Book Review

Robert Kennedy: His Life by Evan Thomas (2000)

Up to this point, the standard biography has been Robert Kennedy and His Times by Arthur Schlesinger which was published in the mid-seventies. Evan Thomas, an editor for Newsweek, has new information from Archives and oral histories that paints a different picture of the man.

Schlesinger's book has a more of a chronological "this is what happened" approach, but Thomas talks more about RFK's motivations and this is why this book is an excellent companion to the earlier work.

Thomas's portrayal of RFK does not come off as romantically as Schlesinger's. RFK had demons all his life. He was always trying to get his father's approval. He was the Kennedy family protector, and reacted with his emotions. He was a visceral politician and would unfairly write people off by first impressions. One of the more interesting aspects is the fact that RFK liked to work with back channels, since he hated bureaucracy, and it got him into trouble with Cuba and the Soviet Union (especially with JFK's first summit with Khrushchev). Thomas argues RFK evolved as a human being, not matured as other writers like to argue. For example, he had felt a connection to the poor long before he ran for Senate in 1964 and he was a reckless adventurer all his life. Maturity did not change many of his life and decision patterns.

Thomas writes well, although he does linger with RFK and Cuba for a little too long. In 2001, the Justice building was renamed for Robert Kennedy. It is fitting since Thomas acknowledges that RFK created an energetic albeit chaotic office in prosecuting organized crime and upholding civil rights. Readers will get a much clearer idea that RFK was a human being with strengths and faults, not an idolized tragic hero. Highly Recommended.

--Bryan