Review by Choice Review
American political history of the 1960s is on the whole written from the perspective of Kennedys. So it is no surprise that very little in this crisp and competent account of Robert Kennedy's life departs from the gospel as laid down by a full generation of pro-Kennedy journalists and camp-followers, who, indeed, supply much of the author's source material. In a small deviation, Thomas, a Newsweek editor, permits a tiny element of skepticism to creep into his text that Robert Kennedy would have been the Democratic nominee in 1968, but he relies too much on Kennedy sources here, too. The breathtaking success of the Kennedy family at controlling what is written about them continues. Until their grip relaxes, this sort of book--cool, not too apologetic, well written--is the best we can expect. N. W. Polsby University of California, Berkeley
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Expect to see Thomas, assistant managing editor of Newsweek in Washington and a frequent talking head on the DC chat shows, on the promotional circuit for this new biography of RFK. Thomas coauthored The Wise Men (1986) with Walter Isaacson and has written biographies of Washington power broker Edward Bennett Williams (The Man to See, 1991) and CIA spooks (The Very Best Men, 1995). He steers a difficult course here, as he observes in a brief introduction to his lengthy source notes, between "hagiography and conspiracy theory," drawing on new interviews with those who knew Kennedy as well as the voluminous written record of his life and political career. Friends and foes have spun enough myths about RFK to bewilder the casual reader; Thomas sets out to examine the evidence, portraying a complex man who changed in significant ways over the course of his 42 years. In terms of Kennedy's character and personality, Thomas' analysis inevitably psychologizes RFK's position in the noisy, aggressive Kennedy clan and then explores the devastating impact of JFK's assassination. In tracing the middle Kennedy's public career, Thomas stresses his use of back channels, going around the chain of command, to obtain information he (or his brother) needed. A solid, judicious life of a politician whose tragic death inspired a generation of what-if history. --Mary Carroll
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Thomas has made a career writing about Washington insiders (he was co-author, with Walter Isaacson, of The Wise Men). A high-ranking editor at Newsweek, Thomas (an insider himself) has now written a nuanced biography of one of the 20th century's most iconic insiders. Although there are no startling revelations in this capably written, thick book, there is a lot of new information, thanks to the increasing openness of Kennedy's surviving colleagues and the new availability of oral histories, RFK's personal files, declassified national security documents and other sources. As a result, Thomas offers an illumination of the man's failings as well as his strengths, and unravels the complex knot of relationships within the Kennedy family. Portraying RFK as a man whose "house had many mansions," Thomas calls him "the lucky one"Ähe was raised in the shadow of his brothers, and his passion-filled life shined a light into "the family cave" of secrets. Throughout, Thomas highlights the contradictions of Kennedy's personaÄhe was an extraordinarily wealthy individual who could act spoiled one day, then express empathy with the have-nots on the next; he was a devoted, sometimes around-the-clock protector of his often wayward older brother, John, but still established his own career; he was shy but sought out publicity; and he was an enthusiastic family man who ran for the presidency despite its obvious risks. Though primarily a tribute to a man whose potential for greatness was cut short, Thomas's book sheds new light on a manÄand an era, and a familyÄabout whom Americans will probably never know the whole truth. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Since 1996, a number of fine books have investigated aspects of the life and legacy of this enigmatic political idol. If the Kennedys are America's royal family, then Robert F. Kennedy was the tribune of the poor. He is well served by this gracefully written, thoroughly researched, and accessible popular biography by Thomas, the assistant managing editor of Newsweek. This study is not as detailed as Arthur Schlesinger Jr.'s uncritical Robert Kennedy and His Times (LJ 8/78) or James Hilty's Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector (LJ 4/15/98), which is the first of two volumes. But Thomas's narrative, skillfully woven from numerous interviews, vividly reveals a very human Kennedy struggling to come to terms with his brother's assassination, his role in wiretapping Martin Luther King Jr., and his fatal decision to take on Eugene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey in the 1968 Democratic primary. Thomas's chilling account of the Cuban Missile Crisis shows Kennedy at his best, while his portrayal of his feuds with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and Cuban president Fidel Castro reveal him at his worst. Thomas convincingly debunks a number of the myths that envelop Kennedy. Highly recommended for public libraries.DKarl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Newsweek assistant managing editor Thomas (The Very Best Men, 1995, etc.) enlivens his engrossing RFK biography with fresh interviews and the use of previously restricted sources. Unlike his princely elder brothers, Robert Kennedy was not blessed with ease or grace, nor could he bask, as they did, in the ambitious attentions of their powerful father. RFK did, however, possess courage and determination in prodigious degrees, and Thomas stresses that it was through the exercise of these qualities that RFK won for himself a place of honor, first in his family, and finally in American politics. Thomas paints a moving portrait of RFK as a boy, the runt of his family and a poor student, fighting determinedly to win the admiration of his father and of his elder brothers, all of whom he regarded with reverence. Through these struggles RFK gained a feeling of fellowship with outsiders and underdogs, which would be most famously displayed during his tragic campaign for the presidential nomination. His ferocity and determination were also put at the service of elder brother John, whose political campaigns he managed and whom he would serve as Attorney General and most trusted adviser. John had once dismissed his brooding little brother as Black Robert, but he eventually came to appreciate his loyalty and his dogged determination to win. After Johns assassination, RFK devoted years to mourning him. Although Thomas conveys the powerful sense of hope RFKs campaign awakened, he does not speculate on what RFK might have accomplished if hed avoided the assassins bullet. Instead, he ends his account with a description of RFKs eloquently simple gravewhich is fitting, since it is from the unfulfilled promise of a candidate who combined determined courage with a gentle concern for underdogs that the fascination with RFK mainly springs. A compelling re-telling of one of the saddest and most intriguing life stories in American politics.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
