Tuesday, June 18, 2013

The Patriarch by David Nasaw


I love this biography.

Kennedy was a complex character and Nasaw rips into him.  I hate...to go with the extremes of love and hate...biographies that ignore the negatives of their subject.  Nasaw does not do so and portrays Kennedy as a rounded character, extreme and calculating, not always likable, but real.  I know some people like him (self serving and always on the ask) and I appreciate how Nasaw can delve into those not always likable characteristics and still show us the person behind them.

Kennedy is deeply and richly portrayed, and so are his business and political contacts.  His personal relationships, including his family, as less so.  Which might reflect the man.  Rose Kennedy especially is not treated so well.  I really found myself not liking her in the book.  So be it.

This book is very long but worth every page (I savored them and didn't want it to read).

Reminds me a bit of my idol, Robert Caro.  Not there completely but so close!

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