Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years
Author: David Talbot
For decades, books about John or Robert Kennedy have woven either a shimmering tale of Camelot gallantry or a tawdry story of runaway ambition and reckless personal behavior. But the real story of the Kennedys in the 1960s has long been submerged -- until now. In Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot sheds a dramatic new light on the tumultuous inner life of the Kennedy presidency and its stunning aftermath. Talbot, the founder of Salon.com, has written a gripping political history that is sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.
Brothers begins on the shattering afternoon of November 22, 1963, as a grief-stricken Robert Kennedy urgently demands answers about the assassination of his brother. Bobby's suspicions immediately focus on the nest of CIA spies, gangsters, and Cuban exiles that had long been plotting a violent regime change in Cuba. The Kennedys had struggled to control this swamp of anti-Castro intrigue based in southern Florida, but with little success.
Brothers then shifts back in time, revealing the shadowy conflicts that tore apart the Kennedy administration, pitting the young president and his even younger brother against their own national security apparatus. The Kennedy brothers and a small circle of their most trusted advisors -- men like Theodore Sorensen, Robert McNamara, and Kenneth O'Donnell, who were so close the Kennedys regarded them as family -- repeatedly thwarted Washington's warrior caste. These hard-line generals and spymasters were hell-bent on a showdown with the Communist foe -- in Berlin, Laos, Vietnam, and especially Cuba. But the Kennedys continually frustrated theirmilitaristic ambitions, pushing instead for a peaceful resolution to the Cold War. The tensions within the Kennedy administration were heading for an explosive climax, when a burst of gunfire in a sunny Dallas plaza terminated John F. Kennedy's presidency.
Based on interviews with more than one hundred fifty people -- including many of the Kennedys' aging "band of brothers," whose testimony here might be their final word on this epic political story -- as well as newly released government documents, Brothers reveals the compelling, untold story of the Kennedy years, including JFK's heroic efforts to keep the country out of a cataclysmic war and Bobby Kennedy's secret quest to solve his beloved brother's murder. Bobby's subterranean search was a dangerous one and led, in part, to his own quest for power in 1968, in a passion-filled campaign that ended with his own murder. As Talbot reveals here, RFK might have been the victim of the same plotters he suspected of killing his brother. This is historical storytelling at its riveting best -- meticulously researched and movingly told.
Brothers is a sprawling narrative about the clash of powerful men and the darker side of the Cold War -- a tale of tragic grandeur that is certain to change our understanding of the relentlessly fascinating Kennedy saga.
The New York Times - Alan Brinkley
Talbot, the founder and former editor of Salon, the online magazine, is the latest of many intelligent critics who have set out to demolish the tottering credibility of the Warren Commission and draw attention to evidence of a broad and terrible conspiracy that lay behind the assassination of John Kennedy — and perhaps the murder of Robert Kennedy as well. Brothers is a fearless, passionate, often angry book that both summarizes much of the vast conspiracy literature and attempts to add new evidence that Talbot himself amassed through dogged interviews with many people connected — directly or indirectly — with the Kennedy years.
The Washington Post - Matthew Dalleck
Talbot, the founder and former editor-in-chief of Salon, has written a fast-paced narrative of Kennedy's search for his brother's killers. Talbot is careful to sidestep the question of who was actually responsible for the assassination. He dismisses the lone gunman theory as a crock and wonders about the CIA, Cuba and Mafia involvement. He bases his conclusions on more than 150 interviews he did with aides to the Kennedys, relatives of ex-CIA agents and anti-Castro exiles. His sources believe for the most part that Oswald didn't work alone, and their suppositions form the heart of Talbot's Manichean chronicle of two brothers who battled forces of darkness for the soul of modern America.
Publishers Weekly
Those looking for new insight into John F. Kennedy's presidency will want to read this meticulously researched chronicle. Talbot, the journalist founder of online newsmagazine Salon, sticks to the facts, starting with a timeline of then-attorney general Bobby Kennedy's actions on Nov. 22, 1963, the day his brother was killed. Immediately suspicious of the CIA, the Mafia and the Cuban exiles they're involved with, Bobby made it his mission to expose this "shadowy nexus"; much of the book concerns the Kennedy brothers' relationships with members of those factions as they dig for the truth behind the assassination. Talbot profiles friends and enemies, taking readers into JFK's strained work with Pentagon officials who famously pressured him to take a chance on the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion. Later chapters deal with the aftermath of JFK's and then RFK's assassinations, and the final chapter contains Talbot's incisive conclusions on those momentous years. Talbot's only weakness is in covering too much-with more than 150 original interviews, he is forced to move too quickly from event to event, making his numerous characters hard to keep straight. Still, it's an admirable feat of reporting, and one that will spark conversation among conspiracy theorists, historians and others who lived through the Kennedy era. (May)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationTable of Contents:
Author's Note xiiiNovember 22, 1963 1
1961 35
1962 85
1963 175
Dallas 235
The Awful Grace of God 257
New Orleans 309
The Passion of Robert Kennedy 337
Truth and Reconciliation 377
Notes 411
Bibliography 449
Index 457
The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell
Author: Oren Harari
WORDS, WISDOM, AND INSIGHTS FROM ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST COMMANDING FIGURES
Inspiration from the man who went from humble beginnings in Harlem to the office of Secretary of State Colin Powell is the classic American success story. Born in hardscrabble Harlem to immigrant parents, Powell rose through the ranks of the U.S. military to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-and a soft-spoken, steel-willed Desert Storm hero. Always seemingly one step ahead of both allies and competitors, he quickly became one of America's most trusted and beloved public icons, acknowledged for his courage, his compassion, and his ability to forge victory under the most trying circumstances.
The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell recounts Powell's core beliefs on leadership, negotiation, self-knowledge, and more. Based on an article written by Oren Harari after Harari met Powell and heard him speak- - -an article so compelling that it became the subject of a front-page feature in the Wall Street Journal this leadership primer reveals the secrets and insights that made Colin Powell the success he is today. Short, snappy, and packed with Powell's depth and spirit, it will help readers inspire anyone - * including themselves to extraordinary performance.
Publishers Weekly
Even before the events of last fall, Powell was well regarded by the military and civilians around the world. Now, as secretary of state during the war against terrorism, Powell's intelligence and skills as manager, negotiator and leader are even more visible. Harari, a management professor and consultant, met Powell several years ago, but wrote this book without his cooperation. The author has used Powell's own words, from his autobiography and presentations, to create a primer of Powell's leadership secrets. The book reads much like an introductory textbook, explaining key phrases, quotes, anecdotes and principles. Powell's style is somewhat unusual for a military leader. He believes in listening, not just to superiors, but to the people who serve under him; he pushes people to ask hard questions and to approach problems in creative ways; he is solution-oriented and wants answers to problems to be original, not simply tried-and-true methods. While a book by Powell himself on his leadership style would obviously have great appeal, Harari has done an admirable job of distilling the essence of Powell's leadership style. The chapter summaries ("Powell's Principles") are especially clear (e.g., "Hire on talent and values, rather than resumes"; "Don't clock hours for hours' sake"). This is a solid if basic book about leadership that should interest a wide range of readers, especially less experienced managers. Agent, Lynn Johnston. (Mar. 25) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Soundview Executive Book Summaries
Guiding Principles for The 21st Century Leader
Citing the spirit of leadership of Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr., Dennis Romig, author of Side by Side Leadership, offers leaders and followers ways they can work together and create outstanding performance gains. His ideas are rooted in seven leadership principles, which include the following:
- Interaction Fields - leaders create new resources by pulling in and creatively combining resources from outside interaction fields;
- Focused Creativity - new ideas allow people to increase quality and productivity without working harder or longer;
- Proven Knowledge - knowledge and experience can help select the best of the proposed ideas for improving performance;
- Transferred Authority - when workers have the authority to make the improvements they see in their work area without waiting for upper-management approval, the benefits are realized faster.
Two-way communication, shared visionary goals, participation from all team members in decision-making and delegated authority round out the seven Side by Side Leadership principles.
Why Soundview Likes This Book
Side by Side Leadership provides excellent food for thought for those who are looking for inspirational leadership wisdom. While describing the benefits and difficulties faced by managers, supervisors and leaders at all levels of any kind of organization, the author takes the concept of leadership off its pedestal and shares the most important attributes and qualities that bring leaders success, respect and loyalty. Copyright (c) 2002 Soundview Executive Book Summaries
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