Overview
Robert Kennedy has been viewed as hero and villain -- as the "Good Bobby" who, as his brother Ted eulogized him, "saw wrong and tried to right it,...saw suffering and tried to heal it" -- or as the "Bad Bobby" of countless conspiracy theories, the ruthless and manipulative bully who plotted with the Mafia to kill Castro and lusted after Marilyn Monroe. Evan Thomas's achievement is to realize RFK as a human being, to bring to life an extraordinarily complex man who was at once kind and cruel, devious and honest, fearful and brave.
Thomas had unusual access to his subject's life. He is the first biographer since Arthur Schlesinger to see RFK's private papers, and he interviewed all of Kennedy's closest aides and advisers, many of whom were forthcoming in ways that they had not been before.
The portrait that emerges is unvarnished but sympathetic, fair-minded and always readable. It is packed with new detail about Kennedy's early life and his behind-the-scenes machinations: his involvement in a cheating incident in prep school; his first attempt at romance; and his many back-channel political operations -- with new revelations about the 1960 and 1968 presidential campaigns, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and his long struggles with J. Edgar Hoover and Lyndon Johnson, both of whom were subtly and not-so-subtly trying to blackmail the Kennedys.
In a clear and fast-paced narrative, Thomas cuts through the mythology to reveal a character who, though he died young just as he was reaching for ultimate power, remains one of the century's most fascinating men.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Bookseller ReviewsWithin the Kennedy family, Robert was known as either his mother's pet or the runt. In this highly competitive environment, he was oversensitive, moody, and quiet; a mediocre student, an intense, but awkward athlete. But "Mrs. Kennedy's little boy Bobby" was brooding himself into maturity. This biography, the first major R.F.K. life in twenty years, presents the eternal younger brother as a fierce and sullen campaigner, a talented (if ruthless) negotiator not adverse to use back channels. Wise Man author Thomas scrutinizes the mythos surround Robert, including his links to the mob, assassination plots and Ms. Monroe. As Newsweek readers recently learned, his rendering of the Cuban Missile Crises brings it all back closer than ninety miles from home.
From The Critics
Thomas has succeeded in writing the first full-fledged biography of Robert Kennedy since Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.'s Robert Kennedy and His Times. Thomas had access to some of RFK's personal papers that Schlesinger did not see, and the result is one of the most readable and compelling political biographies in years. Here the author addresses the complexities surrounding RFK's life and legacy and delves into his struggles for recognition while growing up among the competitive Kennedy clan. Not surprisingly, Thomas concentrates on RFK's relationship with his brother, President John F. Kennedy, and explains how RFK evolved from kid brother to the most important confidant in the administration. The author traces the drama of RFK's integral involvement in the Cuban missile crisis and the civil rights movement, as well as his personal life. After his brother's assassination, RFK's life was clouded by the tragedy, and he became haunted by a sense of his own mortality. In the closing chapter, Thomas writes a moving account of RFK's ill-fated 1968 campaign for the presidency. One can only ruminate on the might-have-beens had RFK lived, but Thomas, to his credit, does not sentimentalize this biography. Instead, he delivers an even-handed, temperate account of a complex man who would be president.—Glenn Speer
Publishers Weekly -
Thomas has made a career writing about Washington insiders (he was co-author, with Walter Isaacson, of The Wise Men). A high-ranking editor at Newsweek, Thomas (an insider himself) has now written a nuanced biography of one of the 20th century's most iconic insiders. Although there are no startling revelations in this capably written, thick book, there is a lot of new information, thanks to the increasing openness of Kennedy's surviving colleagues and the new availability of oral histories, RFK's personal files, declassified national security documents and other sources. As a result, Thomas offers an illumination of the man's failings as well as his strengths, and unravels the complex knot of relationships within the Kennedy family. Portraying RFK as a man whose "house had many mansions," Thomas calls him "the lucky one"--he was raised in the shadow of his brothers, and his passion-filled life shined a light into "the family cave" of secrets. Throughout, Thomas highlights the contradictions of Kennedy's persona--he was an extraordinarily wealthy individual who could act spoiled one day, then express empathy with the have-nots on the next; he was a devoted, sometimes around-the-clock protector of his often wayward older brother, John, but still established his own career; he was shy but sought out publicity; and he was an enthusiastic family man who ran for the presidency despite its obvious risks. Though primarily a tribute to a man whose potential for greatness was cut short, Thomas's book sheds new light on a man--and an era, and a family--about whom Americans will probably never know the whole truth. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.Library Journal
Since 1996, a number of fine books have investigated aspects of the life and legacy of this enigmatic political idol. If the Kennedys are America's royal family, then Robert F. Kennedy was the tribune of the poor. He is well served by this gracefully written, thoroughly researched, and accessible popular biography by Thomas, the assistant managing editor of Newsweek. This study is not as detailed as Arthur Schlesinger Jr.'s uncritical Robert Kennedy and His Times (LJ 8/78) or James Hilty's Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector (LJ 4/15/98), which is the first of two volumes. But Thomas's narrative, skillfully woven from numerous interviews, vividly reveals a very human Kennedy struggling to come to terms with his brother's assassination, his role in wiretapping Martin Luther King Jr., and his fatal decision to take on Eugene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey in the 1968 Democratic primary. Thomas's chilling account of the Cuban Missile Crisis shows Kennedy at his best, while his portrayal of his feuds with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and Cuban president Fidel Castro reveal him at his worst. Thomas convincingly debunks a number of the myths that envelop Kennedy. Highly recommended for public libraries.--Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\Michael Lind
[T]his judicious and thorough book is likely to be the most comprehensive and balanced study of the life and career of Robert F. Kennedy for a long time to come.—The New York Times Book Review
Terry Golway
With subtle foreshadowing and an objective eye, Evan Thomas makes the case that Bobby Kennedy's transformation came from within. Even the worldly and the cynical will take away from this biography a greater appreciation of the Kennedys in general and Robert Kennedy in particular. And it is always good to remember, in such times as ours, that Bobby, like his brothers Jack and Joe, was a young man who died for his country.—New York Observer
Lance Morrow
Thomas' telling of the story is clear eyed, richly detailed and riveting, mainly because of his shrewd feelings for the nuances of Kennedy's character and internal conflicts.—Time Magazine