The Kennedy Curse: Shattered

Of Joe Kennedy's nine children, one was confined to a home for the mentally ill, two were killed in plane crashes, two were assassinated in public office and one had his political career ruined by an accident that resulted in the death of a young campaign worker.

These and other tragedies have given rise to the notion of the "Kennedy Curse" but this book aims to show that there was really no curse at all. When we look more closely at these tragic events we see that they follow the simple rule of cause and effect and that many were borne out of Joe Kennedy's fanatical pursuit of wealth and power. Joe Kennedy raised his children to believe that they were better than anyone else and that they had to win, every time and at any cost. His obsessive, driving ambition would influence the decisions his children made and the way they lived their lives and this controlling, overbearing approach would have disastrous consequences for the family over the years.

Joe's eldest daughter, Rosemary was institutionalised for life following a botched surgical procedure imposed on her by Joe as he could not bear to admit that he had fathered a less than perfect child.

Joe Junior was killed flying a secret mission in WWII. He was trying to compete with his brother, Jack and to prove his worth to his father.

Kathleen was killed in a plane crash whilst on her way to meet her father in the South of France. She was trying to gain his approval to marry a non-Catholic British aristocrat.

Jack Kennedy was assassinated in office after having made some bitter and dangerous enemies to get there. The official report named Lee Harvey Oswald as the killer but many believe that Jack was the victim of a complex and well-planned conspiracy.

Robert Kennedy was assassinated during his own campaign for the presidency in 1968. Palestinian immigrant, Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of his murder but there is strong evidence to suggest that there was at least one other gunman involved.

Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge at Chappaquiddick, killing young Mary Jo Kopechne. He lied about his movements that night and many believe that he was set up in order to ruin his career and prevent him from ever becoming President.

And it did not stop there. JFK Junior was killed in a mysterious plane crash in 1999 and Robert Kennedy's children suffered many tragedies of their own.
The Kennedys played a dangerous game and in many ways, they won; but that success would come at a price. Joe Kennedy went on to live to a ripe old age but as he watched these tragic events unfold and saw many of his children either ruined or taken from him, he must have wondered whether it had all been worthwhile.

Dettagli