
The Ambassador
Joseph P. Kennedy at the Court of St. James's 1938-1940
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Narrated by:
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Victor Bevine
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By:
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Susan Ronald
Acclaimed biographer Susan Ronald reveals the truth about Joseph P. Kennedy's shockingly controversial tenure as ambassador to Great Britain on the eve of World War II.
On February 18, 1938, Joseph P. Kennedy was sworn in as US Ambassador to the Court of St. James. To say his appointment to the most prestigious and strategic diplomatic post in the world shocked the establishment was an understatement: Known for his profound Irish roots and staunch Catholicism, not to mention his “plain-spoken” opinions and womanizing, he was a curious choice as Europe hurtled toward war.
Initially welcomed by the British, in less than two short years, Kennedy was loathed by the White House, the State Department, and the British Government. Believing firmly that Fascism was the inevitable wave of the future, he consistently misrepresented official US foreign policy internationally as well as direct instructions from FDR himself. The Americans were the first to disown him, and the British and the Nazis used Kennedy to their own ends.
Through meticulous research and many newly available sources, Ronald confirms in impressive detail what has long been believed by many: that Kennedy was a Fascist sympathizer and an anti-Semite whose only loyalty was to his family's advancement. She also reveals the ambitions of the Kennedy dynasty during this period abroad, as they sought to enter the world of high-society London and establish themselves as America’s first family. Thorough and utterly engrossing, The Ambassador explores a darker side of the Kennedy patriarch in an account sure to generate attention and controversy.
©2021 Susan Ronald (P)2021 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















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The most important book about the Kennedy ever written.
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EXCELLENT IN EVERY RESPECT
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Superb
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An enlightening chapter “on the Kennedy’s”
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In my opinion there is much to recommend this book. It is full of details of Kennedy’s actions during his appointment, both those in accordance with US Government policy and opposed and explained to me much that I never knew before - Kennedy was an intimate friend of Chamberlain and privy to a great many government secrets, he met repeatedly with German envoys and did not tell the US State Department or the President of his actions, and he was actively trying to secure the nomination as President or Vice President leading up to the 1940 election. However there are also some things that I found to be issues in this book, and at least one that is an issue for the audio version.
I would have thought that a book about the period from 1938 through 1940 would be devoid of any references to Donald Trump, considering that it is supposed to be a serious book on the period, but instead the author has indulged in some meaningless virtue signaling by commenting that Hitler was attempting to Make Germany Great Again. This kind of silliness should be beneath the author of any serious book andit seems to me that it cheapens the book. In addition the author repeats the claim that if Great Britain had been willing to come to an agreement with the Soviet Union prior to the Munich Agreement then Hitler would have faced a war on two fronts. Since the Soviet Union did not have a common border with Germany and since every Eastern European country that did border on Germany had refused to allow Soviet troops passage it is difficult to see how the Soviet Union could have attacked Germany in any meaningful way. In fact one member of the Polish government, which was Hitler’s next target, had said that losing a war to Hitler would cost Poland its freedom but allowing Soviet troops entry would cost Poland its soul.
The comment about the audio book itself is that I wished that the narrator, who otherwise did a splendid job, had learned how to pronounce Alexander Cadogan’s name and since he was an important member of the British government he was mentioned frequently and the repeated mis-pronunciation was annoying.
Other than those things this is a very good book and I would have given it 5 stars without the issues I mentioned. With them I felt that 3.5 stars was appropriate, but since I can not do that I gave it 4 stars. Even with its flaws the book is very informative.
Needs a bit of editing
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One entire book
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