The Kennedys: Dynasty and Disaster, 1848-1983

I found Davis' book to be one of the best books written about the Kennedy dynasty. It was superbly written and highly engrossing. The book begins by analyzing the early lives of the Kennedys beginning with Patrick Kennedy (Joseph Kennedy's grandfather). He describes their travels from Ireland to their arrival in the US. Davis acknowledges that there is not much information on the early Kennedys, but writes on the history based on what typically happened during that time frame. We see the natural growth of the Kennedy clan over many years. The book really begins to pick up when Joseph Kennedy comes of age and marries Rose. Then, of course, we are introduced to the rest of the family and especially to the exploits of JFK. The book deals heavily with the rise of JFK to his ascendancy as the President. Davis discusses at length the assassination of JFK. Davis doesn't go into too much detail about RFK, but makes up for it in discussing Teddy, Chappaquiddick, and his pursuit of the presidency. Now, the negatives. I don't think he goes into enough detail surrounding the exploits of Joseph P. Kennedy. The chapters discussing the life of Jackie Bouvier seemed out of place. I skipped these three chapters as they did nothing for me. There was a lot of discussion about the theories behind the assassination of JFK and who could have been responsible. It was fascinating reading (not necessarily a negative, but maybe a bit too much for the book). I felt that Davis glossed over RFK and his contributions. Nevertheless, the book was excellent. To compliment this book, I recommend "Sins of the Father" (about Joseph Kennedy) by Ronald Kessler and "RFK and His Times" by A. Schlesinger. Combined, these three books adequately cover the Kennedys.