About this item
Meticulously researched both here and abroad, THE KENNEDYS examines the Kennedy's as exemplars of the Irish Catholic experience. Beginning with Patrick Kennedy's arrival in the Brahmin world of Boston in 1848, Maier delves into the deeper currents of the often spectacular Kennedy story, and the ways in which their immigrant background shaped their values-and in turn twentieth-century America-for over five generations. As the first and only Roman Catholic ever elected to high national office in this country, JFK's pioneering campaign for president rested on a tradition of navigating a cultural divide that began when Joseph Kennedy shed the brogues of the old country in order to get ahead on Wall Street. Whether studied exercise in cultural self-denial or sheer pragmatism, their movements mirror that of countless of other, albeit less storied, American families.
About the Author
America in our times is the backdrop for my biographies, which have been singled out by critics for best-of-the-year honors. My new book "Mafia Spies" shows how the CIA recruited two gangsters to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro during the Cold War. In a starred review, Booklist called it "brilliant" and "enormous fun" and "standout" among non-fiction spy books. My previous book, "WHEN LIONS ROAR: The Churchills and the Kennedys," (Crown) examines the relationship of the two famous dynasties and how they defined the Anglo-American "special relationship" during the 20th Century. It got rave reviews from The Washington Post and Library Journal, was excerpted in The Wall Street Journal, Time.com and Salon, gained TV appearances with Chris Matthew's "Hardball" and on "Morning Joe", made headlines in London's Daily Mail and news sites around the world, and was a featured forum at the JFK Presidential Library televised by C-Span's BOOKTV. WHEN LIONS ROAR is based on extensive research at the Churchill Archives and other repositories in the United Kingdom, the JFK Library in Boston, the FDR Library in NY, and the Library of Congress in DC. It recasts history by putting important new light on the little-known personal history between the two families and contains several important disclosures about their business and political dealings and their impact on our lives today. I'm also the author and a producer of "MASTERS OF SEX" - the Emmy-winning Showtime drama series based on my biography of Masters and Johnson. (On Amazon, make sure to look for the new book edition featuring actors Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan on the cover) . WATCH THIS VIDEO to hear about the making of "Masters of Sex" from my biography into the Showtime series. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=nQy6fyy5LgU When first published as a hardcover in 2009, "Masters of Sex" was called "eye-opening" and "a bombshell" by the Sunday New York Times Book Review, "well written with good humor" by the NY Times daily reviewer Dwight Garner, "an intelligent and well-conceived biography" by The Washington Post, along with a starred review by Booklist. The Chicago Tribune listed it among the paper's favorite non-fiction books of 2009. [Oprah's "O" magazine even cited it among its top 10 "smart, engaging, occasionally uproarious" books dealing with sex]. "THE KENNEDYS: America's Emerald Kings" (Basic Books, 2003) was featured on ABC's "20/20" program, the CBS Evening News, NBC's "Today" show and in publications around the world. "The Kennedys" was praised as one of the top 10 all-time JFK books by the American Booksellers Association's "Book Sense" program. It was featured prominently as annual holiday choice by
