(University Press of New England $29.95, due April 1)
Wednesday July 23 at 6:30p.m.
Call Lake Forest Book Store to register 847-234-4420
Please join us for refreshments as we welcome Jim Graham. He will be speaking about his new book The Kennedys, A Sailboat and the Sea, an epic story.
How one small sailboat taught the Kennedys about life, family, leadership and winning.
To truly understand the dynamics and magic of the Kennedy family, one must understand their intense relationship with sailing and the sea. Many
families sail together, but the Kennedys’ relationship with Victura,
the 25-foot sloop purchased in 1932 shortly after the family’s move to
Hyannis Port, stands apart. Throughout their brief lives, Joe Jr., Jack
and Bobby spent long hours racing Victura, joined by
littlest brother Teddy when he grew old enough. Joe Jr. and Jack ranked
among the best collegiate sailors in New England, but lack of effort in a
race by one of his sons could infuriate their father, Joseph P.
Kennedy. Likewise Eunice emerged as a gifted sailor and fierce
competitor, the equal of any of her brothers.
After the war, the family credited Jack’s experience sailing Victura with helping him survive the sinking of his PT boat in the Pacific. In the 1950s, glossy Life magazine photos of Jack and Jackie on Victura’s bow helped define the winning Kennedy brand. Jack doodled sketches of Victura during
Oval Office meetings, and it’s probable that his love of seafaring
played a role in his 1961 decision to put a man on the moon, an
enterprise he referred to as “space-faring.”
Ted loved Victura as
much as any of them and in years that followed, with his own children
and the children of his lost brothers as crew, sailed into his old age:
past the shoals of an ebbing career, and into his eventual role as the
“lion” of the Senate. In Victura, James W. Graham
charts the progress of America’s signature twentieth century family
dynasty, in a narrative both stunningly original and deeply gripping.
This true tale of one small sailboat is an invaluable contribution to
our understanding of the great story of the Kennedys.
There will be a book signing following the program with books provided by Lake Forest Book Store.
