James W. Graham

If the Camelot Kennedy lore doesn't appeal to you, chances are you will not like VICTURA. Although much is told of RFK, JFK and Teddy, very little is mentioned of Jackie O and their spousal relationships within the Kennedy core family. I would have liked to see these relationships included, as I consider their wives and how they are treated within the family relevant.
Although the story purports the moral values the family learned, such as loyalty to each other, those values from my reading, only extended to the Kennedy core clan and less to those of their spouses and the world around them. The story also tells how the Kennedy's were raised with a sense of serving others and the contributions they have made to this world because of lessons learned from Victura. To me, I had problems, because although the book tells of the moral values and good the Kennedy's accomplished, it tends to ignore their moral failings, unless they were well publicized. Upon finishing this book, I found myself wondering whether or not the Kennedy sense of servitude was merely a tool to keep them in good standing with the public.… (altro)

One of the most well-written books I’ve recently read, Victura: The Kennedys, A Sailboat, and The Sea, describes the influence that the sea had and continues to have on this very public family. I found the whole concept of the book to be very creative. After all, numerous books have been written about the Kennedys, but here is a book that doesn’t just regurgitate what we already know about the Kennedys. Instead, the author gives just enough biographical history of their lives—their many tragedies and successes-- and weaves into these events a powerful tradition and love for the sea which fed their spirit to endure.

I enjoyed learning about some of the speeches made by various Kennedys in which they referenced the sea, tales from the sea, or particular poets. Additionally, I knew they were a sailing family, but I didn’t really know the extent of it as a family tradition and how important racing was. As a learning tool sailing taught them about leadership, competing, discipline and teamwork. But it’s the fact that they drew such strength from the sea, from the stars, from its peacefulness that most impressed me and how they found mental sustenance from it during difficult times.

It’s no wonder that anyone growing up surrounded by the sea would have an attachment to it; this is especially true of Cape Codders. In Victura the author, James W. Graham, a sailor himself, dives deeper to demonstrate that sea water actually runs in the Kennedys’ blood. I can highly recommend it.… (altro)