Brothers Audiobook By David Talbot cover art

Brothers

The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years

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Brothers

By: David Talbot
Narrated by: Mel Foster
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About this listen

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.

©2007 David Talbot (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Americas Historical Politicians Politics & Activism Presidents & Heads of State United States Vietnam War Cold War Espionage
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Well-researched Story • Intriguing Anecdotes • Great Narration • Compelling Quotes • Thorough Examination
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What did you love best about Brothers?

The interviews conducted by the author with associates of JFK and RFK.

What other book might you compare Brothers to and why?

"Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot".

If you enjoyed Bill O'Reilly's "Killing Kennedy"

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A fantastic and easy to read history of the Kennedy years. When it comes to the assassinations, the author clearly has his own beliefs, however, instead of trying to convince you of his own beliefs, he encourages you to ask your own questions and seek those answers. The narrators character voices are distracting and at times simply obscure caricatures of various stereotypes, but overall he does a great job.

One of the best.

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This book covers both death of John and Robert Kennedy and all the associated mystery behind them.

interesting book about the Kennedy brothers lives.

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This book takes a deep, well researched dive into the Kennedy brothers 1,036 day term in office and how they managed to anger two powerful forces in America: the CIA, and the Mafia. Interviewing people who surrounded the brothers, as well as using well documented information, the author lays out a well thought out argument as to why both of these groups wanted them dead, how America has let itself down by not brining to justice the true killers of these men.
My ONLY complaint about this book was how the reader of the book tried to mimic the Kennedy Massachusetts accent (annoying) and went into a falsetto voice for women (patronizing).

Well researched, fascinating look into Kennedys

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Book was very good. Would have liked some footnotes but good. Maybe one or he better JFK assassination books out there. Was happy the author did not interject too much of his radical Liberalism into it like some of his other books. Overall very happy with this book.

Good Book

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This is much appreciated a very good read America back then is very ambivalent and angry it seems, it's beyond me how it is the USA that acts small and paranoid Generals and hawks, when communism posed absolutely no threat It is very sad that President Kennedy wasn't allowed to continue the world would be a much better place had he,

"and we call ourselves the Human race"

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Thorough and chilling account of key figures, relationships and circumstances in US History. Excellent overall.

Thorough

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Narrator is fine, but every time he quotes either of the brothers, he makes a ridiculous impression. It takes me out of the book.

Great book, but the narrator makes an awful Kennedy impression

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One of the best books on the Kennedy assassinations. Narrator did a great job.

Great book

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I liked it a lot, well documented and researched. I would recommend it. thank you

Very good

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