The Patriarch

The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy

By: David Nasaw

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

Celebrated historian David Nasaw brings to life the story of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, in this, the first and only biography based on unrestricted and exclusive access to the Joseph P. Kennedy papers.

Joseph Patrick Kennedy - whose life spanned the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the Cold War - was the patriarch of America’s greatest political dynasty. The father of President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert and Edward Kennedy, 'Joe' Kennedy was an indomitable and elusive figure whose dreams of advancement for his nine children were matched only by his extraordinary personal ambition and shrewd financial skills. Trained as a banker, Kennedy was also a Hollywood mogul, a stock-exchange savant, a shipyard manager, the founding chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and ambassador to London during the Battle of Britain. Though his incredible life encompasses the very heart of the American century, Joseph Kennedy has remained shrouded in rumor and prejudice for decades.

Drawing on never-before-published material from archives on three continents, David Nasaw - the renowned biographer of Andrew Carnegie and William Randolph Hearst - unearths a man far more complicated than the popular portrait. Was Kennedy an appeaser and isolationist, an anti-Semite and Nazi sympathizer, a stock swindler, a bootlegger, and a colleague of mobsters? Did he push his second son into politics and then buy his elections for him? Why did he have his daughter Rosemary lobotomized? Why did he oppose the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Korean War, and American assistance to the French in Vietnam? What was his relationship to J. Edgar Hoover and his FBI? How did he influence his son’s politics and policies in the White House?

In this groundbreaking biography, Nasaw ignores the tired old answers surrounding Kennedy, starting from scratch to discover the truth behind this misunderstood man.

Though far from a saint, Joseph Kennedy in many ways exemplifies the best in American political, economic, and social life. His rags-to-riches story is one of exclusion and quiet discrimination overcome by entrepreneurship, ingenuity, and unshakable endurance. Kennedy’s story deserves to be told in full, with no holds barred, and Nasaw’s magnificent The Patriarch is the first book to do so.

©2012 David Nasaw (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year

One of Kirkus' Best Nonfiction Books of the Year

"Riveting.... The Patriarch is a book hard to put down.... As his son indelibly put it some months before his father was struck down: 'Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your county.' One wonders what was going through the mind of the patriarch, sitting a few feet away listening to that soaring sentiment as a fourth-generation Kennedy became president of the United States. After coming to know him over the course of this brilliant, compelling book, the reader might suspect that he was thinking he had done more than enough for his country. But the gods would demand even more." (New York Times Book Review)

Interesting but sounds sanitized

Any additional comments?

The many ways he made his money are well covered. So are his politics and misadventures as Ambassador to England. His strengths as a father are nicely recounted. His understandable frustration with the Catholic Church's failure to support JFK's 1960 candidacy is the biggest revelation.

Much better than it had to be

I cannot complain about Nasaw's writing: he is generous and understanding. I liked Joe Kennedy going in, and he didn't suffer much on the way. Nasaw disposes of the "bootlegger" lie handily; it is too bad he had to bother with that at all. A little more on the Hollywood years would have been appreciated here, but there is only so much you can squeeze into a fat biography.

My reservations are mainly about the narration, which does not seem to have suffered any decent editor's fine hand. The narrator does not know what he is talking about sometimes, continually pronouncing the Astors' Cliveden House as Clyve-den (it's 'Clivdin'); he also repeatedly mispronounces the name Cadogan (as in the Irish surname, the peer and the multiple placenames in London) as Ca-dough-gin when it is of course Ca-duggin. He turns Noroton, Connecticut into Norritin (rather than 'Nor-O-tin'). And so on. These are not minor quibbles. If one is going to speak of the 'Cliveden Set' many times, one should at least know how to pronounce it.

Magnificent

One of the best - and most gripping - biographies I have ever read. The reader is excellent - even his approximation of various accents is good and not distracting.

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How little I knew or understood of the life of JPK!

David Nasaw’s work as a biographer is masterful. Truly a great book, and a must read.

Excellent Narration

I loved learning about Joe Kennedy. Fascinating man fixated on building a kind of wealth & influence for his family even more than for himself. The narrator was excellent.

A "Must Read" for Irish Americans

A very well researched page-turner, with lots of fascinating details about Joseph Kennedy and the world in which he lived. I enjoyed it immensely.

White Washed

Well written, great narration and a solid review of Joe Kennedy’s life but seems to be very very clean version of his, and his son’s life’s and their political career. I guess it is what you would expect since the family paid the author to write the book.

Still a fascinating book and life, just doesn’t seem to give the whole ugly truth especially around his kids.

Knowing Joseph Kennedy

Where does The Patriarch rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's a very good biography. Not the most exciting non-fiction audiobook I've listened to, but still very enjoyable and informative.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked best the author's analysis outsiders' opinion of Joe Kennedy was the best part. He gives both the central character's opinions, but also those of outsiders, citing writings and interviews and even speculating based on actions and knowledge of Kennedy's contemporaries.

What does Malcolm Hillgartner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I enjoyed his use of appropriate accents when reading quotes by different people in the book. It was wide-ranging, but particularly pronounced in the Bostonian and English accents.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This book encourages thought and pondering of the people in the book as well as the times they lived in. I cannot say it was one I would have enjoyed in a single sitting, as the facts presented are a lot to digest.

Any additional comments?

I think it's the best way to read this kind of book. The sentences of this particular author are very long, and in some places the topic is a little dry. An audio book is ideal for these sorts of books in which you want to get the facts and the story, but don't want to have to sit and read it.

Saint Joe

Despite the book's protestation that Joe is no saint, his shortcomings are given short shrift. His participation in bootlegging is dismissed with one sentence: he didn't, and all his wealth was from wise investment in real estate and stock market. Hmmm. Also, his connections to the mafia are quite ignored. See books on the JFK assassination for additional info. He is depicted as an exemplary father and patriarch, but his treatment of Rose, whom none of the family visited after her lobotomy altho she lived 25 years more, creates questions. Nor is Mary Jo Kopechne/Chappaquiddick mentioned. At all. The most honest part of the book, which is obviously a puff piece for the family, concerns his heavy-handed ambassadorship in England. This may be because the author relies on public documents and records. In London, Joe tried to create US policy without consultation with Pres Roosevelt or the Sec of State, with the consequence that eventually they began to discuss state policy/events without telling Joe. He was stung. He demanded the post of Treasury secretary, but was denied. This lengthy tome eventually ends. There is likely a contrasting story somewhere... Overall, a good read, but way toooo long.