The Kennedys

An American Drama

By: Peter Collier, David Horowitz

Narrated by: Christopher Hurt

Who are the Kennedys? Are they the brilliant, heroic, extraordinary people their admirers believe them to be? Or are they arrogant, competitive, self-absorbed children of a willful and immensely rich patriarch, as their detractors claim? In fact, they are all of these things, and more.

Years in the making, based on hundreds of interviews with family members and associates and extensive research into archives and sources unused until now, this is the nationwide best—seller whose very publication caused an uproar in the press. The first and only book to fully penetrate the Kennedy inner sanctum and reveal the true, all too human saga behind America’s most famous family.

©1984 Peter Collier and David Horowitz (P)1990 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"It's a saga for sure, but between these covers, the mythology of the name is blown away." ( Forbes)

Money Doesn't Buy Happiness

The Kennedys: An American Drama is a gripping history about America’s most prominent political family in the last century. The story begins with their earliest ancestor, Patrick Kennedy arrival from Ireland. The center of the story is his grandson, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, the patriarch that established the family wealth and the dream of a Presidential dynasty.

The authors, Peter Collier and David Horowitz provide an intimate look into the life of this family. This book is not hagiography nor simple minded Kennedy bashing. None the less, given the worship of the Kennedy’s, the book reveals an empty pursuit of power by JFK, Robert and Teddy aa well as reckless personal lives. Robert Kennedy seems to have been the true believer among the men. Collier and Horowitz follows the Kennedy legacy into the lost next generation trying to live with the tragedy of their dead parents. This is a satisfying history of a modern American tragedy.

Voiced by AI

The AI reading was terrible. inflection wrong. really hard to enjoy the listen while cringing.

In Shock Wow...

I had no idea the deep dark trials that this family went through just mind blowing.

Well-written (and narrated) Kennedy history.

I've been on a bit of a Kennedy binge, for reasons I cannot fully comprehend. This one (which was referenced in another, lesser, Kennedy tome) was quite a surprise -- very well written, witty, insightful, hampered by neither the bile nor the gushing that usually leave their mark on Kennedy histories. I also have to throw in a huge round of applause for Christopher Hurt, who does a remarkable job with the narration. His impersonations are completely spot-on (I admit to embarrassing bursts of laughter in the street), but always respectful and never parodic. He even pronounces French words correctly -- an (English-language) audiobook miracle. The only term he mispronounced, oddly, was Skakel (which he rhymed with "spackle")--for which he is eminently forgiven. A highly recommended listen in every respect.

Excellent overview of a huge family

The authors pull off the nearly impossible… Although it ends in about 1984, the book touches on everything of consequence within a one volume book; highly recommended.