The Kennedys - by Thomas Maier (Paperback)

About the Book

New in paperback, this portrait of the country's favorite political dynasty as an Irish Catholic family offers a new understanding of how immigrant experience shaped both their stunning success and spectacular tragedies.

Book Synopsis

For 150 years, the story of the Kennedy family has been inextricably linked to their heritage as Irish-Catholic immigrants--from Patrick Kennedy's 1848 arrival in Brahmin Boston from County Wexford Ireland, to Joseph Kennedy's Vatican ties and Jackie's thoughts on faith and sorrow, to Kennedy-confidante Father McSorley's religious counsel following the assination of JFK. Through groundbreaking interviews with Senator Edward Kennedy and other Kennedy family and friends, acclaimed journalist Thomas Maier casts the Kennedy saga in an entirely new light, showing how their Irish Catholic heritage influenced their public and private decisions. Released to coincide with a documentary adapted from the book, this edition features a new preface, in which Maier explores the dynamics of the three brothers, Ted Kennedy's legacy, and the 2008 presidential elections that have been touched in so many ways by the Kennedy family.

Review Quotes

"A colossal work...The Kennedys is a pleasure to read and a legitimate page-turner."--BookReporter.com

"A hefty, well documented, glowing account of the Kennedys as a prime example of Irish Catholic experience in America. He paints a vivid picture of the anti-Irish, anti-Catholic sentiment that faced immigrants with brogues."--Kirkus Reviews

"The door is open and the time is right for another serious, multigenerational history of America's most fabled clan. Newsday reporter Maier answers the need quite well with this fascinating account."--Publishers Weekly

"There is a fascinating, five-generation story to tell here, and Maier does it well...this book reads like a metaphor for the Irish immigrant experience itself."--Providence Journal

"This extremely readable biography not only examines one particular immigrant family but also sheds light on the larger story of Irish Americans from the early twentieth century onward."--Booklist

"You can't understand the Kennedys unless you look at their Irish Catholic roots. Thomas Maier has gone far beyond earlier Kennedy biographers and historians to reveal ties that shaped the Kennedys long after they left Ireland. And he's done it in a lively, readable way."--Evan Thomas, author of Robert Kennedy: His Life

About the Author

Thomas Maier is the author of The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings, which was adapted for Warner Home Video DVD, and the critically acclaimed Dr. Spock, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. He is a special writer at Newsday. He lives in Long Island, New York.
www.thomasmaierbooks.com