Quotable Kennedy's

Editor Bill Adler gathers speeches, personal letters, and off-the-cuff remarks from patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose down through John, Robert, Ted, and the next generation. The compilation balances formal declarations on leadership, war, and civil rights with sharp family banter, unvarnished political calculations, and unexpected confessions.

The selections trace iconic public triumphs alongside the intimate loyalties and private trials that defined the clan away from the cameras.

This warm and nostalgic collection of quotes, collected by Kennedy specialist Bill Adler, deftly addresses a full range of topics and captures the history, prestige, and unique personalities of this prominent American family.

• Famous Quotations: Key addresses and spontaneous sound bites trace JFK’s inaugural call to service, RFK’s anti-racketeering hearings targeting Jimmy Hoffa, and Ted Kennedy’s lifelong defense of civil rights and health care reform.
• Cold War Diplomacy: First-person excerpts document the tense deliberations of the Cuban missile crisis, the standoff in West Berlin, and early private skepticism regarding escalating involvement in Vietnam.
• Behind Closed Doors: Intimate family letters and dinner-table memories reveal Rose Kennedy’s strict household rules, Joseph P. Kennedy’s financial maneuvering from Palm Beach, and Jackie Kennedy’s determination to protect her young children in the White House.
• Political History: Behind-the-scenes accounts capture hard-fought campaigns from the 1952 Massachusetts Senate upset against Henry Cabot Lodge to grueling presidential primaries across West Virginia and California.
• Also by This Author: Native Amer-Growing Up, Diana and The Eloquent Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.