Kennedys: Third Generation [Mass Market Paperback]

BARBARA /SCHWARZ GIBSON (Author), Barbara Gibson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1999

This is the Kennedy Family as you've never seen them before. Their name is synonymous with power and privilege. No other American family has known the public scrutiny of the Kennedys. And now the reputation of the Kennedy name rests on the shoulders of its third generation. Includes never before seen family photos, and a new chapter on JFK Jr.'s tragic death.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Perhaps emblematic of their stature within the family, the third generation of Kennedys receives concentrated attention in just the final third of this memoir, with Joseph, Rose and their offspring dominating the rest of the book. And at that, the scuttlebutt here is familiar. Even the insider info that Gibson, who was Rose's secretary from 1968-1978, offers is hardly news: Rose punished her children by wacking them with a wooden coat hanger; Joseph purchased some 40,000 copies of his son John's treatise Why England Slept to make it a bestseller in 1940. And if Rose and Joe were rotten parents, the second generation was even lousier, according to Gibson, who takes them to task for their indifference to their children. After parading a gang of brats, Gibson, writing with freelancer Schwarz, ultimately grants her imprimatur to a few of the 29 grandchildren who as adults she praises for giving substance to the notion of public service that to their parents was only a matter of image-making. Among them are Mary Kerry Cuomo, Bobby Kennedy Jr. and his brother Michael. There are good marks also for JFK's two offspring and Maria Shriver. Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

THE GOOD. THE BAD. THE OUTRAGEOUS...AND THE CURSED.

Their name is synonymous with power and privilege. Sex and scandal. No American family has known the public scrutiny of the Kennedys. And now the reputation of the Kennedy name rests on the shoulders of its third generation.

JOHN, JR.'S LIFE, LOVES, CAREER, MARRIAGE TO CAROLYN BESSETTE, AND THEIR UNTIMELY DEATH

As personal secretary to Rose Kennedy, Barbara Gibson has had access to all three generations of the Kennedy clan and been privy to goings on at Hyannisport and Palm Beach. In this fascinating, tell-all book, she and co-writer Ted Schwarz give us an insider's look at the shocking scandals, extraordinary triumphs, unparalleled tragedies and terrible disgraces, both public and private, that have created one of the most influential dynasties in America-and defined its next generation.

DISCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND:
* The Kennedy connection to the unsolved murder of a Connecticut teenager
* The William Kennedy Smith rape trial
* The Hollywood Kennedys: the Lawfords, the Shrivers, and the Schwarzeneggers
* The indiscreet love affairs, abuses of sex, drugs and power, and the ruthless political manipulations that have tarnished the Kennedy charisma forever

THIS IS THE KENNEDY FAMILY AS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE.
Includes Intimate Family Photos!

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 462 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786010266
• ISBN-13: 978-0786010264
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,151,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > United States
  • #48 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Rich & Famous
  • #61 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Political

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Watching The Younger Generations Self-destruct, January 10, 2001

By 

Rosemary Brunschwyler (Homewood, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kennedys: Third Generation (Mass Market Paperback)

In spite of the title, a good portion of the book is devoted to a repetition of familiar family history centering on Joe, Rose, Jack, Bobby and Teddy. This book is not friendly to the Kennedys. It will be most interesting to those who enjoy watching members of the younger Kennedy generations self-destruct.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mean Spirited, Critical, and Irritating, July 29, 2001

By 

D. Rizzo (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kennedys: Third Generation (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read and enjoyed Barbara Gibson's story about working with Rose Kennedy during the matriarch's later years -- and the related stories of the fun and foibles of the clan's grandchildren -- I anticipated a more in-depth chronicle here about the lives and significant contributions and problems of the grandchildren-generation of America's Kennedy clan.

It was a bloodbath.

Whereas Gibson sounds as though she enjoyed her job despite the frustrations of working in such self-centered and affluent milieu in her book about Rose, this book presents those same grandchildren as selfish, snobbish, hedonistic hellcats with thorough disregard for the lives of those around them... resulting from their sub-par parenting courtesy of their abused, neglected, drug-addicted folks and hell-bent-on-success grandparents.

This is a textbook of intergenerational blame.

The redeeming qualities of this book include its attempt at even handedness (for example, the author does note that with few exceptions, Maria Shriver did in fact earn her journalistic distinction on her own... and that Caroline and John Kennedy were basically good children, exceptions to the Kennedy rule) and its historical validity; based on my experience reading every other Kennedy biography I can get my hands on, most of Gibson's factual information is accurate.

However, allegations that Rosemary Kennedy never was retarded ring false to me (Gibson claims Rosemary was merely unacceptably mediocre as well as dyslexic... seems to me that other Kennedy children were similarly underendowed in priority areas, but no one wanted to lobotomize THEM -- except maybe Gibson herself). The word "hate" and its relative "hatred" are flung around with reckless abandon, classifying everything from Ethel's feelings about her son David to Rose's reaction to Kym to Jackie's response to John Jr.'s potential acting career.

The author truly seems to hate this family, to use her already overused adjective. Obviously, she anticipated a windfall of money to make such a distasteful book worth her time, or maybe her co-author bewitched her... but there are more judicious Kennedy biographies out there, ones that manage to highlight accomplishments of this very accomplished family without seeming to relish their weaknesses, proclivities, deviations, or vulnerabilities.

Get this from the library.

3.0 out of 5 stars If This One Was A Friend the Kennedy's Dont Need More Enemies, July 22, 2005

By 

Mrs. M "Evil ThrivesWhen Good Men Do Nothing" (Staten Island New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kennedys: Third Generation (Mass Market Paperback)

Wow, I was a little suprized at this book.I like other are semi intrigued by the Kennedy's( I go through spurts LOL) I thought that Barbara Gibson would write a true story about the family since she was so intimatley connected to them. This was really horrible!(I can understand why some of the Kennedy's don't read any books about their family after this book)She had nothing nice to say about one Kennedy...Caroline and John like the rest of our generation maybe tried out drugs(pot,ups,diet pills)but certainly were not drug addicts as it seems to allude to in the book. Caroline and John(RIP) seemed to be brought up very well. Even if you did not like Jackie, she raised two good, solid adults who by all outward appearances seem humble. So what Caroline tried to get to the head of an ice cream line by using her name....What KID wouldn't try that if it might work? LOL Somehow I dont see her doing this once she became an adult. I cant even picture her trying to cut the line, she seems like a very dignified lady, as was her mother. Ditto Maria Shriver. I saw an intimate portrait of her and she too seems humble.She was 17 when she got a little annoyed at Barbara Gibson because she would not let Maria drive Granny's car..C'mon this is the best you have on Maria, and you label her a brat. I dont see her shoving people out of the way either. What they did as kids we all did, just on a smaller stage and a smaller scale. I was a brat from 13 to about 18 and I am super glad no one is writing about me.I do feel sorry for Ethel Kennedy. From several different books she sounded obnoxious from the word go...talk about power going to your head..and you never hear any real positive stories about her children, yet I am sure some of them have contributed to the world at large. Ethel could have learned a thing or two about parenting from Jackie and Eunice Shriver. Even poor Sarge Shriver is attacked in this book as a snob!(Maybe he appeared snobby so he could not be misquoted, and he kept his mouth shut) Poor man. Anyway if you want to read a book that tears down this family as much as possible, this is the book to buy (LOL), otherwise save your money and buy one that would give a fair picture overall.