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JFK: Reckless Youth
The first in a multi-volume new biography of John F. Kennedy encompasses the early years of Kennedy's career, his youth and Harvard education, the story of PT-109, his affair with a suspected Nazi spy, and more. 100,000 first printing. $150,000 ad/promo. Tour.
922 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
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About the author
Nigel Hamilton
43 books86 followersNigel Hamilton is an award-winning British-born biographer, academic and broadcaster, whose works have been translated into sixteen languages.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
July 13, 2017
https://bestpresidentialbios.com/2017...
Nigel Hamilton’s “JFK: Reckless Youth” was published in 1992 and was intended to be the first installment in projected three-volume series on John Kennedy. This New York Times bestseller was also the inspiration behind an ABC mini-series which aired in 1993. Hamilton is a British-born biographer and Senior Fellow at the University of Massachusetts. Among his recent works are a two-volume series on Bill Clinton and two volumes focusing on FDR during WWII.
Unfortunately, this is the only volume in Hamilton’s series ever published. Almost immediately after publication it became the subject of enormous controversy – much of it generated by the Kennedy family (with the help of Doris Goodwin and others). As a result of his unflattering portrayal of the Kennedys in this first volume, Hamilton lost access to critical primary source documents and was forced to abandon the series.
With 800 pages of text, this volume proves an exhaustive but riveting account of JFK’s early life up through his election as a twenty-nine-year-old Massachusetts Congressman. Nearly every aspect of Kennedy’s youth is examined with encyclopedic – and occasionally graphic – detail.
The book’s strengths are numerous; among them are a lively, expressive and captivating narrative and the author’s incorporation of historical context throughout the text. On a more granular level, Hamilton provides better insight into JFK’s relationship with his parents than almost any other biographer and a more thoughtful view of JFK’s older brother than I’ve seen elsewhere.
Hamilton also provides a more thorough discussion of Joseph P. Kennedy’s life (including his volatile relationship with FDR), the most descriptive and interesting discussion of JFK’s military service in the Pacific and the best introduction to Inga Arvad (one of Kennedy’s more infamous girlfriends) than I’ve seen anywhere else.
The author is favorably disposed to his subject, praising him for his intellectual and interpersonal strengths, but rarely fails to castigate JFK for his appalling foibles. While Hamilton shows reasonable balance toward his subject, however, he demonstrates clear contempt for Kennedy’s father who is portrayed as a swindler, a coward, an abusive spouse and a serial philanderer. JFK’s mother fares little better as a repressed, emotionally distant Victorian figure whose response to her flawed marriage is to travel abroad without her family.
For better – and for worse – much of the narrative’s vibrancy is derived at the expense of JFK and his father whose “extracurricular relationships” are often described in significant detail. While helping to debunk the “Camelot myth” and adding texture to the narrative, much of this extra insight is gratuitous and unnecessary. In addition, the author’s aversion to JFK’s father is displayed with a frequency and ferocity that seems almost pathological.
If providing the reader a thick layer of historical context is a notable strength of this book, at times it is also a weakness. There are several occasions when this volume seems more like an engrossing history textbook than a biography. In many of these moments it is also clear the book’s length dilutes the central themes regarding JFK which the author intends to impress upon the reader.
And during the more numerous moments when the book does feel like a biography, it frequently reads a dual-biography (of both JFK and his frequently-mentioned father). It is hard to imagine any of Joseph P. Kennedy’s traditional biographers capturing more of the man than has Hamilton…in a book ostensibly focused on JFK.
Overall, “JFK: Reckless Youth” is a fascinating if flawed study of the young John F. Kennedy. No biography I have read on any president dives into its subject’s early life with the depth or color Hamilton provides…though others have come close (and with fewer distractions). For all its faults, this introductory volume to John Kennedy is a compelling read and it is regrettable Hamilton was unable to complete the series.
Overall rating: 3¾ stars
Nigel Hamilton’s “JFK: Reckless Youth” was published in 1992 and was intended to be the first installment in projected three-volume series on John Kennedy. This New York Times bestseller was also the inspiration behind an ABC mini-series which aired in 1993. Hamilton is a British-born biographer and Senior Fellow at the University of Massachusetts. Among his recent works are a two-volume series on Bill Clinton and two volumes focusing on FDR during WWII.
Unfortunately, this is the only volume in Hamilton’s series ever published. Almost immediately after publication it became the subject of enormous controversy – much of it generated by the Kennedy family (with the help of Doris Goodwin and others). As a result of his unflattering portrayal of the Kennedys in this first volume, Hamilton lost access to critical primary source documents and was forced to abandon the series.
With 800 pages of text, this volume proves an exhaustive but riveting account of JFK’s early life up through his election as a twenty-nine-year-old Massachusetts Congressman. Nearly every aspect of Kennedy’s youth is examined with encyclopedic – and occasionally graphic – detail.
The book’s strengths are numerous; among them are a lively, expressive and captivating narrative and the author’s incorporation of historical context throughout the text. On a more granular level, Hamilton provides better insight into JFK’s relationship with his parents than almost any other biographer and a more thoughtful view of JFK’s older brother than I’ve seen elsewhere.
Hamilton also provides a more thorough discussion of Joseph P. Kennedy’s life (including his volatile relationship with FDR), the most descriptive and interesting discussion of JFK’s military service in the Pacific and the best introduction to Inga Arvad (one of Kennedy’s more infamous girlfriends) than I’ve seen anywhere else.
The author is favorably disposed to his subject, praising him for his intellectual and interpersonal strengths, but rarely fails to castigate JFK for his appalling foibles. While Hamilton shows reasonable balance toward his subject, however, he demonstrates clear contempt for Kennedy’s father who is portrayed as a swindler, a coward, an abusive spouse and a serial philanderer. JFK’s mother fares little better as a repressed, emotionally distant Victorian figure whose response to her flawed marriage is to travel abroad without her family.
For better – and for worse – much of the narrative’s vibrancy is derived at the expense of JFK and his father whose “extracurricular relationships” are often described in significant detail. While helping to debunk the “Camelot myth” and adding texture to the narrative, much of this extra insight is gratuitous and unnecessary. In addition, the author’s aversion to JFK’s father is displayed with a frequency and ferocity that seems almost pathological.
If providing the reader a thick layer of historical context is a notable strength of this book, at times it is also a weakness. There are several occasions when this volume seems more like an engrossing history textbook than a biography. In many of these moments it is also clear the book’s length dilutes the central themes regarding JFK which the author intends to impress upon the reader.
And during the more numerous moments when the book does feel like a biography, it frequently reads a dual-biography (of both JFK and his frequently-mentioned father). It is hard to imagine any of Joseph P. Kennedy’s traditional biographers capturing more of the man than has Hamilton…in a book ostensibly focused on JFK.
Overall, “JFK: Reckless Youth” is a fascinating if flawed study of the young John F. Kennedy. No biography I have read on any president dives into its subject’s early life with the depth or color Hamilton provides…though others have come close (and with fewer distractions). For all its faults, this introductory volume to John Kennedy is a compelling read and it is regrettable Hamilton was unable to complete the series.
Overall rating: 3¾ stars
April 23, 2013
This is easily the most exhaustively, thoroughly researched book I have read in my life! If Jack took a math test in the fourth grade, Hamilton not only found the test, but interviewed Jack's teacher and classmates, found transcripts of interviews with Jack's family members, and analyzed the test itself all to understand how that test contributes to JFK's psyche. I am not exaggerating. Hamilton found all JFK's grades from first grade through college, and spends an awful lot of time analyzing the progression of Jack's intellectual independence. While this may sound ridiculously thorough, it is incredible to read. It's also comforting to know that the only president to win the Pulitzer Prize had a lot--I mean a lot!--of trouble with math. I'm with ya, man.
Granted, Jack's academic career is not the only aspect of his life this book covers; it covers every major event within every year of his life until he was elected for Congress. In a way, this book is a unique Kennedy biography in that it does not cover his political career at all; instead, we learn all about the environment, experiences, and challenges that shaped a young, sickly boy into a great leader. We get a glimpse of the greatness to come in the final chapter, and it really is breathtaking to read about his transformation. I especially enjoyed the letters he wrote as a little boy to his friends--they're hilarious! It's fun (and interesting) to see how his wit and charm came through when he was a child.
Reckless Youth is also a very balanced biography. Hamilton never descends into the romanticized vision of Camelot, nor does he misconstrue his research to paint Jack as a villain. Rather, the portrait we get is of a young man who withstood a tumultuous childhood full of disease, crippling illnesses, and close brushes with death. He had his final rites read to him at least three times before he was twenty, and in his letters during these debacles, you can see how he tried to accept the fact that he could very well die. I felt this was useful in understanding JFK's preoccupation with sex. What I took away was sex for him was both a way to escape the, frankly, disturbing reality of his illnesses and a way for him to control something in his life. This does not excuse any of his behavior, but I think it allows for a more compassionate understanding. It also enriches the persona of JFK by not showing him as some mythic figure, but as a person with complications and struggles like everyone else.
I learned a TON from reading this book, and I highly, highly recommend it. I came to this not really knowing much about Jack Kennedy and left feeling almost like I'd made a new friend. Hamilton does an excellent job of providing many, many facts and perspectives to support every single claim he makes in this biography. Although a bit dry and exhausting at times, JFK: Reckless Youth is an essential book for anyone interested in American history, presidential history, or the Kennedy family.
Granted, Jack's academic career is not the only aspect of his life this book covers; it covers every major event within every year of his life until he was elected for Congress. In a way, this book is a unique Kennedy biography in that it does not cover his political career at all; instead, we learn all about the environment, experiences, and challenges that shaped a young, sickly boy into a great leader. We get a glimpse of the greatness to come in the final chapter, and it really is breathtaking to read about his transformation. I especially enjoyed the letters he wrote as a little boy to his friends--they're hilarious! It's fun (and interesting) to see how his wit and charm came through when he was a child.
Reckless Youth is also a very balanced biography. Hamilton never descends into the romanticized vision of Camelot, nor does he misconstrue his research to paint Jack as a villain. Rather, the portrait we get is of a young man who withstood a tumultuous childhood full of disease, crippling illnesses, and close brushes with death. He had his final rites read to him at least three times before he was twenty, and in his letters during these debacles, you can see how he tried to accept the fact that he could very well die. I felt this was useful in understanding JFK's preoccupation with sex. What I took away was sex for him was both a way to escape the, frankly, disturbing reality of his illnesses and a way for him to control something in his life. This does not excuse any of his behavior, but I think it allows for a more compassionate understanding. It also enriches the persona of JFK by not showing him as some mythic figure, but as a person with complications and struggles like everyone else.
I learned a TON from reading this book, and I highly, highly recommend it. I came to this not really knowing much about Jack Kennedy and left feeling almost like I'd made a new friend. Hamilton does an excellent job of providing many, many facts and perspectives to support every single claim he makes in this biography. Although a bit dry and exhausting at times, JFK: Reckless Youth is an essential book for anyone interested in American history, presidential history, or the Kennedy family.
December 23, 2012
Indeed, this was "a vastly entertaining" biography of JFK, containing much material never seen in print before--much of it quite upsetting.
There is a vast body of literature about Kennedy, much of it hagiographical. The young man portrayed here is hardly anyone to admire. Granted, his father was a monster, his mother a psychological cripple. One might admire how he managed to function at all coming from such a background. Still, the family was rich and connected. When his eldest brother perished, the mantle fell on Jack, the second in line, and with it the paternal promptings and familial moneys. Some sort of success--barring a descent into something like alcoholism--was almost inevitable. The thought that such a character could become senator, then president, is, however, rather frightening.
How different Kennedy was from the biographical information available at the time is staggering to read about. Reading this may serve as an antidote to credulity in contemporary cases.
Reading this and similar works about the rich and powerful also serves as a case study in the lifestyles of the elites who govern us. Consider, for instance, the life story of George Bush--either of them.
There is a vast body of literature about Kennedy, much of it hagiographical. The young man portrayed here is hardly anyone to admire. Granted, his father was a monster, his mother a psychological cripple. One might admire how he managed to function at all coming from such a background. Still, the family was rich and connected. When his eldest brother perished, the mantle fell on Jack, the second in line, and with it the paternal promptings and familial moneys. Some sort of success--barring a descent into something like alcoholism--was almost inevitable. The thought that such a character could become senator, then president, is, however, rather frightening.
How different Kennedy was from the biographical information available at the time is staggering to read about. Reading this may serve as an antidote to credulity in contemporary cases.
Reading this and similar works about the rich and powerful also serves as a case study in the lifestyles of the elites who govern us. Consider, for instance, the life story of George Bush--either of them.
December 16, 2013
Sadly, this is only the first volume of a projected trilogy that never came to be, concluding as the protagonist wins election to the U.S. Congress in 1946, but before he takes his seat. After its appearance, the family and other keepers of the flame closed off any further access, so the author moved on to other projects. It’s interesting to read the book asking why this would be so, for reading it increased my admiration of Kennedy. I found it remarkable that such a charming, intelligent, courageous individual came from that family.
It must be conceded that the author repeats more than necessary what a dysfunctional family this was. Does the reader need to be reminded quite this often that “the Ambassador” was a tyrant and an isolationist, or that Rose primly refused to acknowledge what was going on in the lives of the children she abandoned to a series of nannies and boarding schools? This might explain why the author was shut off. Or perhaps it is his devotion to detailing one trait in which Jack did take after his father, his overactive sexual life of compulsion mixed with indifference toward his conquests. Then again, it might be his revelation of the lengths to which JFK’s Addison’s and venereal disease were covered up, not only in his lifetime, but long after his death. Since the protagonist is not even thirty when the book closes, he was clearly just getting up to speed. What more revelations were to come?
Hamilton does a good job untangling myth and reality in the PT 109 incident, and shows the uses to which it was put to launch JFK’s career. One might regret that the author devotes less attention to Kennedy’s political opinions than to other matters, but this leads to one of Hamilton’s contentions, an insight he shares with other observers: Kennedy relished the process of politics, but had a detachment from political stances. This, often seen as simultaneously his greatest strength and weakness as a politician, is traced by Hamilton to an emotional stunting for which his parents were to blame. Yet while it might be true that Kennedy did not care about domestic political issues, Hamilton traces his precocious awakening and grasp of international affairs. In part because of his father’s position, but also in no small measure to his own wit, initiative, and inquisitive nature, Kennedy personally met statesmen of the older generation, many of whom spotted his potential. Even here, though, Hamilton sees the psychology of Kennedy’s family of origin at work. One constant of Kennedy’s entire career was a resolute anti-communism. Hamilton suggests this was rooted in the ways Stalin reminded JFK of his father.
A big book, but despite some repetitiousness, a fascinating read. Recommended.
It must be conceded that the author repeats more than necessary what a dysfunctional family this was. Does the reader need to be reminded quite this often that “the Ambassador” was a tyrant and an isolationist, or that Rose primly refused to acknowledge what was going on in the lives of the children she abandoned to a series of nannies and boarding schools? This might explain why the author was shut off. Or perhaps it is his devotion to detailing one trait in which Jack did take after his father, his overactive sexual life of compulsion mixed with indifference toward his conquests. Then again, it might be his revelation of the lengths to which JFK’s Addison’s and venereal disease were covered up, not only in his lifetime, but long after his death. Since the protagonist is not even thirty when the book closes, he was clearly just getting up to speed. What more revelations were to come?
Hamilton does a good job untangling myth and reality in the PT 109 incident, and shows the uses to which it was put to launch JFK’s career. One might regret that the author devotes less attention to Kennedy’s political opinions than to other matters, but this leads to one of Hamilton’s contentions, an insight he shares with other observers: Kennedy relished the process of politics, but had a detachment from political stances. This, often seen as simultaneously his greatest strength and weakness as a politician, is traced by Hamilton to an emotional stunting for which his parents were to blame. Yet while it might be true that Kennedy did not care about domestic political issues, Hamilton traces his precocious awakening and grasp of international affairs. In part because of his father’s position, but also in no small measure to his own wit, initiative, and inquisitive nature, Kennedy personally met statesmen of the older generation, many of whom spotted his potential. Even here, though, Hamilton sees the psychology of Kennedy’s family of origin at work. One constant of Kennedy’s entire career was a resolute anti-communism. Hamilton suggests this was rooted in the ways Stalin reminded JFK of his father.
A big book, but despite some repetitiousness, a fascinating read. Recommended.
August 16, 2024
Detailed look at JFK’s youth, which operates as the single thread holding together this 800-page panoply of early 20th century Boston-Irish politics, the zeitgeist of World Wars 1&2, and the Freudian wet dream of the Kennedy family, headed by Joseph P Kennedy, one of the most power-mad and odious characters in modern American history.
This book, which was supposed to be the first in a purported trilogy detailing the entirety of JFK’s life, was eventually forced to subsist as a one-off, due to the Kennedy’s family’s hostility towards the author - and you can see why. While there is nothing outright slanderous about the author’s treatment of his subject matter, (the author in fact maintains a tone of quiet admiration throughout), he does an excellent job of dispelling the detritus of hagiography that has clung to Joseph Kennedy’s 2nd son.
Jack Kennedy comes across in these pages as one of those rare individuals “born into sunshine and light” (as one of his lovers admiringly describes him), blessed with a rich father, an abundance of charm and wit, good looks, an untroubled countenance, and a sharp intellect that was never turned against himself in any project of introspection or self-pity : there are only a few hints of his later ascent to greatness that appears in these pages, as the young JFK flounders through unconcernedly his boyhood and adolescence in a whirlwind of sports, an earnest if somewhat superficial intellectualism, and women – lots of women. (Somewhere onwards from the mid-portions of the book, it became almost tiring to read of Jack Kennedy’s seemingly endless conquests) – it is this startling normalcy of the young John F Kennedy, appearing for all intents and purposes like one of Wodehouse’s numerous 2nd sons of nobility (charming, but not expected to do anything great) that stands out.
But the author, skilful enough in his exculpation of his subject matter to make him emerge from these pages like a figure from across the street, is scrupulous enough to enumerate the young Kennedy’s numerous virtues. Blessed with wit and charisma (included in the text are innumerable letters from the young JFK to his equally innumerable friends, all exhibiting a sardonic and bawdy wit that made me laugh – it was definitely a surprise to me that JFK was so legitimately hilarious, his wit akin to that of a Salinger character), Jack Kennedy also possesses a quiet determination and courage: most exemplified in his bearing under the single greatest albatross of his life – his ridiculously poor health. (An interesting facet is the plethora of medical analyses that eventually came up empty handed with regards to the ultimate cause of his poor health: which possibly points to psychosomatic origins)
At death’s door numerous times during his youth, the young Kennedy refuses any countenance to self-pity or morbidity, instead ricocheting full heartedly back into life: in the words of a friend, Jack Kennedy “lives hard”, and his entire life is to be characterized by this sense of existential impatience.
If his health was one of the motifs in his short life, the other was his torturously close-knit family – the Kennedy clan emerge from the book as a Shakespearean cataclysm of unresolved tensions, psychotic expectations, and hostility and affection interrelatedly bubbling underneath the façade that the patriarch, Joseph P Kennedy, constructs around his family. The latter attracts almost as much of the authorial intent as JFK does, and for good reason – Joseph P Kennedy exerts a gravitational pull on his family members, proving to be the single biggest influence on his sons’ lives. There are ample examples throughout the book of the former’s crude bluster, his essentially vulgar approach to life, his cowardice, his pitiably blinkered view of government and international relations, his casual immorality, but also of his unmistakeably sound business sense, and his unrestrained love for his children and desire for them to succeed. The efforts of the young JFK to simultaneously avail himself of the benefits and opportunities that his father’s wealth provides him with, whilst at the same time establishing a modicum of independence from his father’s all-consuming intrusion into his life, is astutely picked up upon by the author as JFK’s defining struggle, and it runs like a thread throughout the text.
Alongside his father are detailed snapshots of the other members of the Kennedy clan – his elder brother, Joseph Kennedy, with whom JFK will share a classical sibling-rivalry and whose temperament is poles apart from his own – his cold and loveless mother, whose withholding of maternal affection would be a leitmotif in her sons’ life, and the various siblings of the Kennedy clan, who do their best to patch up a strong bond amongst themselves in the emotional wasteland of the family drama.
I feel that the author is to be congratulated for making his subject matter a portal into the spirit of the age in which JFK grew to adulthood – not only do you learn much about who JFK truly was, and how he came to be that way ; there is a great deal of information to be gleaned about the nature of American politics during that timeframe, the spirited debates of interventionism and isolationism that seem so foreign to our ears now, and the attitude towards women in the age in which JFK came to maturity. In addition, the author’s deft handling of his subject matter means that the book resonates the classical themes of literature, the age-old struggle to gain independence from the father and the coming to age of a young man.
The author, in comparison to Robert Dallek’s somewhat dry biography of JFK, is to be credited for not only putting the facts of JFK’s life in front of us, but at the same time, not shying away from restrained but plausible psychobiographical interjections – the authorial voice is very much evident here. While indubitably an admirer of the young John F Kennedy’s virtues, he is careful enough to elucidate his subject’s faults as well – a callow insincerity predominating beneath his numerous achievements, a lack of seriousness and purpose stemming from the filial dependence that he struggled against but could never fully escape.
I feel that it is quite a pity that the author was not able to go on and complete the trilogy he had in mind – nonetheless, as it stands, this book is a fascinating glimpse into one of the icons of the 20th century, brought down from his unreachable and misty heights, and placed before us, warts and all, but utterly human.
This book, which was supposed to be the first in a purported trilogy detailing the entirety of JFK’s life, was eventually forced to subsist as a one-off, due to the Kennedy’s family’s hostility towards the author - and you can see why. While there is nothing outright slanderous about the author’s treatment of his subject matter, (the author in fact maintains a tone of quiet admiration throughout), he does an excellent job of dispelling the detritus of hagiography that has clung to Joseph Kennedy’s 2nd son.
Jack Kennedy comes across in these pages as one of those rare individuals “born into sunshine and light” (as one of his lovers admiringly describes him), blessed with a rich father, an abundance of charm and wit, good looks, an untroubled countenance, and a sharp intellect that was never turned against himself in any project of introspection or self-pity : there are only a few hints of his later ascent to greatness that appears in these pages, as the young JFK flounders through unconcernedly his boyhood and adolescence in a whirlwind of sports, an earnest if somewhat superficial intellectualism, and women – lots of women. (Somewhere onwards from the mid-portions of the book, it became almost tiring to read of Jack Kennedy’s seemingly endless conquests) – it is this startling normalcy of the young John F Kennedy, appearing for all intents and purposes like one of Wodehouse’s numerous 2nd sons of nobility (charming, but not expected to do anything great) that stands out.
But the author, skilful enough in his exculpation of his subject matter to make him emerge from these pages like a figure from across the street, is scrupulous enough to enumerate the young Kennedy’s numerous virtues. Blessed with wit and charisma (included in the text are innumerable letters from the young JFK to his equally innumerable friends, all exhibiting a sardonic and bawdy wit that made me laugh – it was definitely a surprise to me that JFK was so legitimately hilarious, his wit akin to that of a Salinger character), Jack Kennedy also possesses a quiet determination and courage: most exemplified in his bearing under the single greatest albatross of his life – his ridiculously poor health. (An interesting facet is the plethora of medical analyses that eventually came up empty handed with regards to the ultimate cause of his poor health: which possibly points to psychosomatic origins)
At death’s door numerous times during his youth, the young Kennedy refuses any countenance to self-pity or morbidity, instead ricocheting full heartedly back into life: in the words of a friend, Jack Kennedy “lives hard”, and his entire life is to be characterized by this sense of existential impatience.
If his health was one of the motifs in his short life, the other was his torturously close-knit family – the Kennedy clan emerge from the book as a Shakespearean cataclysm of unresolved tensions, psychotic expectations, and hostility and affection interrelatedly bubbling underneath the façade that the patriarch, Joseph P Kennedy, constructs around his family. The latter attracts almost as much of the authorial intent as JFK does, and for good reason – Joseph P Kennedy exerts a gravitational pull on his family members, proving to be the single biggest influence on his sons’ lives. There are ample examples throughout the book of the former’s crude bluster, his essentially vulgar approach to life, his cowardice, his pitiably blinkered view of government and international relations, his casual immorality, but also of his unmistakeably sound business sense, and his unrestrained love for his children and desire for them to succeed. The efforts of the young JFK to simultaneously avail himself of the benefits and opportunities that his father’s wealth provides him with, whilst at the same time establishing a modicum of independence from his father’s all-consuming intrusion into his life, is astutely picked up upon by the author as JFK’s defining struggle, and it runs like a thread throughout the text.
Alongside his father are detailed snapshots of the other members of the Kennedy clan – his elder brother, Joseph Kennedy, with whom JFK will share a classical sibling-rivalry and whose temperament is poles apart from his own – his cold and loveless mother, whose withholding of maternal affection would be a leitmotif in her sons’ life, and the various siblings of the Kennedy clan, who do their best to patch up a strong bond amongst themselves in the emotional wasteland of the family drama.
I feel that the author is to be congratulated for making his subject matter a portal into the spirit of the age in which JFK grew to adulthood – not only do you learn much about who JFK truly was, and how he came to be that way ; there is a great deal of information to be gleaned about the nature of American politics during that timeframe, the spirited debates of interventionism and isolationism that seem so foreign to our ears now, and the attitude towards women in the age in which JFK came to maturity. In addition, the author’s deft handling of his subject matter means that the book resonates the classical themes of literature, the age-old struggle to gain independence from the father and the coming to age of a young man.
The author, in comparison to Robert Dallek’s somewhat dry biography of JFK, is to be credited for not only putting the facts of JFK’s life in front of us, but at the same time, not shying away from restrained but plausible psychobiographical interjections – the authorial voice is very much evident here. While indubitably an admirer of the young John F Kennedy’s virtues, he is careful enough to elucidate his subject’s faults as well – a callow insincerity predominating beneath his numerous achievements, a lack of seriousness and purpose stemming from the filial dependence that he struggled against but could never fully escape.
I feel that it is quite a pity that the author was not able to go on and complete the trilogy he had in mind – nonetheless, as it stands, this book is a fascinating glimpse into one of the icons of the 20th century, brought down from his unreachable and misty heights, and placed before us, warts and all, but utterly human.
August 28, 2013
The most intimate portrait.
John F. Kennedy's most constant friend, from age 15 until his death, was K. Lemoyne Billings, his Choate School roommate who traveled through Europe with him in 1937, and stayed in unceasing contact. During the Presidency, Jacqueline complained, Billings "spent almost every weekend at the White House."
During this 30-year period, Kennedy wrote hundreds of letters to Billings. Billings, loyal friend, kept them private for 30 more years. Finally, in the early 1990s, he allowed author Nigel Hamilton access to them. Billings also provided an 800-page oral history to the JFK Library.
While the Billings materials are by no means the only original sources, they form the core of this book. Hamilton quotes copiously from them. The result is a picture of the young Kennedy as private and intimate, I daresay, as has ever been revealed about any future President. They include all kinds of salacious adolescent banter, such as JFK's boastful query to Billings, "Have you laid pussy yet?" and a recital of their first teenage visit to a brothel. Much is revealed about JFK's astonishingly abundant dating life.
There is no shortage of material on Kennedy's serious side, either. He shows himself to have been wise and informed on world affairs way beyond his years, and articulate in expressing himself. This book should put to to rest suspicions that he was not the true author of his first book, "Why England Slept" in 1940, and should at least mitigate suspicion that he was the true author of "Profiles in Courage" in 1957.
This book is 800 pages long, and ends in 1947, when Kennedy was 30. It was to be the first of a multi-volume biography. There was, however, no second volume. Hamilton's ambition to write the definitive biography is evident. This is a major, serious work.
It has been controversial. The Kennedy family cooperated more than it customarily did. But the final product portrays Joseph P. Kennedy as a liar, coward, draft-dodger, adulterer, business shark, and appeaser; and Rose Kennedy as a cold, authoritarian religious fanatic. It contains many psychological speculations on the effect of these figures on JFK's persona. On publication, the family, usually silent, took the unusual step of denouncing it.
I think the criticisms have at least some merit. But we also must remember that (as depicted here and elsewhere) the Kennedys were brilliant in shaping--indeed distorting--public perceptions. Such a revealing book would be bound to incite them. On balance, that makes it all the more worthwhile.
John F. Kennedy's most constant friend, from age 15 until his death, was K. Lemoyne Billings, his Choate School roommate who traveled through Europe with him in 1937, and stayed in unceasing contact. During the Presidency, Jacqueline complained, Billings "spent almost every weekend at the White House."
During this 30-year period, Kennedy wrote hundreds of letters to Billings. Billings, loyal friend, kept them private for 30 more years. Finally, in the early 1990s, he allowed author Nigel Hamilton access to them. Billings also provided an 800-page oral history to the JFK Library.
While the Billings materials are by no means the only original sources, they form the core of this book. Hamilton quotes copiously from them. The result is a picture of the young Kennedy as private and intimate, I daresay, as has ever been revealed about any future President. They include all kinds of salacious adolescent banter, such as JFK's boastful query to Billings, "Have you laid pussy yet?" and a recital of their first teenage visit to a brothel. Much is revealed about JFK's astonishingly abundant dating life.
There is no shortage of material on Kennedy's serious side, either. He shows himself to have been wise and informed on world affairs way beyond his years, and articulate in expressing himself. This book should put to to rest suspicions that he was not the true author of his first book, "Why England Slept" in 1940, and should at least mitigate suspicion that he was the true author of "Profiles in Courage" in 1957.
This book is 800 pages long, and ends in 1947, when Kennedy was 30. It was to be the first of a multi-volume biography. There was, however, no second volume. Hamilton's ambition to write the definitive biography is evident. This is a major, serious work.
It has been controversial. The Kennedy family cooperated more than it customarily did. But the final product portrays Joseph P. Kennedy as a liar, coward, draft-dodger, adulterer, business shark, and appeaser; and Rose Kennedy as a cold, authoritarian religious fanatic. It contains many psychological speculations on the effect of these figures on JFK's persona. On publication, the family, usually silent, took the unusual step of denouncing it.
I think the criticisms have at least some merit. But we also must remember that (as depicted here and elsewhere) the Kennedys were brilliant in shaping--indeed distorting--public perceptions. Such a revealing book would be bound to incite them. On balance, that makes it all the more worthwhile.
December 29, 2009
I was surprised to learn the dysfunction of the Kennedy family during the young, formative years of JFK and his siblings. According to this writing, neither Rose nor Joe were the type of parents that we have been lead to believe. I would be interested in reading more about the young years of the Kennedy's.
April 14, 2014
Part of the unrelenting effort by the right-wing to demonize JFK.
Read
August 1, 2019Oh no, another Kennedy book? Yes, and this is a good one. Nigel Hamilton makes me sympathize with the young Jack Kennedy for the first time, while debunking a number of myths, such as the idea that Joe Kennedy Jr., rather than Jack, would have achieved political success if he hadn't been killed in WWII. (Hamilton convincingly makes the case that Joe Jr.'s views were too close to those of Joe Sr. to appeal to most American voters.) Hamilton is also good on Jack's war experiences, with a fair-minded discussion of the famous PT-109 incident. He's also good on Jack's affair with the Danish-born journalist Inga Arvad and the FBI's Keystone Kops-style interference with it, on the absurd pretext that Arvad might have been a dangerous Axis spy. This was intended to be the first of a two-part biography, which Hamilton never completed the second volume of, but that's fine--if anything, too many books have been written about JFK's later years, while his early life surely has never been captured on the page with the sensitivity, thoughtfulness, taste, and attention to detail Hamilton brings to this book.
July 23, 2015
This is my all-time favorite book on JFK. Yes, it gets into all of his affairs with beautiful young women but facts are facts. So what? Here are some facts that I will never forget about JFK: He was extremely good to his retarded sister, very tender towards her. He battled some serious illnesses (like colitis) and was given last rites more than once. His father, Joe Kennedy Sr., pulled strings to get his son (JFK) into the Navy, not the other way around. A nice change. JFK had no business being in the military (much less a war zone) due to very serious health issues. Finally, he really did perform heroically following the sinking of the PT-109. (Perhaps he screwed up by getting hit in the first place? I don't know.) JFK had a cold mother and an ambitious and demanding father. I think he did OK.
December 21, 2013
Nigel Hamilton's book was well-written, though it took some time to get from the less interesting high school years to the more interesting, college and war time years. The emphasis is in the early years is on Joe and Rose Kennedy whom the author considers to be (with some evidence) monsters. Joe Kennedy comes across as one of the most fascinating figures of the century. I may have to pick up the bio about Ol' Joe.
At times it seems like Hamilton disliked all members of the Kennedy family but JFK. It appears that the writing and post-publication experience of Mr. Hamilton was quite a nightmare, as authors going back to William Manchester found out. Looked forward to Hamilton's second volume about Kennedy, but that won't be forthcoming. A good read!
Recommended.
At times it seems like Hamilton disliked all members of the Kennedy family but JFK. It appears that the writing and post-publication experience of Mr. Hamilton was quite a nightmare, as authors going back to William Manchester found out. Looked forward to Hamilton's second volume about Kennedy, but that won't be forthcoming. A good read!
Recommended.
February 12, 2024
To byla presne kniha pro mne.
Kniha velmi podrobne mapuje zivot JFK do zvoleni kongresmanem, teda do roku 1946.
Abychom pochopili do jakeho prostredi se Jack narodil, zaciname uvodem popisujicim politicke a obchodni ambica jeho dedecku Kennedyho a Fitzeralda.
Nasleduje milostna zapletka mezi jeho rodici, ktera se na zacatku zda byt uzasne romanticka. Ve skutecnosti byli jeho rodice ke svym detem citove prazdni.
Jack byl druhym synem, starsi Joe mel jit ve stopach otce, pro nej byla urcena cesta do vysoke politiky. Jie byl Jackovym velkym rivalem. Stale byli v sobe. Bili se jak zita. Jack byl stale ve stinu otce a bratra.
Jack byl rostak jak remen. Neupraveny, nezapravena kosile, neuhlazeny limecek, nedovazana kravatka, strapaty, v pokoji doslova bordel. Byl zaroven lajdacek i ve skole. Kdo vi jak se nesnazil. Jeho studijni vysledky byly slabe....
Ale byl uz jako dite charizmaticky, vtipny, pohotovy.
A byl taky chronicky nemocny. My ho pravdepodobne zname z obrazku jako dospeleho 40 tnika, vysokeho, pevneho. No ve skutecnosti ho trapila spousta chorob spojena se zazivanim a do konce zivota se trapil s obrovskymi bolestmi zad.
I presto nastoupil do vojenske sluzby a realne se ucastnil vojenskych operaci. Dokonce zazil obrovske nebezpecne dobrodruzstvi.
Jack a zeny....ach, ktera by mu nepodlehla. Jackuv behezky vztah k zenam pravdepodobne zavinila absence materske lasky. Jack mel zeny rad, ale asi jen pro sve vlastni poteseni.
Me se kniha moc libila. Skoda ze do CZ neni prelozeno vice faktografickych knih z ery Kennedyu.
Kniha velmi podrobne mapuje zivot JFK do zvoleni kongresmanem, teda do roku 1946.
Abychom pochopili do jakeho prostredi se Jack narodil, zaciname uvodem popisujicim politicke a obchodni ambica jeho dedecku Kennedyho a Fitzeralda.
Nasleduje milostna zapletka mezi jeho rodici, ktera se na zacatku zda byt uzasne romanticka. Ve skutecnosti byli jeho rodice ke svym detem citove prazdni.
Jack byl druhym synem, starsi Joe mel jit ve stopach otce, pro nej byla urcena cesta do vysoke politiky. Jie byl Jackovym velkym rivalem. Stale byli v sobe. Bili se jak zita. Jack byl stale ve stinu otce a bratra.
Jack byl rostak jak remen. Neupraveny, nezapravena kosile, neuhlazeny limecek, nedovazana kravatka, strapaty, v pokoji doslova bordel. Byl zaroven lajdacek i ve skole. Kdo vi jak se nesnazil. Jeho studijni vysledky byly slabe....
Ale byl uz jako dite charizmaticky, vtipny, pohotovy.
A byl taky chronicky nemocny. My ho pravdepodobne zname z obrazku jako dospeleho 40 tnika, vysokeho, pevneho. No ve skutecnosti ho trapila spousta chorob spojena se zazivanim a do konce zivota se trapil s obrovskymi bolestmi zad.
I presto nastoupil do vojenske sluzby a realne se ucastnil vojenskych operaci. Dokonce zazil obrovske nebezpecne dobrodruzstvi.
Jack a zeny....ach, ktera by mu nepodlehla. Jackuv behezky vztah k zenam pravdepodobne zavinila absence materske lasky. Jack mel zeny rad, ale asi jen pro sve vlastni poteseni.
Me se kniha moc libila. Skoda ze do CZ neni prelozeno vice faktografickych knih z ery Kennedyu.
September 15, 2023
This is an interesting biography of the life of John Fitzgerald Kennedy up to his election to Congress. It was intended to the be the first of three part biography, but because the author did not sugarcoat or gloss over a number of non Camelot events in JFK’s early life the family refused him access to papers and documents that they did with this first part. It is unfortunate as most of what the author covered has since come out over the past 30 plus years.
June 16, 2024
Damn this book was boring asf. It did, however, further cement my belief that JFK is bisexual icon. 3 stars.
May 31, 2025
A hefty tome devoted to the detail (and I mean detail) of Jack’s life from childhood to first foray into politics. I’m left feeling ambivalent towards him which may be a consequence of the focus on his youth. Sadly I don’t think there is a volume two to this work as the author must be well into his 80s by now. A new anti-hero emerged for me in this read, Joe Kennedy, what a putrid creature.
January 23, 2016
This was a long book, but the going was rarely rough or inducive of weariness. It covers the years from John Fitzgerald Kennedy's birth to his election to the U.S. Congress in 1946. I have read JFK bios before, mostly in my teens and early 20s when I idolized him. Most of them were weak on the early years of the subject's life, as most biographies are. This book fills in the gaps and does not disappoint - it is a full portrayal of the youth of a man who lived a very exciting and unusual life, a man who struggled against serious health problems and grew up in a very wealthy family with a devoted tyrant at its head. JFK was a man who had different facets: an intellectual, a heroic war veteran, a cheerful socializer, and a womanizer.
Not only does Hamilton do well in getting the facts down but more importantly, a rich portrait of a complex and likable young man emerges. Hamilton succeeds in capturing how Jack was seen by a variety of people who knew him over the years. The author also presents the most complex picture I have seen yet of Joseph P. Kennedy, who was the brains, inspiration, and money behind the whole Kennedy project. An unflattering portrait of his heir apparent, Joe Jr., also emerges. Joe was arrogant and unpleasant, and his sometimes nasty competition with his younger brother Jack may have been the impetus for him to volunteer for the extremely dangerous mission that got him killed. The reader also gets a good look at the moribund marriage of the Kennedy parents, and the frigid way in which Rose raised her children. The one area that is noticeably lacking is a look at the lives and of the other brothers and sisters. Excepting Jack's relationships with Joe and Kick, very little is said.
The book is or course about more than just the Kennedy family. A detailed description is given of the father's troubled tenure as the ambassador to the Court of Saint James, and of Jack's early career as a freelance journalist and commentator. The fascinating relationship between 28 year-old Jack and Danish beauty Inga Arvad is fully presented. Even better is the carefully researched presentation of the disputed PT-109 incident. Hamilton comes down strongly on the side of Jack as a legitimate hero in this terrible incident of naval warfare in the Solomon Islands.
This is a very fine biography, and should be required reading for any JFK/Kennedy watcher.
Not only does Hamilton do well in getting the facts down but more importantly, a rich portrait of a complex and likable young man emerges. Hamilton succeeds in capturing how Jack was seen by a variety of people who knew him over the years. The author also presents the most complex picture I have seen yet of Joseph P. Kennedy, who was the brains, inspiration, and money behind the whole Kennedy project. An unflattering portrait of his heir apparent, Joe Jr., also emerges. Joe was arrogant and unpleasant, and his sometimes nasty competition with his younger brother Jack may have been the impetus for him to volunteer for the extremely dangerous mission that got him killed. The reader also gets a good look at the moribund marriage of the Kennedy parents, and the frigid way in which Rose raised her children. The one area that is noticeably lacking is a look at the lives and of the other brothers and sisters. Excepting Jack's relationships with Joe and Kick, very little is said.
The book is or course about more than just the Kennedy family. A detailed description is given of the father's troubled tenure as the ambassador to the Court of Saint James, and of Jack's early career as a freelance journalist and commentator. The fascinating relationship between 28 year-old Jack and Danish beauty Inga Arvad is fully presented. Even better is the carefully researched presentation of the disputed PT-109 incident. Hamilton comes down strongly on the side of Jack as a legitimate hero in this terrible incident of naval warfare in the Solomon Islands.
This is a very fine biography, and should be required reading for any JFK/Kennedy watcher.
March 23, 2011
This is somewhat of an aberration amongst JFK biographies in that it doesn't cover his politicial career at all. In fact, it stops just after he won his first election, as Massachusetts congressman in 1946. It's more of a biography of his evolution as a man, before he became the politician and subsequently the legend.
It's quite refreshing to read a biography of JFK that goes into this much detail about his early life; most just skim over his childhood, youth and military career in order to get to the good stuff, the politicial life and his presidency. And the detail in this is really exhaustive, and Hamilton has relied very heavily on interviews and letters with JFK's childhood friends.
My only criticism is that the author intrudes too much. There are times when he is incredibly snide, and one gets the very clear sense that he does not like Joseph or Rose Kennedy at all, and makes no attempt to hide it either. There are great numbers of disparaging asides and criticisms that have no real bearing on the text.
But for all that, this is a very good read, and serves as a very good insight into who JFK was before he became the politician, all gloss and glamour and surface.
It's quite refreshing to read a biography of JFK that goes into this much detail about his early life; most just skim over his childhood, youth and military career in order to get to the good stuff, the politicial life and his presidency. And the detail in this is really exhaustive, and Hamilton has relied very heavily on interviews and letters with JFK's childhood friends.
My only criticism is that the author intrudes too much. There are times when he is incredibly snide, and one gets the very clear sense that he does not like Joseph or Rose Kennedy at all, and makes no attempt to hide it either. There are great numbers of disparaging asides and criticisms that have no real bearing on the text.
But for all that, this is a very good read, and serves as a very good insight into who JFK was before he became the politician, all gloss and glamour and surface.
January 27, 2015
Has there been another American family as legendary and surrounded by myth as the Kennedys? I don't believe so. Almost every book about this family seems to have some kind of agenda, whether pro or con. This book manages to deal with the most famous of this large, powerful family without seeming to have an agenda. It covers his life up until 1946 when he won a Congressional seat. It is almost worth the price for the numerous letters JFK wrote as an adolescent and young adult. Quite a few are hilarious. JFK is seen here as a product of his domineering, controlling father who was obsessed with money and power. Also, JFK's early childhood was influenced by a religious, distant mother. This book reads more like a history book than a biography as it deals with JFK's father's experiences and also the backdrop of World War II. Kennedy comes off as an individual with various flaws that manages to overcome a variety of health issues, a domineering father, and mommy issues to follow his own path. One of the interesting things I learned was that JFK was kind of a bookworm. He probably would belong to Goodreads.
September 19, 2011
Im very intrigued by his lifestyle having all his ups and downs. Dealing w fatal sickness, a bad upbringing, WWII, traumatic death in the family, working w playboy, selling insurance and having a rocky marriage all which were done behind the scenes. He always had his successful side along with his rebelious side. I admired the way he kept it together thru all the pressure and how lived a myserious life. Its a long read like 1000 pages but it was definetly not boring and slow. Each chapter had its own story of its own!
October 13, 2014
This book was interesting and a little disturbing. JFK has always been such a revered figure but this book makes him seem very unlikeable and the whole Kennedy family comes across as a big mess. This book only covers Kennedy's life up to the point where he was elected to Congress but he seems like an irresponsible rich boy and very much his father's puppet. I imagine some of that changes (at least a little) as he grows up.
September 26, 2017
If you want to understand who JFK was & who he became, then this is the book. Without a lot of psychoanalyzing, but with a lot of solid research and compelling writing the author presents an engrossing story of the Kennedy family (and its dynamics) and how it shaped its second son. Bio ends before JFK's marriage to Jackie, wish he had written a sequel. Have a hunch that the Kennedys were no longer cooperating.
July 26, 2011
I found this book to be interesting, seeing the things that influenced JKF as he grows up. Some of the things strike me that they can't be true, but you know they are. I did think that there could have been less of Joe Kennedy's political career. I also found it interesting how once he won people over they were won over for life.
March 20, 2010
Really good book, tho it is difficult after a while to continue to read, page after page, just how reckless and self-important and absorbed this American icon was. The truth is always best to know, but no one ever said it would be easier.
Want to read
January 22, 2014I had skimmed this and thought it was rot but will have to go get it out of my discard pile since Chris Matthews said in Elusive Hero that he really relied on it for the early life info on JFK. I hope I still have it in the garage since I have a first edition!
December 15, 2017
Will need a bit more than usual to write a review for this one. But I must meet Mr. Hamilton before its too late, God forbid, for I then may never know how to write a biographical classic that stuns the mind. :)
Disappointed with myself for not having been introduced to this book before 16.
Disappointed with myself for not having been introduced to this book before 16.
January 17, 2008
JFK's story is fascinating. I was captivated!
I did, however, listen to it on CD in my car. I could see it being a bit too long and detailed if you were actually reading it.
I did, however, listen to it on CD in my car. I could see it being a bit too long and detailed if you were actually reading it.
July 14, 2012
Interesting, and a few new factoids I hadn't known. Also, information about Joe Jr. and Jack's relationship, as well as numerous letters from JFK to his friends present an in-depth picture.
June 9, 2013
Anyone interested in JFK should read this!
September 9, 2013
An insight about JFK that differs from the "family authorized" biographies. Not much new in regards to the scandals, perhaps more depth.
February 7, 2014
Excellent Author! Speaks truth on every page with insight into the young life of our Nations President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Get ready for a long read over 800 pages!
Get ready for a long read over 800 pages!
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