by Larry Tye
First published 2016
Larry Tye received extraordinary access from the Kennedy family to craft this comprehensive and editorially independent portrait of Robert F. Kennedy. The New York Times bestselling author of Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend reveals how RFK began his career as counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy, embracing the conservative values of his ambitious father. As a ruthless political strategist, Kennedy orchestrated his brother's campaigns for senator and president, authorized FBI surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr., and approved covert operations against Cuba including bridge bombings, crop destruction, and assassination plots against Fidel Castro. Tye traces Kennedy's remarkable transformation from cold warrior to passionate liberal advocate, showing how he became the racial healer and champion of the poor that history remembers. This political evolution provides insight into two tumultuous decades of American history, revealing how one man's journey from cynical operative to idealistic leader reflected the nation's own struggles with its values and identity.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, political-science, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Cuba
Period: 1950s, 1960s
608 pages · Hardcover · Random House