Robert Kennedy in His Own Words: The Unpublished Recollections of the Kennedy Years

by Robert F. Kennedy

Kennedy offers a candid account of a turbulent era, drawn from previously unpublished conversations with famous figures of the day, including Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Edward Guthman, and Anthony Lewis

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Biography, Memoir, American History

493 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1988

About the author

Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy, also called RFK, was the United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964 and a US Senator from New York from 1965 until his assassination in 1968. He was one of US President John F. Kennedy's younger brothers, and also one of his most trusted advisors and worked closely with the president during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He also made a significant contribution to the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

After his brother's assassination in late 1963, Kennedy continued as Attorney General under President Johnson for nine months. He resigned in September 1964 and was elected to the United States Senate from New York that November. He broke with Johnson over the Vietnam War, among other issues.

After Eugene McCarthy nearly defeated Johnson in the New Hampshire Primary in early 1968, Kennedy announced his own campaign for president, seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party. Kennedy defeated McCarthy in the critical California primary but was shot shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, dying on June 6. On June 9, President Johnson declared an official day of national mourning in response to the public grief following Kennedy's death.

His son is Robert F. Kennedy Jr..

Reviews

[Bruce Kirby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different take on Robert Kennedy. Laid out with his vulnerablities and strengths exposed.It really shined a new light on many of the events of the late 50s and early 60s, how difficult it was to get JFK elected, the mistakes of the administration and the difficulty in selecting the cabinet.

[Frau Ott · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting read. Historically informative and in depth looks into a time when I was not understanding politics... I learned a lot, but still feel somewhat ignorant.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some books that are right for certain times. Certain books that if you don't read them as a child, you won't ever appreciate properly if you try to read them as an adult. Books that when you pick them up and read them affect you in such a way that they never would have if you'd read them a year ago...or a year from now. For me I think, Robert Kennedy: In His Own Words is such a book. When I was in high school I did a huge research paper on Robert Kennedy. I got really interested and started reading more and more even after the paper was finished. One of my good friends gave me this book as soon as it came out in a trade paperback edition back in 1989. But for whatever reason--the demands of college, perhaps--I never read it. I kept it on the TBR pile and kept putting it off. That was a mistake.

It's not that I'm not interested in RFK anymore. I am. I read a really good book about him last year, Robert F. Kennedy: A Memoir by Jack Newfield, and was totally caught up in the history again. But this book is a very different thing. It is composed of transcripts of interviews conducted in 1964, 1965 and 1967 with RFK as part of an oral history for the John F. Kennedy Library. There are a lot of details about events that took place before I was born and which, in the years since my intense research, have grown very fuzzy in the memory. I would have appreciated this book so much more if I had read it when the research was much fresher.

But, that said, this is still a very good book. When it came out, I'm sure it made quite a splash. It gave the reading public the never-before-published inside view of what went on in the White House and the Attorney General's office during the JFK presidency. Details of the Bay of Pigs and the civil rights campaign and early years of Vietnam straight from the the president's most trusted adviser. Through most of the interviews, Kennedy has a very matter-of fact tone--a man just telling what happened and how he participated. Then there are sections that are very touching which give a view of the deep respect and friendship that had grown up between the two brothers. He shares the hopes and aspirations that he and JFK had for what they hoped would be JFK's second term in office. He also speaks quite openly--and irritably--about Lyndon Johnson and about how their very tenuous relationship deteriorated so rapidly in the days after his brother's assassination. And he ends with tentative musings about what might be ahead for him.

A very informative book. Chock full of details. A valuable resource for anyone interested in the presidency of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy's involvement during those years...or both. Three stars....if I had been able to read this sooner, I'm sure I would have rated it higher.

[Patrick Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book presents transcripts and writings of "Robert Kennedy that had been previously unpublished. Ultimately a progressive champion, it is so far the other way my country's gone. Inspirational with sadness for what might have been.

[Kirk Bower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Center around speeches, lectures, and personal discussions. Very insightfull

[Dawn Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing speeches!

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of transcribed interviews with Robert F. Kennedy recorded in the months after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and Lyndon B. Johnson’s accession captures a man in mourning and a government in transition.

Kennedy comes across as blunt, combative, and unsentimental. His assessments of people and institutions are grounded in competence, loyalty, and usefulness, with sharp criticisms of the State Department, J. Edgar Hoover/the FBI, and the overall bureaucratic resistance to reform. The interviews cover the wide range of issues Bobby Kennedy was involved in such as, the Cuban Missile Crisis, unrealised plans to normalise relations with Cuba, Latin American foreign policy, the Berlin Crisis, civil rights battles in Oxford, Montgomery, and Mississippi, his campaign against organised crime, poverty in America, and some brief insights into his time as campaign manager.

At times, Kennedy comes across a bit defensive, but this feels inevitable given the rawness of his brother's very recent death and his own uncertain place in Johnson’s White House. His deep dislike for LBJ is present, but the overriding thread is his fierce defence of his brother and the administration they built. This is not the idealistic, hopeful Bobby Kennedy of his later solo political career, but part grief-stricken RFK, part Bulldog Bobby, hardened, determined, and navigating a complex, constrained political landscape.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book. Insight into the Kennedy's political thinking has a historic interest, and Bobby reflects on what was happening inside the White House during significant events such as the Berlin wall, the Bay of Pigs in Cuba and their thoughts on leaders of the time De Gaulle and MacMillan, and people within the Kennedy cabinet. Fairly easy to read as all transcripts of interviews and a good reference in the book as to explain who all the people were, as it is talking of a time that is more than 60 years ago.

[Mera Granberg Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing to me how much of what Robert Kennedy was talking about in the 1960's we're still talking about today. Thought provoking and inspiring to listen to his metamorphosis from Congressional staffer to civil-rights leader through his speeches.

[Tim Duff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting tidbits in to the life of JFK & RFK, but nothing really earthshaking or new information. All interviews during 1964 following the death of JFK. For serious Kennedyphiles only.

[Michael Golightly · Rating 2 out of 5]

not much that sounded like the RFK I remember and admired.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was centered a lot around speeches and documents, which was very insightful and also a little tedious. I generally buy everything related to the Kennedy family that I come across, and this was no different. It was interesting to see how much RFK was involved in. I guess I had never really paid that much attention to it before. I think this is a must read for anyone who is into the Kennedy clan.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my teens I read everything there was about RFK, and found this book to be my favorite as it was in his words. Helped me to see JFK had the charisma but RFK had the bigger heart.