“A more complete portrait of the matriarch of one of America’s eminent political family dynasties.”
—Los Angeles Times
“A fuller picture than ever before. . . . Perry writes with compassion and brings keen insight into what Rose Kennedy’s own words tell us about this complex woman.”
—Amy Scribner, BookPage
“Perry’s engrossing biography allows us at last to understand Rose, thorns and all.”
—Mail on Sunday
“Barbara Perry has done it again! Rose Kennedy is the much needed, balanced biography of the grand matriarch of American politics. Whether it was helping the disabled, raising children, or playing ward boss, Mrs. Kennedy was a force of nature.”
—Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University and author of Cronkite
“At the core of most families, frequently out of the public spotlight, is the matriarch. She personifies and by example extends the values and mores that make that family unique. Mrs. Rose Kennedy was such a woman. Raised in a high-profile political family, she nurtured one of America’s most influential families. Her influence continues to be a force in American culture. Rose Kennedy captures the essence of this exceptional leader. It places her in the spotlight she avoided but richly deserves.”
—Bob Graham, U.S. senator
“Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was one of the most inspiring women of the twentieth century. . . . Barbara Perry brilliantly and sensitively shows us Rose’s world. . . . You will be deeply moved by Perry’s magnificently researched account of this remarkable centenarian, whose steely optimism and unshakeable religious faith overcame life’s darkest detours.”
—Larry J. Sabato, director, University of Virginia Center for Politics
“Perry, a senior fellow in the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, has carried out extensive research—including her subject’s papers made available in 2006 at the John F. Kennedy Library—to produce a fond but not fawning biography.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“In this magnificent biography, Perry brilliantly recounts the fascinating and at times heartbreaking life of a complex and determined woman and illuminates that life through Rose’s extraordinary vantage point in history.”
—Examiner.com
“Empathetic.”
—Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
“Well written.”
—Kitty Kelley, Washington Independent Review of Books
“Perry’s biography is a finely crafted, comprehensive account of one of the most driven women in the shadows of American political history. . . . While there are untold numbers of books on the Kennedys, Perry adds archival details and nuance to our understanding of Rose. Kennedy completists and novices alike are sure to find the book fascinating as it further reveals the perspective of the strong woman behind the dynasty.”
—Lisa Guardarini, Library Journal