Bobby Kennedy

After listening to an interview with the author, Larry Tye, I put this audiobook on hold at the library.

During American history class in both middle and high school, post-World War II events were barely addressed. This was pretty typical of the textbooks available to Gen Xers, frankly. Coverage of Bobby Kennedy's brother, JFK, more largely limited to the Bay of Pigs, the beginnings of US intervention in Vietnam, and his assassination. Bobby was practically a footnote, the focus being his own tragic assassination.

Until I heard the interview, I did not know that Bobby started off supporting Joe McCarthy's anti-Communist trials. One interesting side note is that Roy Cohn, an attorney and a key member of McCarthy's team, was one of Bobby's early nemeses. Roy Cohn went on to assistant the Trump family, becoming an important influence on Donald Trump.

Also illuminating was what seemed to be a very balanced portrayal of Bobby's aggressive, ambitious nature and his family loyalty. I knew that Bobby was JFK's attorney general, but did not know that Bobby also ran JFK's campaigns, nor his animosity towards LBJ (completely returned!).

There were moments I got a little side-tracked, but I was listening to the audiobook version during my daily commute. Although I can't compare this biography to any prior versions, Mr. Tye definitely uses direct sources and was quite thorough in his presentation of RFK's life.

Overall, the biography is really well-done and timely during a contentious election and race and gender issues I wish had improved in the last 50 years.