Bobby Kennedy

Starred review from May 16, 2016
It is difficult to envision anyone getting Robert F. Kennedy more right than biographer Tye (Satchel) does in this superb book. Tye beautifully captures Kennedy’s contradictions, his emergence from under the hard-to-like father to whom he remained forever loyal, and his growth into a public figure killed by an assassin’s bullet. It’s also hard to imagine another biographer framing the subject any differently: Tye depicts Kennedy’s transformation from a callow, ruthless, hypocritical, “godawful disagreeable” man to his era’s “most nostalgia-wrapped figure” of “transcendent good,” someone who shifted as his nation changed. Tye equitably concedes that Kennedy’s detractors have much reason to be tough on the man, and his clear depiction of Kennedy’s many blemishes is just one of the book’s many fine qualities. Another is its wonderful readability. In the end, Tye’s subject stands forth as an admirable man. Yes, he often failed to level with people, hid his feelings, and pursued vendettas (notably against Lyndon Johnson). But as Tye shows, R.F.K. at the end of his life warranted the faith people put in him and came close to being the person his admirers thought him to be. Agent: Jill Kneerim, Kneerim & Williams.

May 15, 2016
A former journalist at the Boston Globe returns with a comprehensive, thesis-driven account of the political career of Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968).Tye (Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero, 2013, etc.) develops the argument that RFK was an evolving human being and politician, a tireless attorney general and senator on whom nothing was lost. The author begins with his association with one McCarthy (Joseph) and ends, more or less, with another (Eugene, whom RFK battled in the 1968 presidential primaries). Relying on countless interviews, including the contributions of RFK's widow, Tye weaves a compelling story of Bobby's changes: his growth from the "ruthless" image his political enemies attached to him to the committed humanitarian, the friend of African-Americans, the enemy of poverty, and the outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War. We see his devoted support of John F. Kennedy's various campaigns, his vigorous performance as attorney general, his devastation after JFK's assassination, his rancorous relationship with Lyndon Johnson. But mostly it's his changes that interest the author. Not the student or scholar that JFK had been, RFK began to read--after the JFK assassination, he read Aeschylus and listened while he shaved to recordings of Shakespeare plays--and to inform himself deeply about the issues. Not a witty, graceful politician like his older brother, RFK worked hard to develop an effective style. Although Tye is a patent admirer, he wonders about RFK's relationship with Marilyn Monroe, and he is also unsure about a possible affair with widow Jackie Kennedy. The author chides RFK for such things as slanting his account of the Bay of Pigs, his perhaps excessive pursuit of Jimmy Hoffa, and his early hawkishness on Vietnam. But the contrary image is clear: a good, if not great man; an unspeakable loss. Richly researched prose that sometimes soars too close to the sun of admiration.

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Starred review from June 1, 2016
The trouble with calling someone iconic is that the truth is often obscured under layers of mythology. Nowhere, perhaps, is that more pertinent than in the legends surrounding Robert F. Kennedy. Those of a certain age remember him as a Don Quixotelike figure tilting at the windmills of poverty, racism, and a prolonged war in Vietnam. Some may be aware that he was the right-hand man for Senator Joseph McCarthy, an arch conservative dedicated to rooting out Communist subversives. How and why did Kennedy morph from one to the other? Was the seasoned politician who ran for president in 1968 that far removed from the eager staff aide associated with such a controversial crusader? Through extensive conversations with Bobby's widow, Ethel, and far-reaching interviews with key aides, colleagues, close friends, and ideological adversaries, Tye (Superman, 2012) unflinchingly illustrates the evolution of a statesman who captured the imagination of a generation and whose assassination galvanized a nation reeling from the losses of Martin Luther King Jr. and, of course, Kennedy's beloved older brother. Even-handed and probing, Tye's perceptive analysis of RFK's career and its impact avoids the hagiographic tone frequently associated with Kennedy biographies to provide a complete portrait of a complex man whose contributions to history were essential and whose potential will remain forever unknowable.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

June 15, 2016

As a reporter for the Boston Globe from 1986 to 2001, Tye (Superman) covered the Kennedy family. Here the author presents a captivating account of the political career of Robert F. Kennedy (1925-68), from his years as a zealous communist hunter for Joe McCarthy through the 1968 presidential campaign during which he was assassinated at age 42. For this state-of-the-art political biography, Tye conducted 400 interviews with people who worked with Kennedy. He also had access to national archives. The author's admiration for his subject shows, but this is no hagiography. He alludes to Kennedy as the father of dirty political tricks for his assault on Hubert Humphrey in the 1960 election, gives Kennedy mixed reviews for his handling of the 1961 Freedom Riders in Alabama while serving as attorney general, and indicts the senator's memoir Thirteen Days as a self-promoting retelling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. While shedding new light on Kennedy's relationships with Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr., Tye ultimately reveals Kennedy as a work in progress who, by the end of his life, had become a beloved advocate for minorities and the poor. VERDICT This absorbing narrative would have been even better if Tye included his summation of Kennedy's legacy. It is a worthy successor to Evan Thomas's Robert Kennedy: His Life. [See Prepub Alert, 1/25/16.]--Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2016

The subtitle might as well be "The Making of a Liberal," because as Tye clarifies, Bobby Kennedy began his public career far to the Right of where it ended, serving as counsel to Sen. Joseph McCarthy, turning tough political operative to get his brother to the presidency, and approving both FBI wiretaps on Martin Luther King Jr. and underhanded moves against Communist Cuba. Tye, an award-winning journalist formerly with the Boston Globe and the New York Times best-selling author of Satchel, draws on exclusive interviews with Kennedy's family and staff and 58 boxes' worth of materials not previously available.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 15, 2016

As a reporter for the Boston Globe from 1986 to 2001, Tye (Superman) covered the Kennedy family. Here the author presents a captivating account of the political career of Robert F. Kennedy (1925-68), from his years as a zealous communist hunter for Joe McCarthy through the 1968 presidential campaign during which he was assassinated at age 42. For this state-of-the-art political biography, Tye conducted 400 interviews with people who worked with Kennedy. He also had access to national archives. The author's admiration for his subject shows, but this is no hagiography. He alludes to Kennedy as the father of dirty political tricks for his assault on Hubert Humphrey in the 1960 election, gives Kennedy mixed reviews for his handling of the 1961 Freedom Riders in Alabama while serving as attorney general, and indicts the senator's memoir Thirteen Days as a self-promoting retelling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. While shedding new light on Kennedy's relationships with Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr., Tye ultimately reveals Kennedy as a work in progress who, by the end of his life, had become a beloved advocate for minorities and the poor. VERDICT This absorbing narrative would have been even better if Tye included his summation of Kennedy's legacy. It is a worthy successor to Evan Thomas's Robert Kennedy: His Life. [See Prepub Alert, 1/25/16.]--Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.