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mpetruce's review against another edition
4.0
I don't read a lot of biographies. And I tend to gravitate toward 19th century history. But this was recommended by a friend and I make it a point to read books I am recommended even if I don't think I'll like it. This book was a pretty even-handed look at RFK. Not a lot of mythologizing and a plenty of warts to go with the good stuff. It;s easy for people to just scoff "Oh, the Kennedys, well, you know how they were." But then they can't exactly tell you how. Great insights.
librarianonparade's review against another edition
5.0
I think Bobby would have been a good president, better than his brother, largely because Bobby cared. JFK was the life-long politician, whereas Bobby was more the crusading type, a reformer. I think Bobby would really have tried to make life better for the poor, the oppressed, the dispossessed, because he identified so strongly with them. I think he would have been a good president. This is a wonderful biography, very well-written and researched. It really shows Bobby at both his best and his worst - and it breaks my heart that he was killed just as he was really coming into his own, just as he was moving out from his brother's shadow and becoming as his own man, as he'd always wanted to be. His entire life, he'd been second or even third-best, behind his elder brothers, always subsuming his own desires to the will of the family, and even after JFK he believed that the crowds that came to see him weren't for him but 'for Jack'. It's a tragedy that just as he was starting to believe in himself, he was murdered. *sniffles*
gh_monroe's review against another edition
5.0
This was a comprevensive account of what it was like to be "A Kennedy" in RFK's formative years. It was quite amazing to realize how timid this lion of Federal Justice started out to be. I found it quite interesting that someone who struggled academically in college and high school would grow into someone with a thirst for knowledge who ultimately, ended up being one of the critical minds in the room at what could have been one of the defining moments in human history.
If you are not interested in history or in the Kennedy saga, you might not find this book as interesting as I did, but if so, you'll rate it very highly.
If you are not interested in history or in the Kennedy saga, you might not find this book as interesting as I did, but if so, you'll rate it very highly.
librarianonparade's review against another edition
5.0
I think Bobby would have been a good president, better than his brother, largely because Bobby cared. JFK was the life-long politician, whereas Bobby was more the crusading type, a reformer. I think Bobby would really have tried to make life better for the poor, the oppressed, the dispossessed, because he identified so strongly with them. I think he would have been a good president. This is a wonderful biography, very well-written and researched. It really shows Bobby at both his best and his worst - and it breaks my heart that he was killed just as he was really coming into his own, just as he was moving out from his brother's shadow and becoming as his own man, as he'd always wanted to be. His entire life, he'd been second or even third-best, behind his elder brothers, always subsuming his own desires to the will of the family, and even after JFK he believed that the crowds that came to see him weren't for him but 'for Jack'. It's a tragedy that just as he was starting to believe in himself, he was murdered. *sniffles*
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