Bobby Kennedy

Those who loved Robert F. Kennedy as well as those who hated him will both find much to enjoy in Tye's biography of Kennedy's life and times. Journalist Tye removes some of the rough edges of a man often presented as ruthless and obsessive in his early political career, and offers a balanced account of a man who grew through the tumult of his era. Kennedy served as a lawyer to Joseph McCarthy's committee; worked to ensure the election of his older brother, John, to the presidency; as attorney general obsessed about Jimmy Hoffa's corruption; served as New York Senator; and, finally, ran for president himself in 1968 as a peace candidate and rival to Lyndon B. Johnson. For many, tears may flow over the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert F. Kennedy (who had won the California primary in June) as Tye describes these events. Those who do weep may wonder how different the nation would have been had these men lived longer. P. D. Travis, Texas Woman's University Reprinted with permission of Choice, copyright 2017, American Library Association.