In this magisterial work, celebrated historian David Nasaw tells the complete story of Joseph P. Kennedy, the founder of the twentieth century's most famous political dynasty. The patriarch tracks Kennedy's astonishing passage from East Boston outsider to supreme Washington insider and key participant in the major events of his times- the booms and busts, the Depression and the New Deal, two world wars, a cold war, and the birth of the New Frontier. In this pioneering biography, Nasaw draws on never-before-published archival materials and interviews with family and friends to reveal the full impact of Kennedy's legacy, paying particular attention to the lives of the children he raised. In studying Kennedy's journey, we relive the history of the American Century. 'Riveting.' Christopher Buckley, The New York Time Book Review 'Panoramic. Never before has Joseph P. Kennedy's conduct been documented in such damning detail, and never before has the verdict on his character been rendered so persuasively.' The Wall Street Journal 'Magisterial;.' The Boston Globe 'Engrossing and perceptive . . . Nasaw delves deep into archives, reconstruction virtually from scratch a multifaceted and ambiguous portrait of a figure who was for decades near the center of power in Hollywood and Washington, finance and diplomacy.' The Washington Post