Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years

I have already read several biographies of the two brothers. I was hoping more for an intimate view of their relationship with each other. However, the content was really just two biographies integrated into one. Slightly disappointing.

An excellent book! Had many things in it, mostly all facts, that I was unaware of, both dealing with the two brothers, and about both assinations. One of the best Kennedy books I've ever read! Great job, David!

I wish I could give this brilliant, compelling book 10 stars. I wish I had the power to make it required reading in every high school in the US.

This book is not a conspiracy book, per se, -(though there is plenty of that too)- but a compilation of life, day- to -day, first with JFK then RFK. IF you admired both these men before you will realize that they were literally the best this country has eved had in public life. Not perfect, not without flaws, but brave, smart, honorable. So much so that I was in tears many times reading this powerful, beautifully written book. It is an extradinarily frightening account of what JFK was up against during his swift 1000 days. Because he was so progressive, so determined to have peace, end the Cold War, stop the Mob, have detente and normalized relations with Cuba, he was surrounded by enemies from within his government. It was just a matter of time before a powerful coup would end plans of peaceful co-existance, no war in Viet Nam, destroy a world in which our children could feel both safe and proud.

Bobby suspected -(knew)- it was a conspiracy from day one- (as did I)- and planned, as president, to open the investigation into his brother's death.

Talbot presents a very sad account of Walter Sheridan turning Bobby against Jim Garrison, and thus his investigation. Then of course, 6/6/68: Bobby's asassination by the same power group. By this time the reader is filled with a sense of hopelessness. And admiration for RFK for knowing he was up against the same killers, yet being unable to stop his quest for the truth, via the presidency.

PLEASE buy this book and tell all your friends/family to do the same.

This is the history the entire world needs to know now, all the more important because of the perilous times under which we are once again living.

I consider Bush to be the worst president of all time. I wonder if it would even help him to read a book about the best president in our history and the brother who would have been just as great, and perhaps even more so.

Read this book and cry for what was and what could have been.

Better yet, read it for the historical truth of those years- 1960-68.

Attorney,

Dawn Meredith

Austin, Tx.

As the other reviewers have said this magnificent retelling of the Kennedy Years and the hateful, murderous forces aligned against them is a must read.New material will reveal U.S. Government involvement in both Kennedy murdres ***** Stars

Talbot writes beautifully, and his book focuses on the dark forces arrayed against the Kennedys. This book allows the reader to feel

the realities they faced like no other I have read. And, if you were ever an admirer of Bobby and Jack, they will become even bigger heroes after reading this book. It cuts through the myths and goes straight for the gut. A courageous work, for two men of courage. Read this book to understand the times and to find out without minced words how JFK & RFK pursued the opponents of the Kennedy presidency into a corner, whence from the rats attacked visciously back, destroying a rare President not afraid of taking on the elites. This is a highly original work, and provides perspective well beyond the rhetoric and speculation of the past. Highest recommendation!!!

A masterpiece. Absolutely the most beautifully written, most passionate, and probably the saddest of all the books in the canon. As a reader of most everything released on John and Robert Kennedy and their murders, I certainly never expected to pick up a Kennedy book and find myself thinking on every page: "Man, I never knew that." You'll find yourself thinking the same all throughout "Brothers".

The book rejects all irony, camp, narcissism, deconstructionism, moral relativism, nihilism, sexual prurience and other malignancies of our time. (`Though the word "Bush" is mentioned.) John and Robert Kennedy were heroes. They were murdered by evil men. End of story.

David Talbot, in true heroic fashion, takes the top off the cesspool of enemies who brought down the US Government in 1963 and murdered the leading Presidential candidate of 1968. Who were these enemies? Sex haters, race haters, America-Firsters, oil junkies, mob guys, fascist intelligence agents, military dictators, tweed-covered garbage such as Dick Helms and Des Fitzgerald, right-wing publishers and editors, drug executioners, psychopathic politicians, Goldwaterites. (Basically the sum and substance of the Bush Reich.)

And that's the horror of the book. Forty years later, what is left on a popular or establishment level of grace, complexity, self-deprecation, hatred of the rich and big business, a refusal to demonize others and puff up ourselves, the assumption that people are basically good, and the idea that society and government must be judged by the way the weakest and most vulnerable among us are taken care of?

The answer is: nothing. There is nothing left of that. And that is why the sense of doom and sorrow one takes from "Brothers" will be long lasting. The worst of our history murdered the best and got away with it. Scott free. Not only did they get away with it, but they've created the sort of society diametrically opposed to everything JFK and RFK stood for: a country where the least human and most nakedly aggressive dominate everything. This was the newer world others' sought. Born from the gore of Dealey Plaza, they've achieved it.

But for a bracing and deeply moving reminder of what was lost, one cannot do better than David Talbot's magnificent book.

This is a well-documented, heavily researched book that looks into what the Kennedy Years were really like in this country between JFK's election to the Presidency in 1960 and the assassination of his brother, Robert Kennedy, in June 1968.

I have had an interest in JFK's life and political career since I was a child. And in subsequent years as my knowledge of President Kennedy's life and presidency has grown and deepened, I have grown in admiration and respect for what he (and Robert Kennedy, as the Attorney General and presidential special advisor) was able to achieve and tried to accomplish in the best interests of the U.S.

Talbot goes to great lengths in this book to show the obstacles and challenges --- many of them from within the government itself -- that the Kennedys encountered to their policies and proposals. This became more pronounced in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis when President Kennedy resolved to embark on "a strategy for peace", which he spoke of so eloquently in his "Peace Speech" at American University on June 10, 1963. Indeed, within weeks of this speech, the basis of a limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was worked out between Washington and Moscow on August 5, 1963. And in the following month, the Senate approved the treaty by a resounding 80 to 19 margin.

President Kennedy was seen as a threat by influential elements within the Pentagon, the CIA (which --- following the failure of its Bay of Pigs invasion plan and JFK's dismissal of its Director, Allen Dulles, in November 1961 --- became brazenly disdainful of the President and resistant to his tentative efforts to try and reform the Agency), and elements of the anti-Castro Cuban exile community. War and the promoting of the threats of war were big business at the time. After all, we were living at the height of the Cold War. And the Pentagon, the CIA, and the anti-Castro Cuban exile community profited from that. The Kennedys could have opted to "go with the flow" by not challenging the prevailing ethos in political circles and the government itself, likely ensuring themselves a longer tenure in the White House. Yet, both came to perceive through the ongoing civil rights struggle against racial segregation in the country and in their own efforts to crack down on the Mafia - as well as addressing a host of other international and domestic crises and challenges - that the country could not go on as it had since 1945. Indeed, it was President Kennedy who said that "those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable." Consequently, President Kennedy was marked for assassination - not by Moscow or Havana, but by a powerful clique in this country made up of business, military and political leaders invested in maintaining what Eisenhower spoke of in his Farewell Address as "the military-industrial complex." So along with the CIA and the Mafia, they conspired and hatched a plan that killed a President riding in an open motorcade in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

"BROTHERS" takes the reader through that tragic day in Dallas, and illustrates how Robert Kennedy was deeply traumatized by his brother's death. What I found especially interesting as I was reading this section of the book was that, from the moment Robert Kennedy learned of his brother's death (via a phone call from J. Edgar Hoover, whose tone of voice conveyed in no uncertain terms, that he no longer considered himself beholden to the younger Kennedy as Attorney General) that he immediately suspected that JFK had been killed as a result of a conspiracy. That I did not know before reading this book. The reader then becomes part of the painful journey Robert Kennedy undertakes, not only to come to terms with his brother's death, but to continue the fight against the dark elements within the government itself. Kennedy bided his time, resigned his post in the Justice Department, and won election to the U.S. Senate from New York in 1964. Robert ("Bobby") Kennedy's evolution proceeded apace. Indeed "[i]n the last years of his life, Bobby Kennedy became increasingly estranged from Washington's political elite. His growing commitment to a new, multiracial America - which allied him with the crusade of Martin Luther King Jr. - was viewed with alarm by J. Edgar Hoover, who regarded both men as dangerous. And his critique of American foreign policy, ... drew the baleful eye of the White House and CIA."

For anyone who wants a deeper understanding as to why both Kennedy brothers remain an inspirational and relevant force in our politics and in the consciousness of many Americans and admirers across the world, READ THIS BOOK. It made startlingly clear to me their extraordinary fearlessness and unique humaneness as leaders who sought to build and ensure a better, safer world for all people.

Essential book on the JFK and RFK assassinations, but also very much about JFK's and RFK's political careers. It's the product of a great deal of research, some of it Talbot's own interviews. Full of revealing anecdotes, such as Nixon's reaction when he learned that RFK was entering the presidential race in March, 1968 (in which he told those present that it was going to end badly). Talbot also excels in writing brief bios of key figures. Bobby more than Jack is the real focus of much of this book, but don't let that dissuade you. The reader is left believing that JFK was killed because he sought peace with the Soviet Union and Cuba, and he "sold out to the blacks" (as Eugene Thane Cesar - the likely assassin of RFK - said of RFK). The logistical leaders of JFK's assassination were based in Miami, a mix of CIA, mafia, and anti-Castro Cubans. I especially appreciated how Talbot explains how so many people loved JFK and then later RFK...a passionate admiration that has had no equal in American politics since the 60s. And they also had many people who truly loathed them. There are (at least) two factual errors: 1st: JFK did not fly to Chicago on 11/2/63. He said he was sick upon learning of the assassination plan and stayed in DC. 2nd: on pg. 295, Talbot writes that a bullet blew off the *top* of JFK's head. This is not true. A bullet blew off the right rear portion of JFK's head, the size of an orange, behind the right ear. The top of JFK's head was intact when the doctors treated him at Parkland. In Bethesda, Humes and Boswell performed 'surgery to the skull' according to an FBI report made at the scene, in which they opened up JFK's skull at the top so that JFK's wounds would conform to a shooter from behind (eg. Oswald). They fraudulently sealed up this fatal rear exit wound in all the autopsy photos and X-rays. One piece of a massive cover-up. Highly recommended.

David Talbot has written two very important books (over 1000 pages total) on the hidden history of the United States and they both should be read by Americans wanting to understand both their history, how the “hidden history” has relevance not only to our past but to our present. These two books are Brothers – The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, released in 2007, and The Devil’s Chessboard – Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government, released in 2015. I read the Dulles book first (reviewed Feb 2016) and then read this book, Brothers, reviewed here. As Talbot concludes at the end of book Brothers, when considering the times we live in now, one filled with clashing fundamentalisms, ruled by the .1%, managed by a cult of secrecy demanding obedience based on absolute fear, with the endless war on “the other” a means to repel those that we are afraid of, all while the country’s citizens have fundamentally lost all trust and confidence in the institutions of our democracy and capitalist system, these two books help to unveil the underlying reasons for current events and the forces at play that got us to where we are in March of 2016.

I came to both of these books as a student of the Kennedy assassination, having read a half dozen of the over 2,000 books written on the subject since 1963, when I was a 9 year old 3rd grader when JFK was murdered. Talbot is one of many dozen researchers that have analyzed this history since 1963 but his recent work culls on not only recent information that has been released since the 1992 JFK Records Act has passed (which requires remaining CIA and other relevant files be released by October, 2017), but also on dozens of interviews with participants in this history and the relatives and close friends and associates of deceased figures relevant to this history.

The Kennedy brothers’ lives and deaths, and the causes, motivations, and passions for both are such a large story that it requires a broad sweep of the historical times in which the Kennedys lived, the ideals they shared, the policies they pursued, the friends and enemies they made, and the forces of their time. These two books do that.

As for “solving” the murders, you will not find that here. Brothers focus is on all the players with motive and means. Devils Chessboard focuses on those with motive, means and methods. Any good cop or prosecutor starts with motive, means and methods when attempting to solve a crime. Idealism, human emotions, secrecy, drive for power and control are the drivers of humans and Talbot looks at these drivers as they relate to the Kennedy brothers, their lives, passions, careers, and that of their domestic enemies and how these two opposing forces clashed and how one side was the winner, and is ultimately still winning today.

One of the many JFK assassination researchers is Bill Kelly, and he maintains a blog site called “JFKcountercoup” and “JFKcountercoup2”. There is a wealth of information there, including to other similar sites, for students who want to delve deeply into this topic. He has reviewed Talbot’s Devil’s chessboard. He also had a post on the “Best Books on the JFK Assassination.” They come in three categories: 1- Official Version, 2- Critical and Conspiratorial, and 3- How JFK was killed. This 3rd category is probably what motivated Talbot to write the book on Dulles after he wrote this book, Brothers.

To fully understand how and why JFK and RFK died you need to understand how they lived and what they lived and fought for. You need to understand why they were hated and why many of their powerful domestic enemies wanted them eliminated and how they came to believe it was in the “national interest” for them to die, then once you come to understand that the “Big Event” had to be planned and executed with the “Big Lie” to describe it and conceal it as other than what it was, then you understand how the US (and other country’s) intelligence services operate. That is the realm of Kelly’s 3rd category of books on the JFK Assassination. All of these books have to do with spycraft, the “Black arts”, and how secret operations are run and managed. When dirty work has to be done and those in a democracy don’t want to know what is done you need a means to function to accomplish the mission, as determined by those who run the mission (not elected officials or the voting public).

But, in the end if you are only up to 400 pages, Brothers provides you with enough context to understand motive and a little about means, and 600 more pages with Devil’s Chessboard goes into motive, means and a little on method. The definitive book on “how” – the actual truth of the how many never be written, it just will not be able to be constructed with exact certainty.

But, as another JFK assassination researcher, former FBI man, author, researcher William Turner said in his book Rearview Mirror Looking Back at the FBI, the CIA and other Tails : “We now know what happened at Dealey Plaza to a fairly good degree of certainty. The motives were piling up – the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, the two-track back channel to Cuba – the motives were piling up to the point they had to assassinate him. I think it’s now pretty obvious, with the information we have today, that the mechanism of it came out of the alliance between the CIA and the Mafia. They already had an assassination apparatus set up for killing Castro, and they just switched targets and they killed JFK instead.”

They switched targets because of the OK and cooperation of other like-minded and like-motivated principals with funding, prior knowledge, and authorization to proceed with the continued concealment of this covert operation.

Talbot never says that directly in either book, he lets others in his two books lead you to that understanding. I recommend this book along with the Devil’s Chessboard highly.

Brothers is a lengthy well written account of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy White House years (1961-1963). The author is the well respected author David Talbot, The book looks at the entirety of the administration not just focusing on the assassinations of the two gifted leaders.
Kennedy faces a formidable task as POTUS. Consider:
a. He was hated by the Cuban exile community following the disastrous invasion of the Bay of Pigs. The USA did not provide air cover for the insurgents who were slaughtered on the beach. The survivors were tossed in Castro's prisons. The exiles never forgave Kennedy.
b. Rogue elements in the CIA along with Mobsters and Cuban exiles more than likely had a bloody hand in the JFK murder in Dealey Plaza in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
c. The murder of Bobby Kennedy in Los Angeles in June 1968 may also have been a conspiracy. The case has never been fully researched.
d. JFK was hated by the military establishment who wanted to launch a major invasion of the Cuban mainland. Both Kennedy and Nikita Khruschev wanted peace but had to face dissident right wing and militaristic elements in their particular governments.
e. Both Kennedys were also hated by organized crime figures led by Jimmy Hoffa of the corrupt Teamsters Union, Godfathers Marcello, and many others.
the book is a great window into the past as Talbot spares no punches in looking at the CIA, FBI, military top brass all who hated the reformist peace loving JFK. This is the best book I have ever ready on the Kennedy brothers. Highly recommended!

David Talbot's brilliant 2008 book Brothers provides a revealing glimpse into the hidden history of the Kennedy years and the lives of the brothers who tried to change the world. The relevance of Talbot's narrative is exemplified by how often it is quoted in other Kennedy books.

The years 1960 to 1968 were fraught with problems and challenges for America. It was the height of the cold war and virulent anti-communism was crowding out rational thinking. "Better Dead than Red" was a prominent slogan of the time. Cuban exiles were streaming into the US, intent on winning back their homeland by force. The tentacles of organized crime extended into almost every aspect of American life, including organized labor. The civil rights movement was gaining momentum and school integration was causing unrest in the southern states. The Soviets appeared to be moving ahead in the space race and, equally ominous, the CIA was conducting covert operations and overthrowing governments around the world with little or no oversight.

It was into this milieu that the President John F. Kennedy took office with an air of youthful expectation and promise. The honeymoon was short lived as problems with Cuba took centre stage almost immediately.

Looking back, it's frightening to remember how close the world came to nuclear disaster in the early 1960s - first during the Bay of Pigs fiasco, and then, just over a year later, during the Cuban missile crisis. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. described the thirteen days of the later as "the most dangerous moment in human history."

That nuclear Armageddon was averted in the fall of 1962 is a tribute to the cool-headed crisis management of the Kennedy brothers. Their task was made infinitely more difficult by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CIA who advocated a Cuban invasion and even a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the Soviet Union (which they had proposed on more than one occasion).

Chief among the disloyal military hawks was Air Force Commander General Curtis LeMay whose sneering insolence toward the President and his policies was unprecedented. Incredibly, LeMay's second in command moved American armed forces to DEFCON 2 (one step below nuclear war) without Presidential authorization. As the book points out, the military was close to open rebellion during this period.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy was so upset by the irresponsible, reckless national security advice he received from his commanders and so concerned about the possibility of unauthorized military actions, that he conveyed his concerns to Chairman Khrushchev. It is likely that these concerns encouraged Khrushchev to act quickly to reach a peaceful settlement.

President Kennedy became so concerned about the dark forces of the military - intelligence leadership that were opposing him at almost every turn, that he encouraged his Hollywood friend John Frankenheimer to make a film version of the book Seven Days in May (about an attempted military coup) to "help wake up the nation to the threat of far-right treason." Ironically, the film didn't premier until three months after the Kennedy assassination.

During the summer of 1963 President Kennedy undertook a bold peace initiative, avoiding official channels and consulting only his closet advisors. His famous "peace" speech at American University in June of that year was described by Nikita Khruschev as greatest speech by an American president since Roosevelt. The speech, which called for a peaceful resolution of the cold war and high level negotiations with the Soviets on a nuclear test ban, was broadcast throughout the Soviet Union. Amazingly, much to the chagrin of the American national security establishment that was dead set against any accommodation with the "commies," a limited nuclear test ban treaty (covering atmospheric, space and underwater testing) was signed in July, after just 12 days of negotiations, and was subsequently ratified in September. It was an amazing achievement, given the US political climate at the time.

By the fall of 1963, the Kennedy administration had alienated so many key elements of the American power structure that the President began to have premonitions of his own assassination. Despite this, and the fact that he and Bobby had little confidence in the Secret Service, he continued to make public appearances with only minimal security protection. Sadly, on November 22nd his premonition became reality.

Following the assassination, Bobby Kennedy blamed himself for inadvertently putting the forces in play that had gotten his brother killed. He immediately suspected a conspiracy. "Was it the CIA?" he asked CIA Director John McCone, who denied that it was. Realizing that his investigative powers were limited under Lyndon Johnson, he paid lip service to the Warren Commission lone-gunman findings while continuing to conduct his own quiet investigation through close associates. The plan was bide his time until Johnson served out his term and then run for President when he would be in a position to reopen the Warren Commission.

The book chronicles Bobby's post assassination career, his reaction to the killing of Martin Luther King, his battles with Lyndon Johnson, his recklessness in terms of personal security and his promising run for the Presidency in 1968 that was cut short in the Kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

Brothers is a great read and an important story because, save for the heroic actions of these brothers, we might not be here today.

Barry Francis

The bond John and Robert Kennedy shared was very deep and unwavering. I just can't conceive the passion, drive and energy Bobby showed to protect and advise his brother against all odds. It's truly the most touching testimony of love and friendship I ever came into contact with.

Supported by a small cast of friends and followers, the 2 brothers defied the whole US war industry and became isolated against an all-powerful coalition headed by the CIA, the FBI, the Mafia and the anti-Castro rebels. Ironically, the Kennedy's found more understanding from the Soviets than from fellow US related goverment personel.

I understand today that, being born in 1962, the brothers saved my life from the nuclear holocaust General Curtis LeMay and friends wished to propel the whole planet into. The killing of John and Robert is the most tragic tragedy of the 20th century, and the US Goverment should still be ashamed it yield (and is in fact still yielding) all those years to the coalition in order to bury the truth from the world.

JFK and Robert weren't without fault, nobody is. JFK was a terrible husband and Robert lacked diplomacy. However, I urge you to read their fantastic story. David Talbot's "Brothers" is a page turner, a well researched and well written portrait of 2 American Heroes.

BROTHERS: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, by David Talbot (492 pgs., 2007). Talbot is the founder of Salon.com. He's no slouch in the intellect department. In this thick volume he revisits the days of the Kennedy Presidency, the ties between the brothers John & Robert, their jousts with their own intelligence people in both the CIA & FBI, their jousts with their own Chiefs of Staff of the military, their attempts to peacefully reach out to both Khruschev & Castro, their bitter fights with organized crime & its infiltration of labor unions (primarily the Teamsters), & their attempts to thwart the more militaristic wings of their own administration. Talbot is no conspiracy nut. Yet, if after reading this thick with facts & footnotes book the reader does not come away with at the very least huge doubts about the Warren Report; then that reader is a dolt. Talbot shows how Robert Kennedy doubted that Lee Harvey Oswald had killed his brother, especially acting on his own, right from the start. The author shows how Robert's guilt is multiplied by the fact that he believed the people who assassinated his brother were really sending a message to him. From the day of the assassination, he was gathering his people around himself who would find the truth as to who killed his brother & take retribution for it. He just had to wait until the Presidency was his before he could act. In the meantime he had to play along with the Warren Report & not show his hand in public.
I loved Robert Kennedy.
I loved my father.
They are the two heroes of my life. I cherished the memory of Camelot & the 1,000 Days of JFK & the idealism & hope & courage he birthed in the young people of this country & of the world. Talbot writes of the closeness of these two brothers, so that readers like myself will just shed tears while trying to read certain passages of this large tome.
JFK's autopsy was botched. Lee Harvey Oswald was known to the intelligence services before the assassination. He was not a stooge of Cuba. Rather, he had ties to the mob & to the anti-Castro Cuban community & to people who worked for the CIA. Was he just a fall guy? Was he just a scapegoat? Is that why Jack Ruby with his own ties to the mob, killed him? RFK was left unprotected by the Secret Service during his run for the Presidency. Was this his choice? Was this LBJ's choice? There are so many unanswered questions, like this. Talbot points out that even some of the members of the Warren Commission lambasted the report when it came out. However this was little reported by the media. Talbot in his quiet, fact-filled, dispassionate way makes his case that the Warren Report was wrong & the truth behind the deaths of both John & Robert Kennedy may never be known - but that those deaths surely changed the course of American & world history & affairs.

This book is different from most other books that offer arguments that there was a conspiracy. It might be called a motive book. It is absolutely necessary reading at this point of the media wars over the power to narrate the history of The Coup d'Etat of 11/22.

Why necessary? The focus of the last ten years of most mass-media defenses of the Lone Nutism has shifted away from Warren Commission, which is no longer defendable under a barrage of Bunker Busters like Gerald D. McKnight's' Breach of TrustBreach of Trust: How the Warren Commission Failed the Nation and Why There is a new tactic, seen best in books like Tim Weiner's Legacy of Ashes, which is being pushed heavily as a tell-all book.

This new strategy involves convincing us that Kennedy's policy was no different from any other Cold War policy. It is easy to argue this. There are no shortages of quotes. The problem is that these quotes are rarely put in a context of the permanent military bureaucracy that was exerting tremendous pressure on Kennedy to start land-wars in Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba (hell, why not all 3 what with Lyman and The Mad Dog in the JCS!)
Hence a respected historian like Columbia's Allan Brinkley can make bold new statements about the increasingly shaky Warren Commission (bold that is for a Professor, who wants to keep his job!) perhaps only if he makes the argument that Jack was just one of the Cold War Boys. (See his review of Brothers in NYT book Review)

Talbot shows us that he wasn't, and does so by changing focus from the minutia of bullet fragments and debatable photos to a wide angle treatment of Foreign Policy between 1961-1963. One is left with the feeling that this brief period may well have been the Altoona Curve of the Cold War parabola. (sorry too much Gravity's Rainbow during the Reagan years!)

Of course JFK talked tough and did a lot of belligerent things. What US president during these years would not have? Writers like Chomsky, Cockburn, and Hersh misrepresent these actions, however by not showing 1) the pressure Kennedy was under to start full scale land wars in Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba, and 2) by almost completely omitting the second half of the Kennedy Two Track foreign policies.

While Kennedy was using tough rhetoric with Mad Dog (Curtis LeMay,the top Air Force General,and JFK-appointed head of the JCS) and friends, he always had another stick in the fire, an attempt to create a solution to these regional "brushfires" before they became land-wars that raised the stock prices of aircraft and coffin companies. Talbot's book shows this balance in intricate detail, so that we are able to see JFK's Cold War rhetoric as one part bitters in a strategic balancing act-- at a time when the Military Industrial Complex was palpable in Hollywood and audible from the mouths of old soldiers.

Because Talbot's book is refreshingly Big Picture, It is is not really an overview of how the assassination happened. It is a book about WHY it happened. For the best "HOW book" that I have ever read I strongly recommend Larry Hancock's Someone Would have Talked. This is the single best condensation of established research with the latest research that is imaginable.

The bulleted point-summaries at the end of each chapter help the new reader structure the potentially mind-boggling amount of detail. It is perhaps the one book that is at once so advanced and also so accessible to new students of the assassination. No praise can be too high. Check out the reviews that Larry Hancock's Book has received. I only wish that he were more of a self-promoter! Someone Would Have Talked: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Conspiracy to Mislead History

The complex interrelationships between JM-WAVE, Langley , Hoover and the local FBI offices are-- as they recommend to novelists-- shown not told. Nowhere did I get the sense from Ultimate Sacrifice of the writer protesting too much (mob did it , mob did it). Rather, Larry shows the complex interrelationships between Organized Crime and CIA in a clear way that, in my reading, does not make JM-WAVE'S denial nearly as plausible as it seems in Waldrons' door-stopper.

The negligence of our media--its failure to mediate the new evidence since the ARRB documents releases as new variables in our nations conversation about the causes of the assassination-- has turned the MIC into a cliche' in 2007. Talbot's book awakens us to the fact that it was very real when the bullets flew in Dallas.

This was an important book which brought to light many things about the JFK assassination. Talbot makes a good case in describing how much Kennedy was hated, and why. It made me believe that there really was something to admire about Kennedy ( after reading The Dark Side of Camelot, I hadn't thought so)... and this something had to do with his attraction to peace. Talbot also does a good job in describing why the assassin could've come from the CIA-Mafia connection. His comments on David Phillis, Angleton, Morales and Hunt etc. (all CIA men) made me believe that these people should've definitely been seriously investigated. Where the book got a bit weak was on two fronts: 1. Talbot didn't do a good job on describing the Bobby Kennedy efforts against Castro. He mentioned that Bobby ran a variety of anti-Castro ops, that he rode hard the CIA for results, but Talbot's descriptions are rather impressionistic as opposed to revealing: what exactly was Bobby telling the CIA? when he was yelling at them for doing to little about Castro... to me it was all rather confusing, this whole description that Kennedy was running backchannels to Castro, while his brother Bobby was directing covert ops against Castro. I don't disbelieve it, I just wish that Talbot had a more hard-nosed approach to it - more of a hard description of events. Most importantly, I'd like to know in more detail the nature of Bobby's anti-Castro's ops. The second thing has to do with the Kennedys failure to investigate JFK's death as attorney general. Now, I do understand what Talbot says, that Kennedy felt powerless and maybe even guilty... but still... something seems missing here. Why not get the Justice Department into the investigation? Why not get Sheridan on it? I mean it's difficult to believe that the assassins would've gone after Bobby so soon after killing JFK... nobody would've believed that it was just a coincidence...

All in all, though, a fascinating story... and the sub-story of Mary Meyer is really stunning...

When he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee during Watergate, Sam Ervin explained how they depicted those responsible for the scandal. They could've worked like some artists who draw a picture and put a caption under it that reads "This is a horse." Instead, he said, they just drew the picture.

David Talbot does more than draw the picture of who killed the Kennedys, but he can't convincingly write the names of those responsible because crucial evidence has probably long been destroyed. Still, his well-documented investigation points to the following: Rogue agents of the CIA & anti-Castro Cubans who wanted to get even for JFK's withdrawal of airpower during the Bay of Pigs invasion; organized crime bosses & crooked labor leaders angry about being investigated; J. Edgar Hoover nervous about being replaced in JFK's 2nd term; Allen Dulles angry about JFK's détente with the Russians & being moved out of the CIA; a gang of generals & admirals eager to expand the war in Vietnam crowding into Dallas's Parkland Hospital to ensure JFK's autopsy points to the lone gunman theory.

JFK's murder was a factor in killing some of the youthful idealism that was budding in the early `60s, turning it to rage in the inner cities and drug craziness in the suburbs. Some of Talbot's sources attest to that, along with suggesting that nuclear tensions and the conflict in Vietnam would've been substantially lessened had JFK lived.

Talbot asserts that Bobby, heading for the '68 Democratic nomination and very likely the White House, would've opened an investigation challenging the conclusions of the Warren Commission, advanced a social justice agenda that would've chilled some corporate interests, and ended the Vietnam War. The book examines lingering questions about Bobby's killing in L.A. and the people who would not be unhappy about his death.

Ruminating about all this won't bring the brothers back, and there probably is no political will to reopen a formal investigation into their assassinations. But this book, particularly in its first half, is valuable in revisiting and, just maybe, recapturing a time of great optimism for change in American politics.

Now, over four decades later, history can begin to give context to what really might have happened in Dallas and Los Angeles. This thoughtful and unhysterical volume does just that. By carefully assembling the credible elements of the work done before him and vetting what still can be corroborated, Talbot is able to piece together a mosaic of the 1960s that is very different from what most of us alive during that period remember. Those of us who admired and took pride in the Kennedys never truly have come to grips with the extent to which the brothers were reviled by many -- including among others the Cold Warriors within the government that Jack Kennedy was elected to lead, the criminal elements the family both dealt with and relentlessly prosecuted, and the fringe "assets" of an uncontrolled spy apparatus -- who very well may have coalesced to stage and conceal an American coup d'etat.

Particularly pointed is Talbot's criticism of the self-fulfilling statement, often adopted by the media, that "we'll never really know what happened in Dallas." The failure of people of goodwill to use their investigative resources to find the truth is chilling, as is the ability of those in the shadowy alleys of power in the so-called "intelligence community" to erect a stone wall around the greatest crime of the 20th Century.

This book provides timely reading. Once you accept that your government will lie to you for reasons both noble and ignoble, the world never looks the same.

Brothers, The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years by David Talbot is a troubling book. Even after 44 years we find ourselves debating the Kennedy's and their years in power.

Talbots book is thorough. Covering the Kennedy Presidency and RFK's time as attorney general, Talbot supports his conclusions and insights with a tremendous library of interviews of those that participated in the history making era. That many sources that could shed new light on the events of the 60's remain classified is a stumbling block to authors doing research. Talbot was faced with the same blockages.

Yet, Brothers does spring some new information on the reader. To me the most surprising tidbit was that neither JFK nor RFK had any faith in the Secret Service. Also, it is now clear that Jack Kennedy had a definite time limit for our involvement in Vietnam. He planned to pull out after he was re-elected in 1964. Talbot also tells us that the U. S. military was in favor of a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union, a contention I find hard to believe.

Regardless, David Talbot's research is first rate. With copious notes and references you'll be able to check the resources for yourself. Whether you agree with the authors conclusions or not, Brothers is a worthwhile read.

Though this book is careful to deal with only the era of the kennedy Brothers,one can't help but contrast it today and how far we've fallen. Across the board that is, not from a liberal, or conservative viewpoint.Talbot makes much covered topics-fresh, his desriptions of James Meredith the first black person attempting to register at Ole Miss absolutely chilling, with RFK actually giving an order to shoot anyone who puts his hands on Meredith.Interesting to note that Gen. walker a top Military Commander in NATO and later on was allegedly shot at by Lee Harvey Oswald, led the call for insurrection against the U.S. Government. There were many logistical problems in coordinating the national guard, US Army and local authorities who were dragging their feet. It's amazing and fortunate, there wasn't much more bloodshed than the handful who persished.Talbot's skill as a storyteller is combined with succinct, penetrating analysis of the Bay Of Pigs,Cuban Missile Crisis,Mob battles and the severely strained relationship with FBI Director Hoover, which gradually ratchet up the tension & flat out hatred, mistrust and lack of cooperation between certain members of the Joint Chiefs,top CIA officials, Hoover and the Brothers Kennedy.In the film JFK it was asked" if there was a conspiracy why didn't Bobby do anything?" This book does shed more light on this than any book previously, as Talbot talked to many of RFK's closest confidantes( several have since died) and got many of them to let their guard down and reveal what they actually knew.There is new info. on the JFK Assassination, several highly suspicious things which aren't covered in Bugliosi's book, not that 1600 pages would make the single bullet theory any more plausible.There are really no words to describe the depth and magnitude of the sorrow to our country, what the death of the Brothers has meant,but this book does put things in their proper perspective.

The book starts the day JFK is assasinated. Bobby is given the news and immediately starts his investigation, while gathering friends and family for mourning. He quickly comes to believe that JFK was the victim of a conspiracy, and discusses his quiet on again off again investigation until the day he died.

Talbot investigates the difficult years of the Kennedy administration, with Bobby at his side as adviser and protector. The book focuses far more on Bobby than on Jack. It discusses their challenges before, during and after the administration, and Bobby's life after his brother's death. It discusses how the gov't was virtually at war with itself, with the military and CIA opposing Kennedy every way they could. JFK lived with a real fear of a coup happening one day. Perhaps one did?

Talbot seems to believe it's obvious that there must have been a conspiracy, but presents nothing new other than Bobby and the Kennedy Band of Brothers believed it too. Maybe they were right, maybe they weren't. They did have a lot of enemies though. If you come to this book looking for more info on the JFK assasination, you won't find it. This book is the story of the Kennedy brothers and more about Bobby in particular.

Bobby eventually determines that only when he is President, can a real investigation made by people he trusts begin. He also goes through a transformation of really wanting to change the world for the better. His run for the Presidency is covered fairly well, and his assasination is covered too.

Being born the year JFK was killed, and being a small child when RFK was killed, I never felt the loss. Never even knew much about it other than as a fact with a name and date. This book brought it home. It made me feel the pain of losing two great men, the loss of what might have been, the sadness their friends, family and nation must have felt. Would have liked to have experienced the New Frontiers that JFK and RFK were trying to lead us towards.

The book is excellent - essential to understand where we are today, subverted and undermined as a nation by the CIA.

5 stars for the book, but two stars for the Audible version. The narrator is fine until he tries his incessant mimicry of other people's local accents. He thinks he's really good at it - he's terrible. I can't even finish listening. It's like food you buy, you get it home, and throw it away, it's so bad. Is there another recording by a more self-aware reader?

This is a unique look at the Kennedys from within the Kennedy camp. We witness the major events of our era through the eyes of Robert Kennedy and the close-knit "band of brothers."

While this book doesn't settle the issue of the John Kennedy Assassination, it establishes who the Kennedy clan and its allies felt was responsible. RFK firmly believed "they" killed his brother. Whatever the reader's opinion of the event, it is interesting to view RFK's life and career as products of that belief.

I was impressed both with the level of research and with the writing style. Though a great deal of information was presented, Brothers moved along very quickly

According to the author, in effect, a conspiracy was what killed JFK and his brother Robert. Apparently too independent, their actions were brought enmity of the great American services ultimately leading all know the outcome. The book is very well documented and written in simple language but omits details or characters. What I do is avoid touching details of JFK's death, but, as already mentioned, between the lines, the author gives his view. Excellent.

I had carefully read the reviews on this website before considering buying this book, due to the multitude of Kennedy related work available. I was not disappointed. I almost done reading it, started three days ago and found it particularly insightful. It was not only a matter of conspiracy theories and/or uncovering the truth about the death of JFK. It was also a matter of geopolitical interest to me, which was greatly rewarding through this reading.
It gives a clear picture of the Kennedy brothers' frame of mind concerning difficult matters and shows somehow prophetically how their positions on those matters were completely adequate then, and still are now. All this adds to the incredible tragedy of their deaths which thus bear all the appearances of martyrdom. That they would privilege peace through the heavy military and intelligence influence framing the Cold War shows their incredible determination and convictions. The implications on the international chess game between the two reigning super-powers that were the US and the USSR were completely embraced by JFK, and his resisting the pressures to which he was submitted can only reinforce the idea following which he was ahead of his time, of how his energetic idealism made him a unique politician, especially in that so specific context of the early 1960s.
I always admired the Kennedy administration for that reason. I will not say that they were completely holy and that their decisions were never rash or hazardous. As the author points out quite often, their ambivalent position on certain matters did not help, but the fact is that their convictions were never shaken. This is what constitutes the core of this narrative, that is built retrospectively and explains WHY their convictions led to their doom. One by one, the reasons of their antagonism with the administrative maze are exposed, and their enemies presented. Until the consequences of their policies and choices lead to the tragedies of 1963 and 1968.
I was never a conspiracy theoretician who was "active", but I passively assisted to the creation of theories, and read the material available to me in order to understand the mechanisms at work in the deaths of these two admirable men. This book, is extremely well constructed and the sources seem reliable enough. The author does not designate namely those he believes to be responsible of this manslaughter, but he hints towards them and the truth appears to be appallingly obvious.

Brothers sheds light on extremely complex factors and events that shaped the decisions, behavior, and relationship of JFK and RFK. I read it in three days and will likely re-read it because it contains so much information. It particularly helped me to understand how the Kennedys' policy toward Cuba heightened expectations and frustrations that ultimately cut short their lives. Their assassinations are a cautionary tale because America has done little in the last 50 years to strengthen CIA oversight and accountability.

I've read many books about the Kennedy assassination ever since TIME magazine tried too hard to convince us that the Warren Commission told the truth (the Time article came out as a result of the Oliver Stone movie "JFK").

But the books is more than a look at the assassination. It tells about the shadow government that ignored JFK in order to pursue it's own agenda. We also learn about the other forces that JFK had to deal with as president. The book is well-rounded and intelligently presents the evidence. If you read one book on the subject, read this one.

As everyone has said, this book is a great read. It explores the background and zeitgeist which lead to November 22, 1963. If you have read every JFK-RFK book...or none of them...you will find this volume difficult to put down. There is no real party line here, only an honest attempt to explain the forces at work and to allow you, the reader, to draw your own conclusions.

In his attempt to be fair, however, Talbot does attempt to straddle some controversial fences with unfortunate results. For example on page 15 referencing the autopsy he states "The report produced under this blanket of military supervision would contradict key findings of the emergency room physicians who had first examined the mortally wounded president earlier in the day..." which is to students of the literature an obvious reference to David Lifton's book Best Evidence, yet Lifton's name appears nowhere in either the source notes nor the index. In that same paragraph, there is some outright misleading information, no doubt unintentional, stating that Parkland Hospital doctors saw clear evidence of an entrance wound in the throat but the Bethesda report "was edited to conclude it was an exit wound." Again, Talbot shows his lack of knowledge about the Dallas physicians' subsequent testimony that they in fact enlarged this small bullet wound in order to perform a tracheotomy in an attempt to save the President's life. Dr. Humes subsequently "edited" his autopsy report to so reflect this. So whether that original wound was one of entrance or exit, the Bethesda physicians could certainly be excused from their initial conclusion that this was indeed a wound of exit prior to learning of the tracheotomy. And Talbot's most misleading sentence in the book, I think, states, "The autopsy itself was in the hands of three inexperienced pathologists." What he meant to say was that these physicians were inexperienced in gunshot wounds though they were well trained general pathologists. Agreed, the autopsy should have been performed by someone with gunshot trauma experience, not general hospital pathologists, but to call these MDs inexperienced is incorrect. I don't know who proofread the manuscript before publication, but the correction of little errors like this would have given the final book much more weight and not subject it to simple fact-checking criticisms like this which are sure to come.

All this aside, "Brothers" remains the freshest book on the lives of JFK and RFK circa 1960-68 that exists. Having read pretty much everything that has come out about the assassination, I believe it to be balanced, well written and a welcome addition to JFK/RFK biography shelf. It deserves its the store five stars.

Comparisons between the hoped-for invasion of Cuba and the current situation in Iraq are impossible not to see. Then as now, the CIA and the Pentagon were hot to trot, seeing military intervention by the U.S. as necessary to overthrow Castro's dictatorial regime. They even considered staging an attack on Guantanamo and blaming it on Cuba to get things moving. Another CIA officer, however, in a prescient report for these days, noted that the invasion would be seen by the Cuban people and the rest of the world as a U.S. occupation, possibly lasting for some time and raising the likelyhood of terrorist attacks. President Kennedy, however, had no interest in taking Cuba by military force, so Mafia plots against Castro began again . . .Haven't finished the book yet, but have enjoyed reading the fleshed out portraits the author draws of the brothers and their family, friends and associates during this most interesting era.

This book details the sorry state our country is in when it comes to letting its own die in a morass of subterfuge, ruled by agencies out of control, and fear. Having lived thru these times I always hoped, and still hope, some brave soul will have the courage to search out the secrets and finally uncover the truth.

Without a doubt one of the best books ever written about the JFK assassination and the behind the scenes war between Jack, Bobby, and their band of brothers with the national security state. I've read my fair share of books on the assassination, and the really good ones focus in on a particular aspect of it. This book really piqued my interest because it focuses on Robert Kennedy's own private views and investigation of his brother's murder. Is it not obvious that he was murderered by the same forces that got his brother? May those brave men rest in peace. When will we wake up and realize that they died for us and for the ideals of our founding fathers?

This book has 3 major sections. It begins with convincing analysis of the motivations of the Mafia, CIA and anti-Castro Cubans. The next part focuses on RFK, his response to his brother's assassination and his subsequent career. The last part describes and discusses the cover up. Talbot doesn't get into the theories of the bullets, the capture of Oswald, shady life of Ruby, etc. The author is not out to prove one theory or another.

The book shows RFK was successful in mafia prosecutions and was making its leadership uncomfortable. The mob and the CIA had already had a convenient partnership, unbeknownst to the executive and legislative branches, particularly in working with Cuban exiles. Talbot doesn't say much about the mafia's interests in pre-Castro Cuba, but this allied them with the Cuban exiles. Anyone who as ever worked in an organization with a new boss or undergoing change knows the passion of the old guard. The old guard in the CIA was filled with anti-communist fervor, self-righteousiness and an amorality that first hit the public consciousness with the Watergate break in. When those involved in the Cuba projects realized JFK was not going to try another Bay of Pigs, they viewed JFK as they would any other national leader who didn't play their game.

Talbot shows how neither Kennedy (Pres and AG) could contain their "staff" who continued rogue operations. Certain CIA staff could barely contain their contempt for the executive branch and its new occupants. They secretly and brazenly carried on the work that neither the president or congress approved. The FBI Director, who should have been a direct report to RFK spied on him and curtailed his security upon his brothers' death.

New to me was how poor a job the CIA did on Cuba. With all the emphasis on killing Castro, quixotic ineffective ventures onto the island, the attempts of get Oswald Cuban cover, etc. it totally missed the Russian build up of troops. Castro, as the only survivor of the principals of this episode, probably gets a good laugh out of this at our expense.

Talbot clearly loves the Camelot legend. Neither Kennedy can do much wrong in Talbot's eyes. Bobby's gloss of the Warren Report is dismissed as is the role of JFK's very un-Presidential conduct. He mentions LSD, which was new to me, but not Judith Campbell Exner, both examples of his unnecessarily playing with fire. Talbot gives Castro a benign treatment. While this is not a book about Castro, some recognition of the exiles' cause would have been appropriate.

I was struck by the role of the media because the more things change, the more they say the same. Ben Bradlee, a presumed friend of JFK dismisses his paper's silence on the matter because he had other priorities--- his career. I think this is the same modus operandi the press assumes now, taking the line of least resistance rather than finding the real story.

"Will the truth ever come out?" asks the news media... ironically the very institutions who's collective mission is to bring the truth to the pubic. Talbot is not optimistic about the truth coming out, speculating that concern for truth in these two assassinations will end with the Kennedy era generation.

This book is a very readable summary of the issues involved in the dual assassinations. I highly recommend it.

Along with Richard Mahoney's Sons And Brothers, you won't find a better rendering of the shadows playing around the Kennedy brothers than in this very well-researched and well-written study. One fact stands out: the JFK assassination will be debated from now until doomsday, pending conclusive proof of this theory or that. I say "theory" because for all the millions of words spoken and written it basically remains an unsolved crime. Media efforts, with all the subtlety of an exploding frangible bullet, to drive home the Lone-Nut theory into our collective consciousness will destructively collide with Mr Talbot's sane and bold
approach, leaving only a few dust-like fragments.

The real life always have so many layers. Talbot's book helps us to walk through the conflicts around Kennedy brothers. And the things become so heavy. You may feel it does not matter who actually pull the trigger. It is just dark and heavy ..

This multidimensional book about the Kennedy years is one of the most important books written about post World War II American history. One dimension is the inspiring story about how, despite our security establishment's rejection of any way out of the cold war except through a nuclear confrontation, JFK conceived of a peaceful way out through negotiations based on(as Sorensen indicated to Talbot) "peace through strength". (JFK's 1963 American University speech confirmed that understanding and compassion were also ingredients in this formula). Another dimension is the tragic story of RFK's fatal response to a Hobson's choice: how to pursue justice and work for his brother's and his ideals in an atmosphere where, as RFK said, "If the American people knew the truth about Dallas, there would be blood in the streets". Finally, Talbot presents the repugnant account, all too familiar to a growing number of Americans in this age of the Iraq War, about the ability of manipulative Washington players to twist perception away from reality in order to allow for actions that are an anathema to democracy and human decency.
Larry Nakrin

David Talbot has written an excellent, detailed account clearly indicating that our nation's leaders at the time, including Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson, never accepted the conclusion of the Warren Commission that Oswald alone acted to kill President Kennedy. Most interestingly as it pertains to the assassination of JFK, Talbot reveals that both President Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy had no confidence in the Secret Service's ability to protect the president and that they had thought of transferring this power to the Attorney General's Office. In fact, after JFK's death, President Johnson confided that the Secret Service was "more likely to get me killed than to protect me,"(see page 283). Obviously, Johnson too had no confidence in the Secret Service. This book should set off some alarm bells about the workings of our government and its integrity. I applaud Talbot for his excellent work, and his courage to write it.

Many previous authors (and at least one moviemaker) have alluded to the possible roles of the mob, hard-line elements within the Cuban exile community, the entrenched and traditionalist elements at the CIA and military officers committed to war with the Soviet Union in the assassination.

Talbot goes to the next level. He places the JFK presidency firmly within its historical context and in doing so he demonstrates that each of these communities possessed a motive for precipitating the first and only coup d'etat in our history.

The most memorable lesson of history that I came away with from this reading is that, after the Civil War, the moment of greatest peril to American democracy was that period in the very early sixties when a new president sought to bring the national security and military colossus under some sort of rational civilian control, such that the final war might be avoided. I wonder if even that president himself realized the awesome interests and capabilities that were arrayed against him as he made his efforts, lurching from crisis to crisis, and then to some semblance of success, in the hopes of securing a posterity for us all.

Isn't it ironic that Eisenhower, who certainly had a part in the creation of the national security state, warned us all of its dangers as he left office? Did the new president appreciate the warning?

It is the convincing demonstration that JFK provided various interest groups with a rationale for his destruction that represents the strength of this work. It's weakness lies in its excessive and unrealistic idealization of both JFK and RFK.

This is the best book in years regarding the Kennedy's and the events surrounding the death of JFK. This book also sets the record straight about the Kennedy brothers. Enough of Seymour Hersh's smear jobs. The Kennedy's were inspired and brave, great men. Especially chilling, the role of the military and the pressure they put on JFK, and the cultural input of the times that pointed to an imminent coup with Seven Days in May and The Manchurian Candidate. Great reading and excellent book.

This is the best book in years regarding the Kennedy's and the events surrounding the death of JFK. This book also sets the record straight about the Kennedy brothers. Enough of Seymour Hersh's smear jobs. The Kennedy's were inspired and brave, great men. Especially chilling, the role of the military and the pressure they put on JFK, and the cultural input of the times that pointed to an imminent coup with Seven Days in May and The Manchurian Candidate. Great reading and excellent book.

If you're interested in conspiracy theories for the Kennedy assassination, this is probably not the book to read. However, if you're interested in the Kennedy administration itself, its key players and the various issues it dealt with, this is a must-read. Well written and entertaining to read, BROTHERS gives a historical yet personal and enjoyable description of John & Bobby Kennedy's time in the White House. President Kennedy is generally defined by the Cuban Missile Crisis and his assassination, but this book explores several other issues that are less publicized but no less significant, as well as the role his brother played in the administration. I highly recommend this book; it was extremely enjoyable and informative!

Outstanding on every level: narrative power, original research, unabashed defense of a likely conspiracy behind JFK's murder. If you read Anthony Summers' "Conspiracy" (now titled "Not in Your Lifetime"), this is the best book on the JFK assassination since that book ... and that's saying a lot. I must admit that I had become jaded about Kennedy brothers' legacy over the years (and Talbot doesn't ignore JFK's reckless personal behavior), but Talbot gave me a new appreciation of just how wise and farsighted JFK and RFK were, especially given the tenor of the times they lived in.

So much more than a "Who Shot Kennedy" book, this dissects the legend of JFK from the perspective of the dangers he faced politically and personally in leading the country out of the shadow of McCarthyism and steering it away from nuclear holocaust. It also explores the more enigmatic character of RFK and the reasons he never fought openly to have his brother's assassination re-investigated. One of the best books on recent American history I've read.

For someone who has always been fasinated by the Kennedy question yet somewhat relluctant to research all of its possibilities this book has done for me what i couldnt. Talbot has written this in what i would call a great documentary manner without boring you with his references yet assuring you his material is extremely well researched. For me at least a pleasent synopsis allowing me to form the nexus between those who wanted these guys out of the way and the relationship the brothers had with each other.

This book was a fascinating look into the events of the Kennedy era. So much information I never knew. It should be required reading in all political science classrooms instead of the uninspiring drivel they were teaching us while this was all unfolding before our eyes and behind the scenes. It is a national tragedy that we have never demanded the truth.

Brothers chronicles how the children of elites attempted to take on the United States power structure from within the administrative branch--and who the enemies were, determined to bring them down.

Because several preceeding books have previously been written about the Kennedy brothers, readers might initially be skeptical about picking up David Talbot's work. I can affirmatively assure them that this one is a keeper for your personal library. It reads like a really good mystery book which you know just has to make it to the screen someday.

Talbot disperses some light-hearted trivia throughout his book (Jack was a forerunner of what would be known as 'metrosexual' because he would hold meetings in his underwear' and commented on the attractiveness of other men) but it is not a celebrity triva book. He provided the trivia to take readers into the complex psyches which constructed both men in eras when they were, frankly being immortalized as plastic and one-dimensional images.

A strength of Talbot's writing is that he is obviously an admirer of the Kennedy's. He gets a little too partisan at times, but comparatively appears less partisan than earlier books in the pro-Kennedy camp. Footnotes are provided at the back of the book for reference, so he's not just shooting off his mouth for the sake of it.

I was born well after the times referenced in this book, but the well-writen text took me to the places referenced and drew me in. I really understood the radical potential the Kennedy brothers had for transforming America and why the modern new right organized against them so fiercly.

Talbot is, first of all, a Camelot "true believer." Actually, no. People like him need to be called Camelot "truthers," with all the disparagement intended by lumping them with 9/11 truthers, etc.

Second, he whitewashes Bobby on things like the Cuban missile crisis, where he was more hawkish by far than Jack. Bobby favored bombing Cuba. Oh, and don't forget, because Talbot won't tell you, that Bobby pushed for the Castro assassination schemes later on.

Finally, he's a Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorist. And, no, he's not just talking about Bobby believing such ideas. Talbot does himself, as he makes clear in his new book about Allen Dullles, a book in which he also tries to deny, without expressly writing out his denial, that Alger Hiss was a Soviet spy.