Synopses & Reviews
The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys is the sweeping history of two immigrant families, their rise to become potent political dynasties, and the marriage that brought the two together to found the most powerful family in America. Drawing on unprecedented access to the family and its private papers, Pulitzer Prize-winning and bestselling historian Doris Kearns Goodwin takes readers from John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald's baptism in 1863 through his reign as mayor of Boston, to the inauguration of his grandson as president ninety-eight years later. Each character emerges unforgettably: the young, shrewdly political Rose Fitzgerald; her powerful, manipulative husband, Joseph P. Kennedy; and the "Golden Trio" of Kennedy children -- Joe Jr., Kathleen, and Jack -- whose promise was eclipsed by the family's legacy of tragedy.
Through the prism of two self-made families, Goodwin reveals the ambitions and the hopes that form the fabric of the American nation.
Review
"There have been many books about the Kennedys. This is the best." Newsday
Review
"A rich tapestry of brigands and dreamers, hustlers and stoics, cynics and idealists, and a rousing good story." USA Today
Review
"Rarely has this familiar saga seemed so fresh and dramatic. Rarely have its characters been so alive and individual. Rarely has popular history rung so authentic." The New York Times
Review
"The stories are wonderful....She has captured much of the magic and caught all the sorrows as well." George V. Higgins, The Washington Post
About the Author
DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN won the Pulitzer Prize for No Ordinary Time and is the author of the bestselling Wait Till Next Year and Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. A political analyst for NBC and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, she lives in Concord, Massachusetts.
Table of Contents
Contents
Preface
BOOK ONE: THE FITZGERALDS
(1863-1915)
- The Immigrant World
- Pageants and Processions
- "The Other Boston"
- Great Expectations
- Apprentice to the Boss
- A Long Courtship
- The Boy Politician
- A Most Energetic Mayor
- "Eyes Full of Laughter"
- "Guilty as Charged"
- A Child of Mary
- The Mayor's Daughter
- Harvard College '12
- "Banking...could lead a man anywhere."
- The Balance Shifts
BOOK TWO: THE KENNEDYS
(1915-1940)
- A Stranger Among Friends
- Learning the Tricks of the Trade
- Separation and Resolve
- "The Wall Street Racket"
- "This is...a gold mine."
- Growing Up Kennedy
- The Young Mogul
- "Gloria needs handling..."
- The Queen Kelly Curse
- Riding the Roosevelt Special
- Policing Wall Street
- The Model Son and the Pied Piper
- Children of Privilege
- Tempting the Gods
- Arrival in London
- At the Court of St. James's
- "Peace for Our Time"
- The Long Weekend
- "Hostages to Fortune"
BOOK THREE: THE GOLDEN TRIO
(1941-1961)
- The Circle Is Broken
- "Hero in the Pacific"
- Forbidden Romance
- "Now it's all over."
- Shadowboxing
- The Young Congressman
- The Lone Survivor
- "Shooting for a Star"
- Triumphant Defeat
- Burying the Religious Issue
- A Tip of the Hat
Notes Bibliography
Index