RFK: A Candid Biography of Robert F. Kennedy [Hardcover]

C. David Heymann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

With the assassination of his brother, Robert Kennedy inherited the hopes and aspirations of a bereft nation adopting his brother's political legacy in what became a personal quest for vindication and redemption. A highly successful and controversial political player in his own right, RFK was on the verge of gaining the Democratic Presidential nomination in the last year of his life. His assassination in 1968 at the age of 43 felled a man who had come to represent the impossible hopes and ideals of a just political system. But who was this complex man? In this definitive work, master researcher and bestselling author of celebrity biographies C. David Heymann has exposed Kennedy's inner contradictions, the machinations of his political career, his private liaisons, his enemies, and his lovers. The book is filled with major revelations, including new details about: RFK's relationship with Jackie Kennedy after JFK's death; his sexual involvement with various movie stars; what really happened with Marilyn Monroe; and his dealings with J. Edgar Hoover, Roy Cohn, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jimmy Hoffa, and various notorious Mafia figures. Heymann spent over five years researching this book, interviewing over a thousand friends, family members, foes, political aides, and former employees of RFK, and gathering never-before-released documents from the FBI, the CIA, and Scotland Yard, among others. The result is a fascinating portrait of an American icon whose life embraced triumph and tragedy, deception and intrigue, power and passion.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Orgies in the White House pool, sadomasochistic sex with prostitutes, abuse of prescription drugs--if the Kennedy brothers had been forced to deal with an independent counsel investigation, the American people would likely still be plowing through their videotaped testimony. But in their heyday, even a political enemy like Jimmy Hoffa considered their personal lives off-limits, so gossip lovers have had to wait a few decades for the lurid details. Aptly subtitled A Candid Biography of Robert F. Kennedy, this lengthy tome actually includes fairly substantive coverage of RFK's political activities as well as plenty of dish. Although the author notes that he worked on RFK's 1968 presidential campaign, the book is not notable for his empathy with his subject (unless you count comments like "Bobby wasn't so much into bimbos as his two brothers were"). However, Heymann's heavy reliance on quotes from interviews--many with individuals whose motives and veracity he never analyzes--does give an intimate sense of the younger Kennedy brother's personality: competitive, aggressive, not nearly as charming as Jack, but arguably a lot more thoughtful. The portrait of Bobby that emerges here is not pretty, but it's certainly vivid. --Wendy Smith

From Library Journal

Is there a TV miniseries in the offing? The author's best-selling biographies of Jackie, Liz, and Barbara Hutton all made it to the small screen.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 596 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; 1St Edition edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525942173
• ISBN-13: 978-0525942177
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #796,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( K ) > Kennedy, Robert

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Truth over Myth, November 26, 2001

By 

Bill Almond (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: RFK: A Candid Biography of Robert F. Kennedy (Hardcover)

As an Irish Catholic from the city of Boston, I have grown up with the Kennedy's and their mystique. I have never been a fan of either Jack or Teddy, or their father, Joe, for that matter. However, I can honestly say that I have always respected and admired Bobby. I grew up in the 70's and 80's. I only know of Teddy's escapades first hand. Even so, I always felt that it was rather obvious that Bobby was the worker/brains of the family. This book went a long way in firming up that notion.

I must say I am always amused by the Kennedy supporter who simply refuses to see that family for what it was/is. C. David Heyman's book shows us the Good, the Bad, and, the UGLY. Yes, Bobby did a lot of good, but unfortunately, he did some self serving bad too. He, like the rest of his family was human. He had his weaknesses. This book gave me a greater understanding of the inner battles that Bobby waged within himself. In my view this helps to augment Bobby's stature for it is reality not some ridiculously held to notion by individuals who cling to a fantasy. A myth that was never close to the reality of this world.

Bobby Kennedy was a decent man who attempted to do decent things for people he would never know or meet. He had a real developed sense of justice and the greatness of this country. However, he was a weak man when it came to controling his darker self. He helped to create a myth that became larger than life and at the same time create a permissivesness that led to the weakening of his principles by those that would carry the banner after him. His family's sense of entitlement is his greatest failing. C. David Heyman wasn't afraid to get the information that runs counter to the majority of information out there that the gatekeepers of the Kennedy Legacy don't want you to see.

Heyman does a wonderful job in researching all the family histories that would help to shape Bobby's world and the Kennedy Family as it exists today. You'll learn not only about the Kennedys but the Skakels, the Shrivers and the rest of the extended family. This I found to be fascinating.

I applaud Heyman's efforts and add his work to the other biographies I own on one of the most enigmatic figures of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disgraceful, March 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: RFK: A Candid Biography of Robert F. Kennedy (Hardcover)

This is tabloid trash! Anyone who reads it to better understand RFK will be sorely disappointed because all this book does is regurgitate a lot of rumors,lies, and innuendos.This is drivel posing as scholarship and Heymann should be ashamed of himself. Take a huge miss.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars shameless, August 3, 2002

By 

Philip Brouwer "philip" (Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: RFK: A Candid Biography of Robert F. Kennedy (Hardcover)

I will anyone advise not to buy this book. Mister David Heymann did a bad job. He tells a lot 'fantastic' stories -but fails to relate all this gossiplike stories to sources and notes. So there is no way that anyone can check the truthfulness of all the things that are mentioned in this book. So the conclusion must be: very, very unreliable. But I don't think that will bother mister Heymann anyway. As long as he get paid, he even will write a book in which mother Theresa is having an affair with the pope, I presume.