RFK Jr.: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Dark Side of the Dream

The week I was reading this there was a bad winter storm descending so for several days I was either reading this book or watching the mini series John Adams. The Adams series is a vivid depiction of what our founding fathers and their families went through to break away from the British Crown & to create a democracy . Sheer hell would not be an over statement. Reading RFK was a sharp reminder of the dangers of having "royal political families" as we have done with the Kennedys, Clintons, Bushes, etc.This is a tragic story & it's a miracle this man is even alive. Clearly his mother & the entire family was suffering deeply from what is now known as PTSD, having barely recovered from JFK assasination- then RFK was killed. His mother could barely function herself much less help all those children cope with the loss of the man who was center of their childhood world. Counselingand the kind of intense therapy need for each of these children was NOT the treatment option then that it is today although Jackie Kennedy was astute enough to get just that kind of help for her children which was very unusual at the time. So the behavior of RFK as young man, the drugs, girls,dropping out of schools right and left was a scream for attention. His mother, emotionally crippled herself, reacted in rage & threw him out. This is a dark tale that illustrates money doesn't buy happiness, if anything the kind of money he had access to from a trust fund simply supported the life of a junkie who drifted from one self imposed, self destructive crisis to another. The awful burden of being named after his father simply became an albatross around his neck. The disgusting womenizing all his life has been well documented with him and many of his brothers. While their uncles did the same as did their grandfather, strangely RFK didn't - or if he did it was rare & discreet for he seemed to truly love his wife. We now know this is a sex addiction & a symptom of many deep rooted psychological problems. Then it was seen as standard operating procedure for many (but not all) of the Kennedy men. His wife Mary who committed Suicide had major mental health problems and a serious alcoholic who truly was a danger to her children, herself and others. But, the cruelty she was treated with by RFK jr is simply incomprehensible-there is no other word for it. Now, a middle aged man who appears to have built a successful career as an environmental lawyer, seems to be in a stable marriage is a testament to an inner will to survive unlike a few of his brothers & for that I commend him and wish him well. Anyone who reads even a little bit of English history will notice an disturbing pattern in both many children of royalty and many of the Kennedy children; alcohol and substance abuse, dozens of broken relationships, rampant destruction sexual behavior,Suicides, young people dead far before their time.. This's a cautionary tale that should remind us of the dangers of creating "political royalty " who in the end are simply human & not the super heros we want to see. If you want to see a group of 'super heros' look no further than John Adams and the founding fathers. While each of them had their own flaws what they didn't have was as dangerous sense of entitlement which the Kennedys did have and the founding fathers had strong sense of integrity to fight & die if necessary for the creation of this country. Integrity was scarce ingredient for many of the Kennedys but the overwhelming sense of entitlement is deeply disturbing and counter to everything a true democracy should be. This is truly is an American tragedy in every way possible..

This book seems to rely heavily on interviews from random people who seemingly had very little personal interaction with Kennedy as well as the author's own speculations not grounded in any real facts. I found his choice of source information really strange. Interviews included the random kid who happened to take a class with Kennedy fifty years ago but never socialized with him, the random Kennedy fan who happened to stand outside a church watching the Kennedys walk in for a wedding, and other people who had very little, if any, real contact or insight on Kennedy. It's as if he opened a phone book and randomly chose people to interview. Oppenheimer's "sources" even include quoting his own earlier books. Talk about lazy. He constantly disparages Kennedy’s Riverkeeper book while quoting it extensively. Had I known he would quote Kennedy’s book so often, I would have just purchased Kennedy’s book. Whatever the author cannot find in old Enquirer articles, he simply speculates out loud. In order to fill pages, he often repeats the same story. He repeatedly reminds the reader over and over that Lem Billings (a Kennedy family friend) may have been gay We get it. He was gay. You don't have to mention it every 5 pages. He also seems to rely on interviews with people who held well publicized grudges against Kennedy. People like Bob Boyle who Kennedy replaced as president of an environmental organization. In an effort to fill pages, Oppenheimer often resorts to disparaging various random people. Did we really need to know the life story of the guy who owned the night club Kennedy visited in the 70s. Do you need to spend several pages discussing a Riverkeeper scientist that Kennedy hired who stole cockatoo eggs. Does anyone care that Ethel Kennedy was late in paying a bill, or that Kennedy tried to get a deal on his gym membership. Those are the things this guy actually wrote about. Oppenheimer goes as far as to even criticize Kennedy’s workout routine, his gym membership terms and even focuses on a run of the mill auto accident that Kennedy was involved in that went through normal insurance channels as it would with anybody. There was nothing scandalous about the accident. Nevertheless, Opphenheimer’s efforts to turn these mundane daily occurrences into Kennedy scandals come off as odd and a bit desperate. He focuses on these types of things and ignores Kennedy's work as a law professor, his creation of a legal clinic, his international investigation of polluters, and other accomplishments including charity work. Instead Oppenheimer writes about Kennedy's gym membership.The book itself has trouble following a timeline. Oppenheimer seems to have trouble focusing as he jumps all over the place. He often goes off on a tangent as he moves randomly from decade to decade. He repeats stories as if he had a page limit for a school assignment and needed to reach a goal. I was surprised he didn't ask for larger font. One minute he’s referring to an incident that happened in the early 2000s, the next he is repeating a story from the 70s that was already mentioned in the book several times. The book comes off as an amateurish first draft. Something he called in for a quick paycheck. When he started quoting his own earlier books I realized I made a mistake in buying this book.The author is sloppy in the way he tries to paint a negative picture of Kennedy through innuendo. Time and time again he he presents his own opinion and provides speculation instead of well.. facts. The book is unnecessarily mean spirited throughout. In addition to picking on children, he scoffs haughtily at actress Cheryl Hines (Kennedy's third wife) stating her educational background did not match that of Kennedy’s first wife. Particularly stomach turning was his attack on the Kennedy children dealing with the murder of their father. He pokes fun at Kennedy for wearing his slain father’s tie every day, his choice of clothes, his unkempt appearance, and even his hobby of training hawks. At the time, Kennedy was a child. Even more disturbing was the way he exploits the suicide of Kennedy’s wife. Kennedy obviously had his demons with the drug addiction he seemingly overcame, Even so, Oppenheimer's approach was tabloid sleazy. I had to take a shower after reading this book.. Oppenheimer reminds me of a sleazy car salesman with an agenda. The kind of guy that would scan obituaries to get a deal on buying a house.This was far from a well rounded book and appears to downplay or even ignore most of Kennedy’s accomplishments. If you're into supermarket sleaze and enjoy low brow shows like Jerry Springer, this book is for you. You know that type of guy who carves angry sayings in bathroom stalls. That's my take on Jerry Oppenheimer after reading this book. Calling this guy a journalist or an author would be stretching things. He really missed an opportunity to write a great book with some interesting subject matter. Save your money. It is destined for the 99 cent bin.

I believe the author wrote a honest portrayal of RFK Jr

Family is all. Don't you get it Bobby? Your father wasn't around much when he was alive. He came from a fractured family when your Grandfather Joe and Grandmother Rose went their separate ways though still married. All the Kennedy smiles in the world can't make the reality behind the images different. All the success and riches, although nice, never are enough when the married parents go off in different directions. Two people, sharing time and space, being thoughtful of one and other is the beginning of a family. Extra-marital affairs are not thoughtful. They cheat the whole family. Smearing Mary's name in the divorce documents was the worst evil. Parading your mistress all over the Internet on Mothers Day with Mary's children along ... cruel, over the top. There was a better way to handle that. Making Mary out to be crazy .... Not a good way to keep your children healthy. Joe and Rose were held together by their faith. That's how they were able to present an image of family. But still, it allowed them to keep the facade up. This dark side is a portion of your story. There's also the good work you do ... Inspiring people to vote for government people who want our children healthy. It's gotta be hard to be you. But Jackie said it right ... If you bungle raising your children (and playing around on their Mom is bungling) then nothing you do means family. It's all family.

I just couldn’t be bothered to finish this book - not because the subject isn’t worthy of a biography but because I don’t like the author. Too much important material seems to be skimmed over and there is little to no attempt at psychological issues.

Whose life merits a biography, especially when the biographee is still living? Why write a biography of this man who is famous only because his father was? Why did I read this? A colossal waste of time.

Quite a good insight into the character of RFK jnr. However far too much time and effort spent on the history of his drug abuse . I feel the author was quite frankly biased against the Kennedy family and was not objective enough in his observations .

Such an interesting family, so much wealth but so much anguish. RFK jr seemed a damaged personality -i'mnot suprised, after having read so many books about his family. He does appear to have calmed down know he is inhis sixties.

Interesting read