about Jews. Her introductary essay is very moving and well written. Certainly this book helps dispel a number of the myths that the sensationalist books on the Kennedy patriarch seem to propel.

And yet there is much more that needs to be done. These can not be all of Kennedy's letters; we know that a number of them remain almost inaccesable to researchers. Furthermore, while some of Joseph Kennedy's public speeches and statements are included (for example his endorsement of FDR in the 1940 campaign from which the book takes its name), a number of key speeches (such as Kennedy's testimony in support of Lend Lease and his radio speech on the same issue from January 1941-speeches that do a great deal to dispel the myth of Kennedy as a pure isolationist) are not included.

Without more access to the Joe Kennedy papers, he will remain a mythical figure, the target for sensationalists and scandal mongers. Kennedy's important role in American life and politics warrant more attention and this collection is not a bad start but much more needs to be done.

This book was interesting in that the words of members of the Kennedy family come alive for the reader. Amanda Smith, Joe Kennedy's granddaughter, did a fantastic job with research to give the reader a background of world events concerning some of the people mentioned in the letters. She also provides a brief summary before each section summarizing the events of that period of time. It must have took her many years to gather all these letters and do her research, but her efforts show on every page and the final product must be very satisfying to her, as it is to the reader. I found it a little slow moving in the section where Joe is Ambassador to Great Britain and he discusses the war and world leaders who are key players. My favorite was reading the letters of the children as they got into their teenage years. Kathleen Kennedy's letters were especially fascinating to me in light of her marriage to a Protestant, which did not go over too well with her mother, Rose. She also describes life in London, where she was the only member of the family who was really loved there and she had so many friends and great experiences while she lived there. Recommended for all Kennedy fans.

This a good book even though very long if you want a good look at sibling relationships of the older children and of them with their parents. Hits some key time periods but leaves out some others which is a bit disappointing but understandle. Would recommend to someone who enjoys long books as well as anyone who liked/;ikes the Kennedy family.

I suppose if you have not read any legitimate studies about the Kennedy's you might find this book interesting, but it really is a very selective and misleading account of a family that has had a major impact on the USA. While it is good to see these letters published, I suspect that there are hundreds more which will never see the light of day since they would paint a much more balanced picture of this family. Joseph P. Kennedy was a very rich, very influential pol in Democrat Party politics. He was also someone who got in bed with the Mafia, which probably led to the death of JFK, got into bed with numerous Hollywood sluts, which gave his sons their lack of a moral compass, was a physical coward when it came to dealing with Fascism, and a bigot who didn't really have a problem with Hitler's "final solution" in getting rid of the Jews he hated from the core of his being. But he did a good job of using his millions to steal the 1960 election through voter fraud to get his son elected. I suspect that he never gave a thought to whether it was all worth it while seeing his sons buried. The most interesting thing about these letters however is that his remaining spawn, Teddy, is really the apple of his father's eye. A total pol, with zero understanding of the need for some view of the future through something other than a politician's lens, JPK Sr. was a great teacher for Teddy's willingness to turn a blind eye to evil and run for cover when the going got tough. A revealing book when you consider that the editing done was to put this family in the best light. But at least it is a start, and future revelations will show this book to be the unbalanced white-wash that it is.