The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings: A Five-Generation History of the Ultimate Irish-Catholic Family

The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings: A Five-Generation History of the Ultimate Irish-Catholic Family

by Thomas Maier
The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings: A Five-Generation History of the Ultimate Irish-Catholic Family

The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings: A Five-Generation History of the Ultimate Irish-Catholic Family

by Thomas Maier

Paperback(Reprint)

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Overview

Meticulously researched both here and abroad, The Kennedys examines the Kennedy's as exemplars of the Irish Catholic experience. Beginning with Patrick Kennedy's arrival in the Brahmin world of Boston in 1848, Maier delves into the deeper currents of the often spectacular Kennedy story, and the ways in which their immigrant background shaped their values-and in turn twentieth-century America-for over five generations. As the first and only Roman Catholic ever elected to high national office in this country, JFK's pioneering campaign for president rested on a tradition of navigating a cultural divide that began when Joseph Kennedy shed the brogues of the old country in order to get ahead on Wall Street. Whether studied exercise in cultural self-denial or sheer pragmatism, their movements mirror that of countless of other, albeit less storied, American families. But as much as the Kennedys distanced themselves from their religion and ethnic heritage on the public stage, Maier shows how Irish Catholicism informed many of their most well-known political decisions and stances. From their support of civil rights, to Joe Kennedy's tight relationship with Pope Pius XII and FDR, the impact of their personal family history on the national scene is without question-and makes for an immensely compelling narrative. Bringing together extensive new research in both Ireland and the United States, several exclusive interviews, as well as his own perspective as an Irish-American, Maier's original approach to the Kennedy era brilliantly illustrates the defining role of the immigrant experience for the country's foremost political dynasty.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780465043187
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication date: 10/06/2004
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 736
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Thomas Maier is the author of The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings, which was adapted for Warner Home Video DVD, and the critically acclaimed Dr. Spock, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. He is a special writer at Newsday. He lives in Long Island, New York.
www.thomasmaierbooks.com

Table of Contents

Prefacexv
Part IFrom Ireland to Irish-American
1The Boys of Wexford3
2Heirs of Brian Boru10
3The Starvation18
4American Wake24
5Brahmins and Bigotry35
6The Long Climb to Acceptance51
7The Family Enterprise67
8Hard Lessons78
Part IIThe Family Faith
9Happy Warriors95
10An Irishman in the Court of St. James113
11The Vatican Go-Between123
12Tortured Souls139
13Hero Worship160
14Blood Brothers173
15A Lighter Shade of Green191
16Eire214
Part IIIRise to the Presidency
17The Irish Brahmin235
18A Child of Fate249
19Articles of Faith266
20A Nation of Immigrants277
21Matters of Church and State292
22A Friend in Rome298
23Primary Lessons313
24West Virginia326
25The Fall, 1960339
Part IVThe Rites of Power
26A Catholic in the White House361
27Holy Wars374
28Conversion and Subversion386
29The Two Johns394
30Doing the Right Thing409
31In the Springtime428
32The Ritual of Mourning444
Part VThe Emerald Thread
33A Living Wound467
34The Awful Grace of God485
35The Politics of Outsiders499
36The Ghosts of Camelot519
37Last Hurrahs535
38A Matter of Faith550
39Looking Backward and Forward561
40Principles of Peace572
41Legacies589
A Note on Sources603
Selected Bibliography637
About the Author655
Index657
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