Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy Paperback - 2002

by Joseph P. Kennedy; Amanda Smith (Editor)

In Hostage to Fortune, Amanda Smith presents a remarkable volume of her grandfather's correspondence and several never-before-seen photographs. The only firsthand record of his life, the letters range from 1914, with the honeymoon of Joe and Rose Kennedy, to 1961, with Joe's disabling stroke. In between, we see the public and private Kennedy-father, husband, film producer, New Deal government official, and U.S. ambassador in London. In addition to correspondence with his wife and children, there are letters exchanged by Kennedy and the great figures of his time, including Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Pope Pius XII, and Charles Lindbergh. Hostage to Fortune is an important historical work as well as a fitting tribute to the patriarch of America's most famous family.

"Smith has done a highly admirable job. . . . The collection has the double benefit of being appealing to both scholars and general readers. Academics are likely to be attracted to the correspondence related to diplomacy, and the public will no doubt relish the personal letters that the 'Ambassador' wrote to his family." (New York Post)