Robert Kennedy

Over the past five years, historical inquiry has shifted from John F. Kennedy to Robert Kennedy with studies by Jeff Shesol, James Hilty, Ronald Steel, and Joseph Palermo. Despite the use of Kennedy's personal files, extensive interviews, and recently opened foreign policy sources, Evan Thomas, assistant managing editor of Newsweek, adds no surprising disclosures. Rather, his book serves as a readable synthesis that confirms many of Hilty's assessments in Brother Protector (1997). It does probe more deeply into Robert Kennedy's insecurities and contradictions. Kennedy's problems, Thomas contends, began early when he was dismissed as an underachieving runt. His self-esteem suffered further when, unlike his older brothers, he escaped combat in World War II. Consequently, heroics always captivated him. Full of anger, fears, and occasional depression, he confronted his demons by sheer will while seeking to win his father's love. That background also explains his occasional belligerence and impulsiveness. For the remainder of his existence, he handled self-doubt by courageous action. After his brother's death he sought solace in existentialism, which enabled him better to deal with life's absurdities

Action (physics · Anger · Art history · Brother · Existentialism · Great Depression · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Classics · History · Law · Military History and Strategy · Psychology · Social Psychology