The Patriarch

The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy

By: David Nasaw

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

Length: 30 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

Commissioned by the Kennedy Family...

Any additional comments?

It should be noted by anyone who is interested in this book that the author mentions in the beginning that he was commissioned by the Kennedy family to write this book. That information was not in the description, so I was a bit disappointed to find that out after I had already purchased this book.

Wonderfully entertaining and engaging

Would you consider the audio edition of The Patriarch to be better than the print version?

Yes, the narration was a plus to the story.

What other book might you compare The Patriarch to and why?

It's hard to say as it was somewhat contemporary, thus one feels like you were around at the time. On the other hand we got wonderful insights on a man who functioned in this world we think we know. You can't compare it to a biography of say Churchill; more like Howard Hughes. (Who was that, Irving?0

Have you listened to any of Malcolm Hillgartner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Don't recall, but this was great.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

What moved me? It's not that sort of narrative. You feel like you are getting an inside look at a very complicated man and his relationships with his family, friends and his own conscious. I could not wait to get back to it.

Any additional comments?

Nassau did a lot of homework and it shows. He is an excellent writer. The subtlety used to draw out very difficult topics and subjects gives it credibility. You find yourself impatiently waiting to get to the next stage of his life.
The narrator did a masterful job and added to the enjoyment of this book.

Give the accents a rest

I can't emphasize how annoying it was that the narrator insisted on aping the accents of Joseph Kennedy and of his family.

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.

brilliant biography and history

This long and detailed biography of the patriarch of one of America's most famous families takes a listener into many fascinating segments of 20th century history. Along the way, a listener becomes familiear not only with the Kennedy family and children, but with other 20th century luminaries such as Gloria Swanson and, most brilliantly, FDR and his entourage. Many myths about the patriarch are dispelled and unknown facets of his life and those with whom he interacted are elucidated. The section during which Joseph P. was Ambassador to Great Britain is brilliantly told, tremendously gripping, and always shadowed by the listener's knowledge of the fate of the patriarch's oldest son. Wonderfully narrated even if the assumed accents are occasionally annoying. HIGHLY recommended for anyone interested in 20th century history.

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.

Easily the worst audiobook EVER

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

If I had never bothered to purchase it in the first place

What do you think your next listen will be?

Anything but this book

Would you be willing to try another one of Malcolm Hillgartner’s performances?

no

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment, boredom, sleep

Any additional comments?

can I get my money back?

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.

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.

Too clean. Too long. Distracting narration.

Kennedy used blunt and colorful language but you won't hear any of it in this book. I was very disappointed - I wanted to know who this man was. Instead I heard a cleaned up version of Joe Kennedy and his family. The fact that the family paid for this book to be written is admitted in the book's prologue. So don't expect anything too revealing.
Badly in need of editing. Way too many communications, letters and newspaper articles that should have been reduced in number and summarized. 31 hours is 10 hours too long.
The narrator's attempt at accents fails throughout. Comically at times.

The grandson of poor Irish migrants, what a meteoric rise!

I am pleased the bootlegging rumours were put to be here, what an interesting multi-faceted life he lived, full of high highs and low lows. You just can’t imagine the feeling of outliving 3 of your 4 sons, tragic. But, when you think his grandchildren are all collecting dividends worth millions periodically, his endeavours paved the way for future generations of his family. Its great the writer points out his flaws and weaknesses, as well as his strengths. Great read.