Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years (ISBN 0743269187)

Finally some answers . . .:
This is the most riveting account of the Kennedy assassinations I have read to date. Mr. Talbot meticulously documents and cross references his information and sources. This book is a disturbing wake up call to Americans about the danger of rogue agencies, an overly powerful military complex, and the vulnerability of any president who is morally, intellectually, and psychologically determined to keep a steady hand on the helm in a world as dangerous to us from within as from without. I think this should be mandatory reading for all Americans. I myself have purchased 4 copies and have them all lent out at all times. Friends who originally read one of my copies are now buying copies themselves. I urge every American to READ THIS BOOK! Thank you, Mr. Talbot.

Too Slanted To Be Credible:
David Talbot admires the Kennedys -- especially John and Robert. OK, fine. Nothing wrong with that. I do not share that admiration but I do think they were OK guys whose reputation exceeds their reality. David Talbot portrays the Kennedy Administration as one of virtue and rightness that was hounded by evil right wing idealogues who hated everything liberal and were willing to destroy the world if it meant destroying Communism. As a right wing conservative myself I would be the first to admit that some of the conservative icons of that era were scary but not to the extreme that Talbot tries to portray them. And that is where I found this book to be such a drag. The basic premise of this book is that right wingers in the government conspired against the President -- not necessarily to murder the President but their actions resulted in that act coming to fruition. Talbot portrays the President as not being hounded into foolish action when the Bay of Pigs adventure went bad -- an adventure he did not start but also did not finish. President Kennedy was a man of peace and love willing to work with people within the government and outside the government that the right wing establishment detested. President Kennedy was a man of peace and love willing to work with foreign governments -- yes, even the Communists that the right wing establishment detested and was willing to destroy even it meant destroying the world. If you believe Talbot, many of the "crimes" and "adventures" perpetrated by the intelligence community -- most notably the CIA -- and the military were done over his objections or without his knowledge. After all, President Kennedy and his brother were good and decent God fearing men above such indecency. For this the right wing establishment grew to hate the President to the point they were willing to end his presidency. After the tragedy in Dallas Talbot portrays Robert Kennedy as a tormented man. That is believable. Talbot also portrays Robert as a man who truly believed that the tragedy in Dallas was the result of a conspiracy within the government. If Robert had not died as he did -- Talbot hints at another conspiracy perhaps perpetrated the right wing conservatives -- he would have won his party's nomination in 1968 (never mind Hubert Humphrey had the nomination virtually locked up when Robert won the California Primary), won the presidency, and would have reopened the investigation into his brother's death. As for all the less than flattering revelations about the Kennedy Administration that were revealed in subsequent investigations in the 1970s and beyond, Talbot pretty much dismisses them as lies. Yes, he does admit that John was not exactly the most faithful husband in the world and that he may have experimented with some powerful and illegal drugs while in the White House, but when it came to some of the misdeeds that happened nationally and internationally he and his brother were pure and innocent. Their accusers were pretty much the same individuals who hounded the two brothers and were not above lying not only to cover for themselves but to also demonstrate that physical assassination was not enough as they had to participate in character assassination. Were the Kennedys bad people? No. Was John Kennedy a bad president? I do not think so but I do not think he was a great president either. The mystique around his administration is what might have been. But David Talbot's attempt to rewrite the events of the Kennedy Administration and his brother's attempt to carry on the "dream" after 22 November 1963 is totally slanted to the point of lacking credibility. This book portrays the Kennedy's as they probably wish to be remembered. But I do not think this book portrays reality.

More than a Story of Brothers:
This book has 3 major sections. It begins with convincing analysis of the motivations of the Mafia, CIA and anti-Castro Cubans. The next part focuses on RFK, his response to his brother's assassination and his subsequent career. The last part describes and discusses the cover up. Talbot doesn't get into the theories of the bullets, the capture of Oswald, shady life of Ruby, etc. The author is not out to prove one theory or another. The book shows RFK was successful in mafia prosecutions and was making its leadership uncomfortable. The mob and the CIA had already had a convenient partnership, unbeknownst to the executive and legislative branches, particularly in working with Cuban exiles. Talbot doesn't say much about the mafia's interests in pre-Castro Cuba, but this allied them with the Cuban exiles. Anyone who as ever worked in an organization with a new boss or undergoing change knows the passion of the old guard. The old guard in the CIA was filled with anti-communist fervor, self-righteousiness and an amorality that first hit the public consciousness with the Watergate break in. When those involved in the Cuba projects realized JFK was not going to try another Bay of Pigs, they viewed JFK as they would any other national leader who didn't play their game. Talbot shows how neither Kennedy (Pres and AG) could contain their "staff" who continued rogue operations. Certain CIA staff could barely contain their contempt for the executive branch and its new occupants. They secretly and brazenly carried on the work that neither the president or congress approved. The FBI Director, who should have been a direct report to RFK spied on him and curtailed his security upon his brothers' death. New to me was how poor a job the CIA did on Cuba. With all the emphasis on killing Castro, quixotic ineffective ventures onto the island, the attempts of get Oswald Cuban cover, etc. it totally missed the Russian build up of troops. Castro, as the only survivor of the principals of this episode, probably gets a good laugh out of this at our expense. Talbot clearly loves the Camelot legend. Neither Kennedy can do much wrong in Talbot's eyes. Bobby's gloss of the Warren Report is dismissed as is the role of JFK's very un-Presidential conduct. He mentions LSD, which was new to me, but not Judith Campbell Exner, both examples of his unnecessarily playing with fire. Talbot gives Castro a benign treatment. While this is not a book about Castro, some recognition of the exiles' cause would have been appropriate. I was struck by the role of the media because the more things change, the more they say the same. Ben Bradlee, a presumed friend of JFK dismisses his paper's silence on the matter because he had other priorities--- his career. I think this is the same modus operandi the press assumes now, taking the line of least resistance rather than finding the real story. "Will the truth ever come out?" asks the news media... ironically the very institutions who's collective mission is to bring the truth to the pubic. Talbot is not optimistic about the truth coming out, speculating that concern for truth in these two assassinations will end with the Kennedy era generation. This book is a very readable summary of the issues involved in the dual assassinations. I highly recommend it.

Great Book:
Great Book. Talks about just about anyone who could have assassinated JFK. Not only does it give insight to JFK's presidency but also what kind of man Bobby Kennedy was.

Good Backdoor Info...:
This is a good book to give you ideas of waht was on the mind of RFK after his brother's murder. It also gives us an idea of why he never publicly expressed a conspiracy but was just waiting to get back into the White House to bring the killers to justice. Of course they made sure that he never made it there. For me, being born in 1972, I was always forced to watch anything about the 1960's on TV growing up even until now. I always wondered why we had to be concerned with that decade. When put into perspective, it makes sense. That decade saw multiple polictical murders! A president shot down, a Senator - the president's brother shot down, a powerful civil rights leaders shot down as well as the many instances of domestic terrorism towards blacks by the hands of savage white racists! That was a decade unlike any other in US history! The worst part about it was that these murders were just all the work of "lone nuts" and never given A1 invastigations. The US government did not care. When your government does not care about all of the circumstances surrounding the murder of your own president and a US Senator - the either must have been the cause or they were happy that it happened. This books gives you an idea of what was on the mind of these two murdered brothers and even JFK's drug use in the White House! It is already known that the Kennedy brothers (all of them) were/are out of control sex fiends who disrepsected their wives and had woman after woman and threw them away, but this book details the greed of sex fiends and the fact that these guys did not care if the "jump-offs" were married or not. They did not care if they were called again. I guess money and power will make you do that. The weird part is, JFK managed to do all women even with his bad back! This books is a good read to get the no-so publicised stories and it goes deeper than just mentioning events that are well know. I would get it.