Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Kennedys  By  cover art

The Kennedys

By: Peter Collier,David Horowitz
Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.92

Buy for $24.92

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Who are the Kennedys? Are they the brilliant, heroic, extraordinary people their admirers believe them to be? Or are they arrogant, competitive, self-absorbed children of a willful and immensely rich patriarch, as their detractors claim? In fact, they are all of these things, and more.

Years in the making, based on hundreds of interviews with family members and associates and extensive research into archives and sources unused until now, this is the nationwide best—seller whose very publication caused an uproar in the press. The first and only book to fully penetrate the Kennedy inner sanctum and reveal the true, all too human saga behind America’s most famous family.

©1984 Peter Collier and David Horowitz (P)1990 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"It's a saga for sure, but between these covers, the mythology of the name is blown away." ( Forbes)

What listeners say about The Kennedys

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    49
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    41
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    41
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well-written (and narrated) Kennedy history.

I've been on a bit of a Kennedy binge, for reasons I cannot fully comprehend. This one (which was referenced in another, lesser, Kennedy tome) was quite a surprise -- very well written, witty, insightful, hampered by neither the bile nor the gushing that usually leave their mark on Kennedy histories. I also have to throw in a huge round of applause for Christopher Hurt, who does a remarkable job with the narration. His impersonations are completely spot-on (I admit to embarrassing bursts of laughter in the street), but always respectful and never parodic. He even pronounces French words correctly -- an (English-language) audiobook miracle. The only term he mispronounced, oddly, was Skakel (which he rhymed with "spackle")--for which he is eminently forgiven. A highly recommended listen in every respect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Money Doesn't Buy Happiness

The Kennedys: An American Drama is a gripping history about America’s most prominent political family in the last century. The story begins with their earliest ancestor, Patrick Kennedy arrival from Ireland. The center of the story is his grandson, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, the patriarch that established the family wealth and the dream of a Presidential dynasty.

The authors, Peter Collier and David Horowitz provide an intimate look into the life of this family. This book is not hagiography nor simple minded Kennedy bashing. None the less, given the worship of the Kennedy’s, the book reveals an empty pursuit of power by JFK, Robert and Teddy aa well as reckless personal lives. Robert Kennedy seems to have been the true believer among the men. Collier and Horowitz follows the Kennedy legacy into the lost next generation trying to live with the tragedy of their dead parents. This is a satisfying history of a modern American tragedy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Super Book

With the 60th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination I wanted to read this book and it did not disappoint! Wow! What a wonderful book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent overview of a huge family

The authors pull off the nearly impossible… Although it ends in about 1984, the book touches on everything of consequence within a one volume book; highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An enjoyable listen, money well spent.

Surprisingly easy and pleasant to listen to. Is this because it is very well written, very well read, or both? See for yourself. Not just Part 3. All of it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Tragic story.

Reader was very effective, but the language, though probably the hard truth was hard for me. I feel it was a true insight into the Kennedy family but I came away knowing this was a sad chapter in history.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

More Insight, Less Burnishing

I’ve read my share of Kennedyana, my favorite being Doris Kearns Goodwin’s. Until now.
Big surprise for me was the inter generational influence of Lem Billings. Be sure to listen to the bibliography explanation about the difficulty in cracking the Kennedy hold on its image. David Kennedy spent time being interviewed for this book, got flack for “treason” by the Fam and then succumbed tragically.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!