The Kennedys Amidst the Gathering Storm: A Thousand Days in London, 1938-1940 - Hardcover

Swift, Will

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061173568 ISBN 13: 9780061173561

Publisher: HarperPerennial, 2008

Synopsis

Presents a dramatic new interpretation of the ambassadorship of Joseph Kennedy to explore his family's intricate relationships with their contemporaries in the United States and England, in an account that documents their years in London and their mythic rise to power. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

"'With sensitivity and subtlety, Swift presents a remarkable cast of characters... as they struggle to understand and survive the 'gathering storm' of World War II." David Nasaw, Pulitzer Prize winning biographer and historian. 'The depth of research illuminates not only the personal beliefs of Joseph Kennedy during the ineluctable progress to war but also the difficulties, complexities and sheer hard work of an ambassador during one of the most turbulent periods of western history.' Anne De Courcy, author of 1939: The Last Season of Peace."

Synopsis:

For the ambitious, political-minded Catholic Irish Kennedy the ambassadorship to Great Britain was a long sought after prize. His triumphant arrival in London accompanied by his dynamic family promised to defuse his profound sense of being a second-class citizen. For a while, as the Kennedys were welcomed by politicians, aristocrats, and intellectuals, all eager to court America, his dream came true. In the end, however, his adherence to the idea of peace at all cost, his staunch advocacy of American isolationism, and his rebellious behavior cost him the friendship of Britain and the admiration of colleagues at home.The Kennedys' time in London solidified in America's imagination the story of a family dynasty as compelling as that of the Roosevelts. From 1938 to 1940, the Kennedys crystallised their identity as protagonists on the world stage, making public the competitive and clannish intra-family dynamics that would fuel their mythic rise to power. They all learned from their father's successes - and failures. The older children, Joe, Jr., Jack, and Kathleen (Kick - "The most promising debutante of 1938") took most active part in England's glittering, "last fling before the bombs fall" society but all nine children charmed, their every move chronicled by the British and American media.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperPerennial
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0061173568
• ISBN 13: 9780061173561
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352