The First Kennedys: The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty
Written by Neal Thompson
Narrated by Arthur Morey
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
“Here is that rare thing: an untold chapter in the Kennedy saga. . .Compelling and illuminating.”—Jon Meacham
Based on genealogical breakthroughs and previously unreleased records, this is the first book to explore the inspiring story of the poor Irish refugee couple who escaped famine; created a life together in a city hostile to Irish, immigrants, and Catholics; and launched the Kennedy dynasty in America.
Their Irish ancestry was a hallmark of the Kennedys’ initial political profile, as JFK leveraged his working-class roots to connect with blue-collar voters. Today, we remember this iconic American family as the vanguard of wealth, power, and style rather than as the descendants of poor immigrants. Here at last, we meet the first American Kennedys, Patrick and Bridget, who arrived as many thousands of others did following the Great Famine—penniless and hungry. Less than a decade after their marriage in Boston, Patrick’s sudden death left Bridget to raise their children single-handedly. Her rise from housemaid to shop owner in the face of rampant poverty and discrimination kept her family intact, allowing her only son P.J. to become a successful saloon owner and businessman. P.J. went on to become the first American Kennedy elected to public office—the first of many.
Written by the grandson of an Irish immigrant couple and based on first-ever access to P.J. Kennedy’s private papers, The First Kennedys is a story of sacrifice and survival, resistance and reinvention: an American story.
Neal Thompson
Neal Thompson is the author of four critically acclaimed books, including A Curious Man: The Strange & Brilliant Life of Robert “Believe It or Not” Ripley and Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR. Thompson’s writing has appeared in Esquire, Outside, Men’s Health, and other publications. He lives in Seattle with his family.
More audiobooks from Neal Thompson
Kickflip Boys: A Memoir of Freedom, Rebellion, and the Chaos of Fatherhood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hurricane Season: A Coach, His Team, and Their Triumph in the Time of Katrina Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The First Kennedys
Related audiobooks
Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kennedy Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forever Young: My Friendship with John F. Kennedy, Jr. Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5American Lady: The Life of Susan Mary Alsop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All This Marvelous Potential: Robert Kennedy's 1968 Tour of Appalachia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Kick Kennedy: The Charmed Life and Tragic Death of the Favorite Kennedy Daughter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Kick: The True Story of JFK's Sister and the Heir to Chatsworth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jackson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Two Americans: Truman, Eisenhower, and a Dangerous World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Embers of Childhood: Growing Up a Whitney Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Values: Lessons I Learned from My Family Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dinner in Camelot: The Night America's Greatest Scientists, Writers, and Scholars Partied at the Kennedy White House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAsk Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sons of Camelot Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Men We Became: My Friendship with John F. Kennedy, Jr. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Counselor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5White House by the Sea: A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTraitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queen of Our Times: The Life of Queen Elizabeth II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Churchill Sisters: The Extraordinary Lives of Winston and Clementine's Daughters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dinner With the President Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Historical Biographies For You
Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Up From Slavery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lives of the Wives: Five Literary Marriages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Charlie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shakespeare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil and Harper Lee Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lincoln Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Live: Or a Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benjamin Franklin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Professor and The Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Moveable Feast Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne Frank Remembered Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The First Kennedys
5 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5As much as it was about the history of the Kennedy’s in America, it was a history of the Irish immigrant experience. Very informative! And sobering.