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Robert Kennedy and His Times
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., chronicles the short life of the Kennedy family's second presidential hopeful in "a story that leaves the reader aching for what cannot be recaptured" (Miami Herald). Schlesinger's account vividly recalls the forces that shaped Robert Kennedy, from his position as the third son of a powerful Irish Catholic political clan to his concern for issues of social justice in the turbulent 1960s. ROBERT KENNEDY AND HIS TIMES is "a picture of a deeply compassionate man hiding his vulnerability, drawn to the underdogs and the unfortunates in society by his life experiences and sufferings" (Los Angeles Times).
1088 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
456 books189 followersArthur Meier Schlesinger Jr., born Arthur Bancroft Schlesinger, was a Pulitzer Prize recipient and American historian and social critic whose work explored the liberalism of American political leaders including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. He served as special assistant and "court historian" to President Kennedy from 1961 to 1963. He wrote a detailed account of the Kennedy Administration, from the transition period to the president's state funeral, titled A Thousand Days. In 1968, he actively supported the presidential campaign of Senator Robert F. Kennedy until Kennedy's assassination in the Ambassador Hotel on June 5, 1968, and wrote the biography Robert Kennedy and His Times several years later.
He popularized the term "imperial presidency" during the Nixon administration by writing the book The Imperial Presidency.
His father was also a well-known historian.
He popularized the term "imperial presidency" during the Nixon administration by writing the book The Imperial Presidency.
His father was also a well-known historian.
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December 16, 2022
Robert Kennedy and His Times by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. was first published in 1978, but in my hands, I hold the beatiful Fortieth Anniversary Edition 2018 and winner of the National Book Award. It has a beautiful introduction by Michael Beschloss. And his most poignant words is that one is about to read a book about a close and devoted friend doing an excellent job of showing us those qualities: Robert Kennedy's compassion and idealism; his concern for civil rights and the dispossessed; his hatred of corruption; his demands for a carefully crafted foreign policy, and his sense of humor and irony. And Schlesinger generously acknowledges the generosity of Ethel Kennedy in permitting him unrestricted access to the papers of Robert F. Kennedy, as well as the Kennedy family permitting him access to the collection of family papers.
This is a book that touches on the biography of the Kennedy family beginning with the patriarch Joseph Kennedy. There is a large part of the book that is devoted to the relationship between the two brothers, Jack and Bobby. Although they were separated by many years, they later formed a very strong bond, never stronger than when Bobby ran the victorious campaign for Jack Kennedy at the end of 1951 when he challenged popular Republican senator, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. in Massachusetts. It was at this point that John Kennedy realized the tremendous ability and talent of his brother. And also he realized how important Bobby would be in his campaign for the presidency of the United States and in his administration. Schlessinger takes us through the first three years of Kennedy's presidency exploring all of the issues that were addressed by this administration, including the Bay of Pigs, the critical Cuban Missile Crisis, and the beginnings of the Vietnam conflict. As all of these issues were being dealt with by this young administration, it became apparent that there were decided differences. Contrary to what most believed, Robert Kennedy was a man of poetry and idealism reflected so poignantly in this quote:
And then that tragic day in Dallas, November 22, 1963 when lives were upended by the horror, shock and pain of the assassination of our young, promising, and vital president. Robert Kennedy was notified while at Hickory Hill with his family by J. Edgar Hoover that his brother was dead. In the aftermath of the bringing back of the president's body, his shattered widow Jacqueline Kennedy, and the newly sworn-in president, Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy not only handled all of the arrangements but he still found time to write letters to each of his children. Discipline and duty summoned him to the occasion but this was a desparately wounded man. It was observed by his father's nurse, Rita Dallas, that as he made his way through the haze of pain he brought other sufferers insight and relief.
Before the convention in Atlantic City in 1964, President Johnson was still unsure about the security of his nomination but seeing no signs of a Kennedy insurrection, Johnson and Humphrey had secured the nomination. But there was still a tribute scheduled for John Kennedy with a film that Robert Kennedy was to introduce. Jacqueline Kennedy had given Bobby a quote from'Romeo and Juliet to include as follows:
As the war in Vietnam, continued to escalate under President Johnson, one was forced to reflect back to the administration of John Kennedy who had once said privately that he thought the United States had been "overcommitted" in Southeast Asia. These words are particularly poignant and relevant:
Robert Kennedy remained with the Johnson administration for quite a while, the reasons clear in this quote:
But as the war in Vietnam escalated, Robert Kennedy eventually he felt that he had to break with the administration and speak out on the issue of Vietnam. Kennedy believed that Johnson was hell-bent on smashing his way to military victory and indifferent to its human consequences. A wonderful quote reflecting the differences between the beliefs of Johnson and Kennedy:
And so President Lyndon Johnson was not surprised at the announcement when Robert Kennedy declared his candiadacy for president in the upcoming 1968 election running against Senator Eugene McCarthy as well. Johnson told his biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin that he felt that he was being chased on all sides by a giant stampeded but the thing that he had feared the most was that "Robert Kennedy had openly announced his intention to reclaim the throne in the memory of his brother. And the American people, swayed by the magic of the name, were dancing in the streets."
Robert Kennedy learned of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis while he was enroute to a campaign rally in Indianapolis. Despite being advised against appearing, as Kennedy's car entered the ghetto, the police escort left him. There Kennedy climbed onto a flatbed truck in a parking lot under a stand of oak trees. Television news correspondent, Charles Quinn reported: "He was up there hunched in his black overcoat, his face gaunt and distressed and full of anguish." Kennedy then imparted to the crowd that Martin Luther King had been shot and killed. It has been described that he spoke out of aching memory and out of the depth of heart and hope. It is a beautiful speech but one of the most memorable parts for me was:
Robert Kennedy continued to run his campaign across the nation, rising to the top of the pack. After a victory in a California primary, while taking a shortcut through the hotel kitchen for a press conference, Bobby Kennedy was shot, later succumbing to his injuries. Before dawn Friday morning, long lines began to form around St. Patrick's Cathedral, followed by the funeral mass the next morning with a moving speech by Edward Kennedy. Later the train made its long journey to Washington that night as mourners gathered with twinkling candles as they followed the coffin into Arlington Cemetery. "There was," wrote a grieving Lady Bird Johnson, "a great white moon riding high in the sky."
This is a book that touches on the biography of the Kennedy family beginning with the patriarch Joseph Kennedy. There is a large part of the book that is devoted to the relationship between the two brothers, Jack and Bobby. Although they were separated by many years, they later formed a very strong bond, never stronger than when Bobby ran the victorious campaign for Jack Kennedy at the end of 1951 when he challenged popular Republican senator, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. in Massachusetts. It was at this point that John Kennedy realized the tremendous ability and talent of his brother. And also he realized how important Bobby would be in his campaign for the presidency of the United States and in his administration. Schlessinger takes us through the first three years of Kennedy's presidency exploring all of the issues that were addressed by this administration, including the Bay of Pigs, the critical Cuban Missile Crisis, and the beginnings of the Vietnam conflict. As all of these issues were being dealt with by this young administration, it became apparent that there were decided differences. Contrary to what most believed, Robert Kennedy was a man of poetry and idealism reflected so poignantly in this quote:
"Robert Kennedy began as a true believer. He acquired his perceptions of the complexity of things partly because his beloved older brother led him to broader views of society and life and partly becasue his beloved older brother led him to broader views of society and life and partly because he himself possessed to an exceptional degree an experiencing nature. John Kennedy was a realist brilliantly disquised as a romantic; Robert Kennedy, a romantic stubbornly disguised as a realist."
And then that tragic day in Dallas, November 22, 1963 when lives were upended by the horror, shock and pain of the assassination of our young, promising, and vital president. Robert Kennedy was notified while at Hickory Hill with his family by J. Edgar Hoover that his brother was dead. In the aftermath of the bringing back of the president's body, his shattered widow Jacqueline Kennedy, and the newly sworn-in president, Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy not only handled all of the arrangements but he still found time to write letters to each of his children. Discipline and duty summoned him to the occasion but this was a desparately wounded man. It was observed by his father's nurse, Rita Dallas, that as he made his way through the haze of pain he brought other sufferers insight and relief.
"He was now the head of the family. With his father stricken, his older brothers dead, he was accountable to himself. The qualities he had so long subordinated in the interest of others--the concern under the combativeness, the gentleness under the carapace, the idealism, at once wistful and passionate, under the toughness--could rise freely to the surface. He could be himself at last."
Before the convention in Atlantic City in 1964, President Johnson was still unsure about the security of his nomination but seeing no signs of a Kennedy insurrection, Johnson and Humphrey had secured the nomination. But there was still a tribute scheduled for John Kennedy with a film that Robert Kennedy was to introduce. Jacqueline Kennedy had given Bobby a quote from'Romeo and Juliet to include as follows:
When he shall die
Take him and cut him out in little stars
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night,
And pay no worship to the garish sun.
As the war in Vietnam, continued to escalate under President Johnson, one was forced to reflect back to the administration of John Kennedy who had once said privately that he thought the United States had been "overcommitted" in Southeast Asia. These words are particularly poignant and relevant:
"Kennedy had no intention of dispatching American ground forces to save South Vietnam. Nor did he accept the Truman-Eisenhower-Pentagon view that a President had inherent authority to send an expeditionary force into battle. If combat troops 'in the generally understood sense of the word'--units, not advisers--were required in Vietnam, he told a press conference in March 1962, that would be 'a basic change. . . which calls for a constitutional decision, [and] of course I would go to the Congress."
"In July 1962. . . . Kennedy instructed McNamara to start planning for the phased withdrawal of American military personnel from Vietnam. The assumption was that South Vietnamese troops would take up the slack as their capabilities improved under American training. The target date for complete disengagement was the end of 1965. After several tries, the military produced an acceptable plan in May 1963."
Robert Kennedy remained with the Johnson administration for quite a while, the reasons clear in this quote:
"At the start Lyndon Johnson gave mighty impetus to the twin stars against poverty asnd racial inequality. So long as the Great Society absorbed the President, there was strong reason for Kennedy, despite differences on foreign policy, not to break with the administration."
But as the war in Vietnam escalated, Robert Kennedy eventually he felt that he had to break with the administration and speak out on the issue of Vietnam. Kennedy believed that Johnson was hell-bent on smashing his way to military victory and indifferent to its human consequences. A wonderful quote reflecting the differences between the beliefs of Johnson and Kennedy:
"Robert Kennedy saw Vietnam, not in abstractions but in images--a village smashed, children scorched, the mother clasping the baby while fire rained inexplicably from the sky. This compulsion to be at one with individuals in extreme situations was increasingly the key to his politics."
And so President Lyndon Johnson was not surprised at the announcement when Robert Kennedy declared his candiadacy for president in the upcoming 1968 election running against Senator Eugene McCarthy as well. Johnson told his biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin that he felt that he was being chased on all sides by a giant stampeded but the thing that he had feared the most was that "Robert Kennedy had openly announced his intention to reclaim the throne in the memory of his brother. And the American people, swayed by the magic of the name, were dancing in the streets."
Robert Kennedy learned of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis while he was enroute to a campaign rally in Indianapolis. Despite being advised against appearing, as Kennedy's car entered the ghetto, the police escort left him. There Kennedy climbed onto a flatbed truck in a parking lot under a stand of oak trees. Television news correspondent, Charles Quinn reported: "He was up there hunched in his black overcoat, his face gaunt and distressed and full of anguish." Kennedy then imparted to the crowd that Martin Luther King had been shot and killed. It has been described that he spoke out of aching memory and out of the depth of heart and hope. It is a beautiful speech but one of the most memorable parts for me was:
"My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote: 'In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own depair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.'"
Robert Kennedy continued to run his campaign across the nation, rising to the top of the pack. After a victory in a California primary, while taking a shortcut through the hotel kitchen for a press conference, Bobby Kennedy was shot, later succumbing to his injuries. Before dawn Friday morning, long lines began to form around St. Patrick's Cathedral, followed by the funeral mass the next morning with a moving speech by Edward Kennedy. Later the train made its long journey to Washington that night as mourners gathered with twinkling candles as they followed the coffin into Arlington Cemetery. "There was," wrote a grieving Lady Bird Johnson, "a great white moon riding high in the sky."
October 11, 2018
The 50th anniversary of Robert Kennedy’s assassination seemed an appropriate occasion to read Arthur Schlesinger’s epic biography, ‘Robert Kennedy and his Times’. Sufficient time has elapsed where one can take a dispassionate look at the man and at the era which he helped to define.
Or perhaps not. The Kennedys continue to evoke strong passions, pro and con. Their merits, and flaws, remain the subject of debate to this day.
What impressed me most about RFK - perhaps the dominant impression I took away from this biography - was his ability to grow and mature as a person and a man. He was never a static figure, nor one unaware of his own shortcomings. Though born to wealth and privilege, he was able to move beyond this, able to broaden his horizons and deepen his empathy, to the point where he became conversant with the broad spectrum of struggling humanity, able to walk in their shoes and relate to their problems and concerns.
Such a thing could never be said of such contemporary politicians as G. W. Bush or John Kerry - men of wealth and privilege who never seemed able to shed their limitations and, perhaps, never even recognized them as such. RFK stood head and shoulders above such figures - and, indeed, above most politicians, of whatsoever background or party affiliation.
Schlesinger’s biography, it must be said, is far from being an impartial look at Robert Kennedy. Schlesinger knew, respected and admired RFK and makes a case that the reader should share in these feelings. The book sometimes reads like a presentation offered by defense counsel, though always polished and persuasive.
Indeed, Schlesinger’s erudition, the broad expanse of his intellect, his ability to marshal facts and details to buttress some argument, would, were it not so congenial, be more than a little intimidating. The author is a self-professed intellectual, but in the best sense of that term; never dry, didactic or conceited. His portrait of RFK is a memorable one.
The book is that rare instance where subject and biographer are perfectly matched. The result is, as it were, worthy of them both.
Or perhaps not. The Kennedys continue to evoke strong passions, pro and con. Their merits, and flaws, remain the subject of debate to this day.
What impressed me most about RFK - perhaps the dominant impression I took away from this biography - was his ability to grow and mature as a person and a man. He was never a static figure, nor one unaware of his own shortcomings. Though born to wealth and privilege, he was able to move beyond this, able to broaden his horizons and deepen his empathy, to the point where he became conversant with the broad spectrum of struggling humanity, able to walk in their shoes and relate to their problems and concerns.
Such a thing could never be said of such contemporary politicians as G. W. Bush or John Kerry - men of wealth and privilege who never seemed able to shed their limitations and, perhaps, never even recognized them as such. RFK stood head and shoulders above such figures - and, indeed, above most politicians, of whatsoever background or party affiliation.
Schlesinger’s biography, it must be said, is far from being an impartial look at Robert Kennedy. Schlesinger knew, respected and admired RFK and makes a case that the reader should share in these feelings. The book sometimes reads like a presentation offered by defense counsel, though always polished and persuasive.
Indeed, Schlesinger’s erudition, the broad expanse of his intellect, his ability to marshal facts and details to buttress some argument, would, were it not so congenial, be more than a little intimidating. The author is a self-professed intellectual, but in the best sense of that term; never dry, didactic or conceited. His portrait of RFK is a memorable one.
The book is that rare instance where subject and biographer are perfectly matched. The result is, as it were, worthy of them both.
January 17, 2022
A great book I waited far too long to read, this is the story of RFK writ in epic fashion. Kennedy's early death, when he seemed on the cusp of accomplishing truly great things for his country, makes him a bit of a mystery. Was he the ruthless bully? The coldly loyal lieutenant to a beloved older brother? A visionary who cared deeply about the disadvantaged? Schlesinger shows him to be a bit of all these. More importantly, he shows his good friend to be someone who grew and changed throughout his life. An especially effective passage details how the two men became friends - until that point the historian bought into the "Ruthless Bobby" image. This book could have degenerated into hagiography but Schlesinger instead relies on a scrupulous attention to detail (he quotes freely and effectively from his subject's speeches and writings) to show what a complex, fascinating figure he was. By the end of the book, a fair reader will be enamored of him as well.
As the title indicates, Schlesinger deals not only with a man but events of his lifetime. I found the detailed, behind-the-scenes sections on such issues as Jimmy Hoffa/Teamsters corruption, J. Edgar Hoover/FBI wiretapping, civil rights and Vietnam to be absorbing. His portrait of Lyndon Johnson is quite well done and showed how it would have been impossible for him to avoid a clash with Kennedy. For these reasons the book would be as interesting for people curious about the making of policies dealing with important national issues as for readers of history or biography. The book excels as all three.
Still, the man stands out clearly in the midst of his turbulent times and their issues. To read this book is to ultimately be saddened by the conflict between a long book and a short life. On finishing the book I realized how sad it was that Bob Kennedy did not get longer to establish his vision for America. I am pleased to know so much more about his journey as far as he did go. An excellent, involving biography.
As the title indicates, Schlesinger deals not only with a man but events of his lifetime. I found the detailed, behind-the-scenes sections on such issues as Jimmy Hoffa/Teamsters corruption, J. Edgar Hoover/FBI wiretapping, civil rights and Vietnam to be absorbing. His portrait of Lyndon Johnson is quite well done and showed how it would have been impossible for him to avoid a clash with Kennedy. For these reasons the book would be as interesting for people curious about the making of policies dealing with important national issues as for readers of history or biography. The book excels as all three.
Still, the man stands out clearly in the midst of his turbulent times and their issues. To read this book is to ultimately be saddened by the conflict between a long book and a short life. On finishing the book I realized how sad it was that Bob Kennedy did not get longer to establish his vision for America. I am pleased to know so much more about his journey as far as he did go. An excellent, involving biography.
October 31, 2007
Great portrait of a very complex and I think very important figure in the political and social history of the United States. Not just a simple biography, which would have been interesting enough, but really an insightful foray into the political process in general. Perception vs. Reality, bureaucratic frustrations, and the complexity of 'the system' are just a few of the over-arching issues that are dealt with here that not only illuminate the RFK legacy but can be thoughtfully applied to almost any political situation past of present. With the relationship between Schlesinger and the Kennedy family (very close), one must be wary that the relationship does not taint the message and I think Schlesinger does a very good job in this regard. While the author's closeness to the family has the potential to be a negative Schlesinger manages to turn it into a positive by remaining even handed and capturing some truly riveting accounts of some of the defining moments of the era that would probably be unavailable for an author further removed from the Kennedy's inner circle. Easy to see why this won the National Book Award.
January 20, 2010
Everything I've read about the Kennedy's spoke to their compassion. Ambition and politics always came after caring.
I started reading this book after Arthur Schlesinger died a couple of years ago (I read A Thousand Days in high school and loved it). I really didn't know much about RFK before starting this book. Well he worked for Joe McCarthy, ran his brothers Presidential campaign, Attorney general overseeing an enormous amount of wiretaps on american citizens, deeply and truly cared about poverty, indians, and african americans, helped facilitate one of the first private-public partnerships to revitalize sections of brooklyn, and was a strong early opponent of the vietnam war. This country would have been lucky to have him longer than it did.
Just a great quote from near the end of the book: "The real stake in the American political process involves not the fate of speechwriters and fund-raisers but the lives of millions of people seeking hope out of despair."
I started reading this book after Arthur Schlesinger died a couple of years ago (I read A Thousand Days in high school and loved it). I really didn't know much about RFK before starting this book. Well he worked for Joe McCarthy, ran his brothers Presidential campaign, Attorney general overseeing an enormous amount of wiretaps on american citizens, deeply and truly cared about poverty, indians, and african americans, helped facilitate one of the first private-public partnerships to revitalize sections of brooklyn, and was a strong early opponent of the vietnam war. This country would have been lucky to have him longer than it did.
Just a great quote from near the end of the book: "The real stake in the American political process involves not the fate of speechwriters and fund-raisers but the lives of millions of people seeking hope out of despair."
January 20, 2016
Great book! Despite being over 900 pages, I did not need a long time to read this. Schlesinger Jr. brings a vivid, personal, yet balanced perspective to RFK. I came away from reading this with the impression that Kennedy was continually evolving personally as well as professionally, yet he did not compromise his characteristic bluntness or what he believed in. Unfortunately, the shadow of JFK always seemed to loom over him - especially following his assassination in 1963. RFK seemed to live with a continual fear of gunshots and being shot himself, yet he did not keep this fear from letting him live his life. Unfortunately, his decision to do that also contributed to him losing him life. Schlesinger Jr. details the torment that went through RFK's mind as he contemplated (too long) the decision to run in 1968.
April 9, 2019
Still the definitive RFK biography; I think any criticism that this is hagiography is unwarranted. While Schlesinger was not an unbiased observer (which always begs the question if such a thing is even possible), he was extremely fair in portraying the criticisms that arose in response to RFK. His own critiques were often more mild, and information revealed decades after this was published was obviously not included, yet it is tremendously informative and insightful and no other single book to date is as comprehensive.
April 4, 2020
Really interesting, filling in gaps in my knowledge and letting me see how the whole Kennedys thing is more than just JFK. It does almost portray Bobby Kennedy as a latter day saint though and our daughter who also read the book for her Modern History course keeps reminding me that Schlesinger was a family friend of the Kennedys.
January 18, 2018
Liked this slightly better than Schlesinger’s “A Thousand Days” about JFK. Definitely a different style than Evan Thomas’s RFK bio, but good nonetheless. The chapters regarding Vietnam were particularly poignant. We’ll never know exactly what difference Bobby Kennedy would have made on the war had he lived beyond 1968. However, we can remember his passion for justice and his caring for society’s underdogs. He was a unique statesman who demonstrated courage when the U.S. needed leaders willing to engage in new ways to solve old problems. (1968 was 50 years ago now and reading this book causes one to wonder just what we have learned exactly in those decades since Vietnam, the Great Society, racial injustice, and intergenerational poverty.)
June 8, 2016
Although Schlesinger is hardly an unbiased biographer, this roughly 1100 page view into Robert Kennedy's life is not at all shy about quoting all of Bobby's critics fairly and frequently. I've read far more protective books, and Schlesinger clearly understands that his subject doesn't require it. While most of the well-known subjects regarding Bobby's role in the Kennedy administration are all touched upon, including his clash with Hoover and the FBI as AG, I found his role as chief counsel for the Senate Rackets Committee as well as his work in the Civil Rights movement the most revealing. He was certainly a tremendous political force in a very turbulent time.
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March 15, 2012Great quote in this biog about RFK: "he never told a lie; he never misquoted anybody; he never concealed . . . he spoke with great directness softened by humor," said Michael Forrestal. And 685 pages in, I find that to be a great summary of what most others have been quoted as saying--except for Jimmy Hoffa and J. Edgar Hoover of course.
January 17, 2013
A complete telling of RFK's life. I would have given it 5 stars, but the assassination isn't mentioned at all. The book opens with the funeral and closes with him entering the kitchen at the Ambassador Hotel on 6/5/1968. If someone had no idea how RFK died, they would finish the book wondering what happened.
July 17, 2013
Schlesinger described his relationship to Robert Kennedy as that of a great admirer and devoted friend, going on to say "if it is necessary for a biographer of Robert Kennedy to regard him as evil, then I am not qualified to be his biographer." This biography was definately written with love and respect, while still making a valient effort to tell the complete story. I deeply enjoyed Schlesinger's writing style, and left this brick of a book with a deeper understanding of the man that was Bobby Kennedy. I have always thought our world might be different had he lived, but just how different he had the potential to make America makes his early death even more tragic.
May 29, 2008
I remember the day he was shot. Coming only two months after Martin Luther King's assasination it seemed like we were on the verge of revolution.
What is clear from this biography is Robert Kennedy's growth as a man and as a human being. He found his own voice and it was tragically silenced.
Like the author, I often wondered what might have been....he was an inspiring figure, flawed, but passionate about what he believed in.
I think this work is very well written, researched and a little biased but still stands on its own merits.
What is clear from this biography is Robert Kennedy's growth as a man and as a human being. He found his own voice and it was tragically silenced.
Like the author, I often wondered what might have been....he was an inspiring figure, flawed, but passionate about what he believed in.
I think this work is very well written, researched and a little biased but still stands on its own merits.
July 26, 2018
It takes a special kind of person (with an excellent biographer I might add) to make one mourn their death 50 years after the fact and 24 years before you were even born, and yet.
A gripping read despite the length, an excellent insight into the life of perhaps the greatest president the US never had
A gripping read despite the length, an excellent insight into the life of perhaps the greatest president the US never had
December 19, 2010
One of my favorite biographies, and if it's a bit sentimental on what-could-have been, it's understandable. This is a story of the growth of a very complex human being who had the courage and will to change.
July 16, 2012
Only read a number of chapters for an essay I did on his life, but Schlesinger knew the man, and he writes well. I love the description of the emotion Kennedy shows when he visits the homeless and destitute. Inspiring.
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June 4, 2023I write this review having finished this book two days before the 55th anniversary of Robert Kennedy's untimely death. His son, who shares his name, is running for office, the act that left RFK, Jr. the mantle of his slain father.
Schlesinger's weighty biography provides as an exceptional dive into Robert Kennedy's life, his motivations, his psyche. What Schlesinger reveals in Robert and the likewise tragically short life of President Kennedy is a confirmation of words written by Solomon eons before: "there is nothing new under the sun."
The work does a great job highlighting the tasks of which the Kennedy administration had to undertake, tasks with which feel utterly incomplete in some regards 50 years later.
I desired to read this book because of the appreciation I have for President Kennedy, and the question that always floated in my mind: How is it that Robert Kennedy, the young and seemingly inexperienced younger brother of the president, could be appointed as Attorney General?
This book provides a clear answer for why, not ignoring that many had this same question when Robert was appointed. His values for justice and a hardline stance against the mafia in the 1950s led Kennedy to the top of the criminal justice system. Along the way, Schlesinger speaks of the troubles of a "rogue" FBI, poverty, and racial inequality.
One can see why Robert Kennedy, Jr., who at this time is a clear underdog, has some support in the polls. Though not entirely like his father, perhaps one longs for a sense of completion of the fight RFK fought.
And fought RFK did. Schlesinger depicts a man, born of a wealthy family, using personal tragedy to relate to the outcasts of 1960s America. His fight for justice, even if not perfect, leaves one wondering what could have been.
All in all, this wondering comes from a greater understanding that Robert Kennedy was a rarity in politics: despite the accusations, despite the missteps, he was an honest man, and a good one.
I find myself knowing a little bit more about the 1960s after reading this book, undoubtedly due to the weight Robert Kennedy had on this time. This was helped in part by Schlesinger's role as a strong advisor to all three of the Kennedy brothers.
By and large, the author does a swell job in remaining humble in this role, and I never feel as if any depictions were incomplete of the situations he gave. He often would provide many differing views in footnotes which I found helpful.
However, at times this closeness hurt the work. Schlesinger's familiarity with the situation to me left me feeling as if he would think the reader would remember every name, every position mentioned prior. For those who lived the time, it's possible this could be the case.
Furthermore, it's clear Schlesinger is a strong advocate for Robert Kennedy. At times this left his writing of the situations seemingly dismissive of what opponents had to say. Those with opposing views to the author on what to do during the Cold War for instance, who were depicted as foolish and dangerous at times in the book, seem rather vindicated by the end of the 1980s.
Despite this, I found the book to be very riveting and a wonderful volume into the chaotic period of the 1960s. Readers would do well to consider this time and what was said then, and consider what is said now.
This step into the 1960s took me 6 months to read, thanks in part to a sporadic reading schedule brought on by the business of a graduate program. While I am satisfied in having read the book, and I will miss reading of a man, so tragically tormented by the Kennedy name, humbly and courageously sacrificing himself in the service of love and country.
Where these times will go, I do not know. Whether RFK, Jr. will get anywhere with the name given to him, I also do not know. I do think that these times are much like the chaos of the 1960s, of which there is a need for a solution. "There is nothing new under the sun." The man who is said to have written that quote, some thousands of years ago, in wealth greater than ever, understood the solution to life's ills in the end. Robert Francis Kennedy, in all of his tragedy, doubt, and anguish, understood it too. May the reader of Robert Kennedy in His Life and Times find the same understanding.
Schlesinger's weighty biography provides as an exceptional dive into Robert Kennedy's life, his motivations, his psyche. What Schlesinger reveals in Robert and the likewise tragically short life of President Kennedy is a confirmation of words written by Solomon eons before: "there is nothing new under the sun."
The work does a great job highlighting the tasks of which the Kennedy administration had to undertake, tasks with which feel utterly incomplete in some regards 50 years later.
I desired to read this book because of the appreciation I have for President Kennedy, and the question that always floated in my mind: How is it that Robert Kennedy, the young and seemingly inexperienced younger brother of the president, could be appointed as Attorney General?
This book provides a clear answer for why, not ignoring that many had this same question when Robert was appointed. His values for justice and a hardline stance against the mafia in the 1950s led Kennedy to the top of the criminal justice system. Along the way, Schlesinger speaks of the troubles of a "rogue" FBI, poverty, and racial inequality.
One can see why Robert Kennedy, Jr., who at this time is a clear underdog, has some support in the polls. Though not entirely like his father, perhaps one longs for a sense of completion of the fight RFK fought.
And fought RFK did. Schlesinger depicts a man, born of a wealthy family, using personal tragedy to relate to the outcasts of 1960s America. His fight for justice, even if not perfect, leaves one wondering what could have been.
All in all, this wondering comes from a greater understanding that Robert Kennedy was a rarity in politics: despite the accusations, despite the missteps, he was an honest man, and a good one.
I find myself knowing a little bit more about the 1960s after reading this book, undoubtedly due to the weight Robert Kennedy had on this time. This was helped in part by Schlesinger's role as a strong advisor to all three of the Kennedy brothers.
By and large, the author does a swell job in remaining humble in this role, and I never feel as if any depictions were incomplete of the situations he gave. He often would provide many differing views in footnotes which I found helpful.
However, at times this closeness hurt the work. Schlesinger's familiarity with the situation to me left me feeling as if he would think the reader would remember every name, every position mentioned prior. For those who lived the time, it's possible this could be the case.
Furthermore, it's clear Schlesinger is a strong advocate for Robert Kennedy. At times this left his writing of the situations seemingly dismissive of what opponents had to say. Those with opposing views to the author on what to do during the Cold War for instance, who were depicted as foolish and dangerous at times in the book, seem rather vindicated by the end of the 1980s.
Despite this, I found the book to be very riveting and a wonderful volume into the chaotic period of the 1960s. Readers would do well to consider this time and what was said then, and consider what is said now.
This step into the 1960s took me 6 months to read, thanks in part to a sporadic reading schedule brought on by the business of a graduate program. While I am satisfied in having read the book, and I will miss reading of a man, so tragically tormented by the Kennedy name, humbly and courageously sacrificing himself in the service of love and country.
Where these times will go, I do not know. Whether RFK, Jr. will get anywhere with the name given to him, I also do not know. I do think that these times are much like the chaos of the 1960s, of which there is a need for a solution. "There is nothing new under the sun." The man who is said to have written that quote, some thousands of years ago, in wealth greater than ever, understood the solution to life's ills in the end. Robert Francis Kennedy, in all of his tragedy, doubt, and anguish, understood it too. May the reader of Robert Kennedy in His Life and Times find the same understanding.
September 7, 2020
This book took me a long time (with a few stops and starts) to finish. It’s extremely detailed and has a personal telling because of the author’s friendship with Kennedy. However, I found that at times it would go into minute details on certain things and gloss over others without a good explanation. Either way, it’s a must-read for people who are interested in Bobby’s life.
May 31, 2016
JFK. What might have been if he became President...
"What would have happened had he not been killed? He would certainly have had a rocky road to the nomination. The power of the Johnson administration and much of the party establishment was behind Humphrey. Still, the dynamism was behind Kennedy, and he might well have swept the convention. If nominated, he would most probably have beaten the Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon.
Individuals do make a difference to history. A Robert Kennedy presidency would have brought a quick end to American involvement in the Vietnam War. Those thousands of Americans—and many thousands more Vietnamese and Cambodians—who were killed from 1969 to 1973 would have been at home with their families. A Robert Kennedy presidency would have consolidated and extended the achievements of John Kennedy’s New Frontier and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. The liberal tide of the 1960s was still running strong enough in 1969 to affect Nixon’s domestic policies. The Environmental Protection Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act with its CETA employment program were all enacted under Nixon. If that still fast-flowing tide so influenced a conservative administration, what signal opportunities it would have given a reform president!
The confidence that both black and white working-class Americans had in Robert Kennedy would have created the possibility of progress toward racial reconciliation. His appeal to the young might have mitigated some of the under-thirty excesses of the time. And of course the election of Robert Kennedy would have delivered the republic from Watergate, with its attendant subversion of the Constitution and destruction of faith in government."
"What would have happened had he not been killed? He would certainly have had a rocky road to the nomination. The power of the Johnson administration and much of the party establishment was behind Humphrey. Still, the dynamism was behind Kennedy, and he might well have swept the convention. If nominated, he would most probably have beaten the Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon.
Individuals do make a difference to history. A Robert Kennedy presidency would have brought a quick end to American involvement in the Vietnam War. Those thousands of Americans—and many thousands more Vietnamese and Cambodians—who were killed from 1969 to 1973 would have been at home with their families. A Robert Kennedy presidency would have consolidated and extended the achievements of John Kennedy’s New Frontier and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. The liberal tide of the 1960s was still running strong enough in 1969 to affect Nixon’s domestic policies. The Environmental Protection Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act with its CETA employment program were all enacted under Nixon. If that still fast-flowing tide so influenced a conservative administration, what signal opportunities it would have given a reform president!
The confidence that both black and white working-class Americans had in Robert Kennedy would have created the possibility of progress toward racial reconciliation. His appeal to the young might have mitigated some of the under-thirty excesses of the time. And of course the election of Robert Kennedy would have delivered the republic from Watergate, with its attendant subversion of the Constitution and destruction of faith in government."
August 3, 2011
Quite simply one of the best biographies I have ever read. A gripping account of the turbulent life and times of one of America's great politicians. As a close friend and Kennedy insider, Schlesinger's book gives a keen insight into RFK's complex personality. The Good Bobby/Bad Bobby phenomenon is explored. For some RFK will always remain 'ruthless', the red-baiting Senate investigator who worked for Joe McCarthy, during the early ’50s and who followed that up by becoming JFK's tough-guy campaign manager treating all opponents as mortal enemies. More still remember him as the grief-stricken brother who felt compelled to carry on JFK's legacy, an energetic and passionate Senator who never shied away from uncomfortable issues such as civil rights and poverty, an orator whose moving speech following the assassination of Martin Luther King has been recognised as one of the greatest speeches in American history, and who in his final incarnation had become an existentialist who campaigned while carrying, in his pocket, a book by Albert Camus. RFK will always remain something of an enigma, charismatic, complex and seemingly constantly evolving, over forty years after his death he still has the power to fascinate and while we may never know if RFK would have fulfilled his promise, Schlesinger's book is likely to remain the most detailed and definitive account of his life.
August 12, 2018
A huge volume, both in size and content. Having read Schlesinger's book on JFK's time in the White House, 'A Thousand Days', for which he received the Pulitzer prize for biography, I consider 'Robert Kennedy and His Times' the superior publication.
Purchased from a book shop in Hey on Wye for the laughable price of £3, this has to be one of the best value for money literary works in my collection.
Although Schlesinger was a dedicated Kennedy man, first with JFK and after with Bobby, I thought his treatment of RFK's biography was balanced, erudite and fair. The author has accompanied the manuscript with Notes as well as many footnotes on most pages. He utilised the Kennedy library and Oral History collections, interviews, media publications, private papers etc.
Though I was a witness to these times, albeit from across the Atlantic, I found so much in this work to illuminate my distant memory and create fresh perspectives.
An altogether indispensable historical tome, not just of the Kennedy's but of 50's & 60's America.
"The danger that in seeking universal peace, needlessly fearful of change and disorder, we will in fact embroil ourselves and the world in a whole series of Vietnams." (RFK April 24 1968.)
Purchased from a book shop in Hey on Wye for the laughable price of £3, this has to be one of the best value for money literary works in my collection.
Although Schlesinger was a dedicated Kennedy man, first with JFK and after with Bobby, I thought his treatment of RFK's biography was balanced, erudite and fair. The author has accompanied the manuscript with Notes as well as many footnotes on most pages. He utilised the Kennedy library and Oral History collections, interviews, media publications, private papers etc.
Though I was a witness to these times, albeit from across the Atlantic, I found so much in this work to illuminate my distant memory and create fresh perspectives.
An altogether indispensable historical tome, not just of the Kennedy's but of 50's & 60's America.
"The danger that in seeking universal peace, needlessly fearful of change and disorder, we will in fact embroil ourselves and the world in a whole series of Vietnams." (RFK April 24 1968.)
December 20, 2018
916 pages before notes, acknowledgements, citations, etc. -- a big 3 week project! This was my first read of Schlesinger (political prize winning Kennedy aid/New Dealer/New Frontiersman w books on FDR, Jackson, among others) and I came away fairly impressed. The first 1/4 or so covered Joe Kennedy Sr. in tremendous detail, at the cost of a relatively brief coverage of RFK's early childhood, adolescence, and more formative years. The book barely grazes RFK's familial relationships (outside of JFK-RFK), marriage, and children. Some of the most engaging parts examined the dynamics of RFK v. J. Edgar Hoover in the Justice Dept. and RFK's role as chief advisor during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I also wish Schlesinger had covered RFK's 1968 presidential candidacy in more extensive detail; the end of the bio felt hurried. Overall, I would definitely recommend this National Book Award winner to any fan of 20th century American history and look forward to reading another Schlesinger bio down the road.
July 31, 2011
This book has been in my personal library since I bought and first read it in late 1979. While I found it captivating then, the recent election of Barack Obama as President lent it a whole new meaning. This reading left me wondering if things were worse then or now. In the sixties they were dealing with the Vietnam War and battles against overt, hateful racism which threatened to split the nation again. Perhaps the flagrant racism is now gone, but Obama now comes to power at a time when strident character-assassination politics has ruled for nearly thirty years, the entire economy threatens to implode, and the U.S. is hated or feared worldwide. While we will never know what type of president Robert Kennedy would have been, his style during his last campaign is similar to what I believe people are inspired by in Barack Obama.
June 28, 2012
Being cynical about politicians is only natural, yet sometimes someone comes along who somehow taps into our natural craving for leadership, seemingly embodying the best of our national spirit and promising a better tomorrow via their charismatic presence alone. RFK is to many people the last politician they could trust emotionally, a man of infinite compassion yet ruthless integrity, a person of infinite compassion yet ruthless integrity, someone with a prosecutor's ferocity yet a poet's sensibility. He was murdered before he could really do much to validate the immense, almost messianic hopes that people laid on him, and this biography, written by a man who knew him well, takes you through his journey from hard-edged enforcer of justice to champion of the downtrodden in a way that will leave you greatly saddened at the cruelties of history.
May 31, 2013
This biography, published 10 years after RFK's death in 1978, is a deep and vivid portrait of someone who at the time was misunderstood in certain parts of the country. And though some might deem Schlesinger as biased given his close personal friendship with Kennedy, he does his best to convey that the ruthless opportunism that characterized Kennedy in the late 50s and early 60s was in fact Kennedy's way of expressing his frustration with rampant inequalities that still exist in American society today.
Now I will say that I am a fan of the Kennedys and if you don't share my affection for them than you may want to skip this book because I doubt it will change your mind about them. But for a solid liberal like me, this biography is a stunning tribute to one of the bravest men who ever lived.
Now I will say that I am a fan of the Kennedys and if you don't share my affection for them than you may want to skip this book because I doubt it will change your mind about them. But for a solid liberal like me, this biography is a stunning tribute to one of the bravest men who ever lived.
January 10, 2014
I absolutely loved this book, beginning to end. It so clearly demonstrates who Bobby was, by a historian who lived those times with him. I learned to separate myth from fact, and in the most human and interesting way I could ever have imagined. For instance, I thought Bobby did not declare his candidacy until after Johnson announced he was not running again - not true! And Bobby did not agree with college deferment to get out of the draft. He thought that wasn't fair. Could that be a reason the collegiate went with McCarthy? But no matter, because Bobby was winning the primaries, although he didn't win Oregon. Oh, I'm not going to give it ALL away! If you want just one book that explains the politics of the 1960s, this is it.
August 18, 2014
As with many Americans, Schlesinger ached when JFK's promise was cut short in 1963. And like many, he soon gravitated towards Bobby as a possible successor to that legacy. This book firmly documents the life, history, and evolution of RFK, charting his role as advisor to his older brother, his grief and retreat after the assassination, and his rebirth as a passionate prophet against poverty and for the downtrodden. Schlesinger charts the progress toward the 1968 campaign, and all of the elements that make me admire Bobby the most of the Kennedy brothers. The book is full at 1000 pages, but still ends as abruptly as Bobby's life. making us wonder what might have been. The essential book on RFK, but for hardy readers.
September 18, 2014
This is by far the most comprehensive biography about Robert F. Kennedy that I have ever read. You must take into consideration that Arthur Schlesinger Jr. was one of the Kennedy family's friends and veritable good ole boys, but regardless, this book covers so much of RFK's life and times.
From his boyhood, watching older brothers Joe and John take center stage as the promising siblings to the Cuban Missile Crisis to the untimely death of President Kennedy to RFK's own run for Presidency and subsequent assassination.
Because of Arthur's connection with the family, I think it lends a heart felt look at RFK and who he was from the perspective of a friend. If you are looking to villainize the Kennedy's, this is not the book for you. There are plenty out there though!
From his boyhood, watching older brothers Joe and John take center stage as the promising siblings to the Cuban Missile Crisis to the untimely death of President Kennedy to RFK's own run for Presidency and subsequent assassination.
Because of Arthur's connection with the family, I think it lends a heart felt look at RFK and who he was from the perspective of a friend. If you are looking to villainize the Kennedy's, this is not the book for you. There are plenty out there though!
November 14, 2017
If you want plenty of detail about the politics during RFK's life, this is the book for you. If you're looking for a read that is more focused on the man himself (and something a little less dense), you may want to steer clear. As an unashamed RFK fan, I love the depth and minutiae of this book - and really appreciated Schlesinger's personal anecdotes.
RFK remains my favourite of the three brothers, and this book really exemplifies why. RFK was incredibly complex. The ability and willingness to re-evaluate yourself is rare, but RFK was no ordinary man. Part of his enduring appeal is his growth... and part is the mystery of what might have been.
Solidly recommend this book for any Kennedy fans.
RFK remains my favourite of the three brothers, and this book really exemplifies why. RFK was incredibly complex. The ability and willingness to re-evaluate yourself is rare, but RFK was no ordinary man. Part of his enduring appeal is his growth... and part is the mystery of what might have been.
Solidly recommend this book for any Kennedy fans.
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