The author repeatedly falls back on some version of the phrase, "What else was there to say?" as if it's a nervous tic. Many of his observations feel weak and conjectural, like a limp and overpriced hybrid of Wikipedia and National Inquirer. The dialogue reads, at its best moments, like sound bites and, at its worst, like poorly contrived fiction. The diction can be surprisingly informal, even idiomatic (in a cliché sense)(i.e. "So that was the end of that"). As a result, the prose comes across as amateurish and unrefined. This does little to capture the romance and intrigue of the Kennedy saga. ( )

If ever an adage was true, it does indeed ring of the Kennedys. Money cannot buy happiness. Money cannot beat the inevitability of death, and money cannot buy respect.

This is 624 well written pages of the life stories of the American royalty. While at times scathing, mainly it was a look at the joys and the tragedies.

I was eleven when JFK was murdered. Fast forward to grade ten, and the television came to life as programs were interrupted with the tragic news that Robert Kennedy was gunned down and murdered. Tears, including mine, were shed, as well they should have been.

Then, years later, came the blatant disregard for life by the son who held promise to carry the torch. The news reported that Mary Jo Kopechne was found dead in a car-- in fact, she died the night before as Teddy drove the car off a ramp, escaping, never bothering to find help. Finding an air pocket at the top of the car, she died slowly. There was time to save her. Trying to get friends to take the blame, it wasn't until the next morning when he decided he had to face up to his liability.

While each man held bright promise, each man also carried the tradition of their father in using women as their playing ground while wives stayed at home on the compound, watching the kids and looking pretty.

While Ethel's three eldest boys were out of control with drugs, fast driving and throwing around the Kennedy name, Jackie carefully guarded her children's exposure to the rough ones. When Ethel's oldest son Joe drove a jeep round and round and round, spinning the wheels as it turned upside down, paralyzing David's girlfriend, she was promptly dumped by David and paid to go away.

When Papa Joe Kennedy produced a beautiful, but mentally challenged daughter, without the consult of his wife, he decided that the best path to choose was a lobotomy.

Ethel held fast to Bobby's legacy. Joan sobered up and left Teddy. Jackie escaped with Ari Onassis and provided stability for her two children in the hope of getting them out of harms way.

Make no mistake about it -- there were scandals and out of control behaviors. But, there were shining promises. There were three men who cared deeply about the future of America. These men brought hope and a new direction. The Peace Corps, The Special Olympics, and Ted's dedicated activism and fight for health care reform were but a few of the major accomplishments of these troubled souls.

The light did shine brightly on the Kennedys. They inherited wealth, were raised with strong Catholic values by a staunch mother, and they had a supreme mandate to try to make the country better than it was. ( )

Well researched and well written for those who lived in Camelot or wished they did. ( )