When Lions Roar: The Churchills and the Kennedys

Summary (from the publisher): The first comprehensive history of the deeply entwined personal and public lives of the Churchills and the Kennedys and what their “special relationship” meant for Great Britain and the United States.

When Lions Roar begins in the mid-1930s at Chartwell, Winston Churchill's country estate, with new revelations surrounding a secret business deal orchestrated by Joseph P. Kennedy, the father of future American president John F. Kennedy. From London to America, these two powerful families shared an ever-widening circle of friends, lovers, and political associates – soon shattered by World War II, spying, sexual infidelity, and the tragic deaths of JFK's sister Kathleen and his older brother Joe Jr.  By the 1960s and JFK's presidency, the Churchills and the Kennedys had overcome their bitter differences and helped to define the “greatness” in each other.

Acclaimed biographer Thomas Maier tells this dynastic saga through fathers and their sons – and the remarkable women in their lives – providing keen insight into the Churchill and Kennedy families and the profound forces of duty, loyalty, courage and ambition that shaped them. He explores the seismic impact of Winston Churchill on JFK and American policy, wrestling anew with the legacy of two titans of the 20th century. Maier also delves deeply into the conflicted bond between Winston and his son Randolph and the contrasting example of patriarch Joe Kennedy, a failed politician who successfully channeled his personal ambitions to his children. By approaching these iconic figures from a new perspective, Maier not only illuminates the intricacies of this all-important cross-Atlantic allegiance but also enriches our understanding of the tumultuous time in which they lived and the world events they so greatly influenced.

With deeply human portraits of these flawed but larger-than-life figures, When Lions Roar explores the “special relationship” between the Churchills and Kennedys, and between Great Britain and the United States, highlighting all of its emotional complexity and historic significance.

 

Review: I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book as a giveaway on Goodreads.

 

The Churchill and the Kennedy families first met in the early 1930s, well before either grew to the political prominence in their respective countries that they soon would. While the relationship between the two families was certainly not always amicable, there is serious overlap in their social circles for decades - especially when Joe Kennedy served as ambassador to Great Britain before the outbreak of WWII.

 

My greatest struggle with reading this dual biography is that although undeniably intertwined, the families were not overwhelmingly close. They grew to prominence in two different nations. In many ways, this feels like two family biographies that was merged together, taking into consideration overlap in social circles. It could just have easily been a biography of the entire social set, to also include figures like Joe Kennedy's business associates, Franklin Roosevelt and his son Jimmy, socialite and lover Kay Halle, the Mitford sisters, and more that appear repeatedly over the course of the book. Additionally, at times this focused more on business and political affairs, whereas I would have preferred a focus on relationships and social developments - but I know that would have excluded the historical and political significance of the family relationship.

 

Some of the connections did amaze me because I never knew anything about how these two families interacted. For example, Jackie Kennedy first met the man who would become her second husband, Aristotle Onassis, onboard his yacht, invited at the express request of Winston Churchill. Churchill was friends with Onassis first and told Onassis he was interested in meeting the "presidential timber" that was Jack Kennedy at the time (524). Also interesting was the fact that Jack Kennedy, despite his father's resentment of Churchill, revered the British Prime Minister. In fact, Kennedy's inaugural speech as president, "reverberated with Churchill's literate thoughts and cadences. For inspiration, Kennedy had listened to recordings of Churchill and shared his vision of Anglo-American unity, almost word for word" (551). After Jack Kennedy's assassination, it was Randolph, Winston Churchill's son, who was asked to write his official biography, as well as that of his own father.

 

Interestingly, Maier takes note that "Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt were incomparably greater public men than Joseph P. Kennedy. Yet Randolph Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., youth of ability and ambition, never fulfilled their potentialities. The Kennedy sons, for whatever reason, pursued their capacities to the uttermost limits" (568). This dual biography tells the story of fathers and sons of two great families, in a pivotal moment in world history, who had considerable sway over the course of their two countries. Theirs is a story of wealth, power, disappointments, and triumphs. An interesting portrayal of not just historical figures, but the interactions that happened largely behind the scenes between those figures, that shaped the course of history.

 

Review: 3.5 stars