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Brothers
- The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 20 hrs and 40 mins
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Brothers
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Summary
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 hardline 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 their militaristic 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 150 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.
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What listeners say about Brothers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CL
- 02-12-23
Epic and inspiring
Well narrated and great story expertly scripted. I love all of Talbot’s book. Highly enjoyable and educational. A resl insight into the lives of emminent people.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Chris B
- 19-07-20
Great book and the author is right, its relevant today.
It reads and flows well, another enlightening book which shines a spotlight on some of America’s darkest moments. The whole of the 60’s read like a greek tragedy with love, hope, idealism, tragedy, treachery and malevolence. They are all human characteristics that we must face on some level.
The book is highly recommended, along with James Douglass ‘The Unspeakable’.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr T Kearney
- 11-03-22
Interesting insight into a tragic family dynamic.
I enjoyed this title. It was interesting, but very long and a good listen. Recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Boo Boo
- 12-09-18
Interesting History and Speculation
This is an interesting book and well worth a listen for those interested in the Kennedys or the period.
I do feel it was let down a little by the narrator who, though OK, was a little unmodulated for me and did not give enough variation in his reading. I also found his reproduction of the accents of JFK and RFK to verge into the imitative and irritating.
My main take from the book (probably unintentionally on the author's part) was that JFK was quite a vacillator and this might explain why he did not achieve all that much (legislatively) during his presidency.
I would buy another of this author's books and I see Audible have a copy of one concerning Allen Dulles and the CIA.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Dazler
- 09-03-13
Marvellous
A real joy, very detailed and informative but never dull. Marvellous and highly recommended.
I was initially going to give this book five stars but then realised Marilyn Monroe was not mentioned at all, which seemed a very strange omission because surely she was at least a small part of The Kennedy years at The White House.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 18-06-22
30hrs of fascinating history
Really exciting and thorough review of the Kennedy brothers’ history, assassination and more important, the times and system they lived in. Highly recommended.
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