White House by the Sea: A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port

by Kate Storey

“Impeccably researched…captivating!” —Elin Hilderbrand * “A well-paced history.” — The New York Times Book Review * “Fascinating…with new details and well-sourced reporting.” —Associated Press

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! The intimate, multigenerational story of the Kennedy family as seen through their Hyannis Port compound on Cape Cod—the iconic place where they’ve celebrated, mourned, and bonded—based on more than a hundred in-depth interviews by a Rolling Stone editor and journalist Kate Storey.

Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, is synonymous with the Kennedy family. It is where, for a hundred years, America’s most storied political family has come to celebrate, bond, play, and grieve. It is also the setting of so many events we JFK giving his presidential acceptance speech, Jackie speaking with a Life magazine reporter just days after her husband’s assassination, Senator Edward Kennedy seeking refuge after the Chappaquiddick crash, Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger tying the knot—and even Conor Kennedy courting pop star Taylor Swift. Anyone who has lived in, worked at, or visited the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port has had a front-row view to history. Now, with extraordinary access to the Kennedy family—and featuring more than fifty rarely-seen images—journalist Kate Storey gives us a remarkably intimate and poignant look at the rhythms of an American dynasty.

Drawing from a wealth of conversations with family members, friends, neighbors, household and security staff, Storey delivers a rich and textured account of the Kennedys’ lives in their summer refuge. From the 1920s, when Rose and Joseph P. Kennedy rented then bought a home known as The Malcolm Cottage, to today, when many Kennedys have purchased their own homes surrounding what’s now called The Big House, this book delivers many surprising revelations across the decades, including what matriarch Rose considered the family’s greatest tragedy, the rivalrous relationship between brothers Jack and Joe, details about Jackie’s life at the compound, and previously unknown glimpses into JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s loving and ill-fated relationship.

“Engaging and…intimate anecdotes that often stand in contrast to predominant, media-created perceptions...Readers will come away with new insights and due appreciation for this uniquely American dynasty” ( Booklist , starred review).

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Politics, Audiobook, Presidents, American History

368 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 2023

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

White House by the Sea: A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port by Kate Storey is a great nonfiction that takes a look at the beloved and infamous vacation home of the Kennedys.

Hyannis Port, Massachusetts (Cape Cod) was one of the beloved destinations of the Kennedys year after year. The author has performed a stunning amount of research to present a wonderful collection of facts, memories, events, occurrences, and emotions that are all tied together and involve multiple generations of the Kennedy family over the decades, and it was fascinating from beginning to end.

I love anything involving this family, as long as it is done right, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Scribner for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 6/27/23.

[Foxy Vixen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually I believe it should’ve been titled ‘The Big House by the Sea’
Very good non-Fictional Historical account of the Kennedys.
Nothing was held back in telling the good and the bad. When I was reading this all I could think of wasbThebSins of our Fathers.
You will have to read it to see what I meant.
Unfortunately my old mind certainly couldn’t keep all of the later generations straight. I listened to the Audiobook, maybe in a book there is a Family Tree.

[Wendy Wishart · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is an interesting look at the community of Hyannis Port, but not much more, and you could probably get the same information if you found some local author (and there are always plenty of them) who wanted to do a book about his/her community. If you're expecting insight into the Kennedys, you won't get it. Everything in this book has already been said over and over.

You want to know about the Kennedys? This book tells us that they generally have big teeth and love playing touch football. Oh, and they like to sail. And Jackie wasn't all that great at water skiing.

The entire book is nothing more than a love story. The writer obviously adores the Kennedys, and either overlooks or justifies any of their reprehensible behavior. Jack's just a fun guy who thinks it's cute to invite a woman to a motel shortly after marrying Jackie, and that's fine. No mention of any of his better known affairs - Marilyn? As to Teddy, who knows why he left Mary Jo to drown, he's such a sweet fella and isn't it a shame he died of brain cancer. Joan drank, but we're not gonna go into that, buh-bye Joan. She gets maybe three lines in the whole book.

There is nothing in this book that tells us anything new about the Kennedys. By couching it in Hyannis Port, Kate Storey gives us nothing more nor less than a pathetic attempt at justifying the actions of a family that really isn't worth much in terms of morals or ethics.

Good try, Kate. You love the Kennedys. I don't.

[Nana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over my lifetime, I had heard about the Kennedy's through the news. White House by the Sea, lets us go into the Hyannis Port compound, and see the family through the eyes of people who loved them, cared about them, saw the strength they had to find, and see the bond that was created.
The Kennedy's were a big part of history. Kate Storey shares their journeys, as a family, and reading this book, it brings in feelings, emotions, and I saw things differently than I did when all I knew was what was reported in the news.
I received an ARC from Scribner through NetGalley.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost finished but not the fault of the author that I didn't but the fault of the crap app Libby which constantly freezes necessitating deleting the app, restarting my iPad and reloading my library cards back into the app once I reinstall. Anyway....Libby developers, if you're reading this, do better! Never a problem with Kindle.

As to the book, I enjoyed it a lot. I learned things about the younger (my) generation that I didn't know before. I was surprised that the author didn't mention Teddy Jr's cancer in the early 70s. Or maybe that happened at a point where the book froze. The story moved along and since I'll be on the Cape in a week or two I might have to take a drive by now that the author has peaked my interest again.

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

unfortunately you could not pay me to marry into that family idc how rich or good looking they are i like being alive

[Pooja Peravali · Rating 2 out of 5]

When the Kennedy family decided to make their summer home in Hyannis Port, MA, they little suspected how strongly associated the place would become with their aspirations and their scandals.

I'm a Massachusetts native, but my family's roots there don't go back long enough to have really witnessed the heyday of the Kennedys in politics. On the other hand, I have read (and looked at) plenty of Jackie O media, so I guess I'm not really exempt from the fascination completely. I still don't get the allure of Cape Cod though!

Storey does a good job of bringing the small and peaceful community of Hyannis Port to life, introducing us to many lesser known residents. It's clear how much research she's done and the many people she's talked to, and the resulting anecdotes about the Kennedys in their private lives made me feel like I'd gotten a glimpse behind that curtain too. I was interested to learn how much Hyannis Port figured in the politician brothers' campaigns. I also enjoyed that she talked more generally about Hyannis Port itself changed over time because of its residents, and not only the Kennedys - I don't know if I would have heard of Eugenia Fortes otherwise.

However, I did feel that Storey played softball with her subject matter. She brings up things like Joe Sr.'s predatory behavior toward women, Rosemary's forced lobotomy, and the death at Chappaquiddick, all of which happened when the family was down at Hyannis Port, but brushes past them without much comment or condemnation. I'm not expecting her to rip into them - it's not that kind of book - but to breezily ignore darker matters in favor of the umpteenth game of touch football rather wore on me after a while. In my opinion, biographies fail when they refuse to lend equal weight to both the light and dark sides of their subjects' lives, and this one certainly did.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Emily Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming from someone who has read many many Kennedy books, this one is for sure ranking among the top. Telling the family’s history through their houses in the port brought new and fascinating information. I loved the idea of home that was established through tracing events both big and small through the walls of “the Kennedy compound”.

[WM D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

White House by the sea was a very good idea for a book. Upon reading this book I realized that I thought I knew a lot about the history of the Kennedy family compound. It went into a lot more detail about the family history and how the family dynamics changed throughout history.

[Megan Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this but I am the target audience

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who’s never read a book about the Kennedys and who possessed only basic knowledge of the family, I found this book to be an approachable, enjoyable, and informative cross section of their 100 year history. Major events are touched on with a focus on family life and the impact on their little section of the Cape. A great way to get a big picture understanding of who is who and when and what, without getting bogged down in the details of the many layered lives of the individuals involved.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like Fairy Tail by the sea.

It’s not a bad book, but when the facts are the facts and you know it’s all based on 🐂 💩 it makes you roll your eyes.

This does not mean my heart does not break when I knew the future. It was beyond senseless and sad… but knowing the whole marriage was based on a lie just made me want to barf.🤢

They have made Kennedy into a martyr and Jackie… although she was a class act during the whole funeral… she truly was just an expensive doormat and in my opinion she was either out for money or had NO self respect for herself.

I think for Jackie it was all about 💰
Why else did she marry that troll looking Onassis?

Money, money, money! Her Mother drilled it in both her and Lee’s head.

Jackie was trying to
Protect her children. Lee was just a very unlikable woman who thought more of herself than she was worth… without the money given to her by men.

As for the rest of the Kennedy’s? Most were shady as hell. A family gone so, so badly.
This book stunk.

Don’t waste your time.

[Mainey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m just even less interested in the Kennedys now than I was before I read this book

[Tam📖 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hayward 2023 Vacation Read

JFK Jr. Wine advice: find the lowest price wine and the most expensive, then buy in the middle

[LeeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a lovely letter to a bygone era. Nostalgic and reminiscent in a way that paints a picture.

Of course, it's not all soft. The hard edges are here, too. Because much as people try to gloss over it, Kennedys are people too.

One incident in particular jumped out - an altercation with photographer paparazzi John Paparo. Reading this book feels like watching a familiar movie unfold.

There's no surprise ending. We all know the ending. (And if you somehow weren't familiar, the prologue sets it up neatly.)

"Today, there are hundreds of Kennedy cousins who haven't run for office that you've never heard of. But still, there's Hyannis Port. It's what's left of Camelot."

The author's care and detail is evident in every page, and the book is expertly crafted. Well done.

[Kimberly H · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many Wikipedia rabbit holes while reading this! White House by the Sea is a breezy yet well-researched look at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, MA, which has been much more than a summer retreat. This is where decisions to run for office were made, where family members grieved, and where Kennedys of multiple generations came of age. It’s not a full biography of the family (if it didn’t happen at the house, it doesn’t make the narrative) but the anecdotes and insider details make for an engaging read. When will we get our American edition of The Crown?

“The Kennedys would think back to that summer of 1941 for the rest of their lives. The ones who lived to see their hair turn gray would sit on their porches, talking about those months when the family was together, whole and happy. ‘The summer of 1941 was the last one that our family would ever have together,’ Rose would reminisce. Reflecting on that same summer, Teddy wrote six decades later, ‘I can look back and see all of them as they might well have been on a given weekend morning, each one distinct yet part of the whole.’”

“The closer you got to the water, the bigger the houses got, and the more manicured the lawns. But the more time Fortes spent in those houses as an outsider, the more she learned about the families living in them. ‘They’re not happy,’ Forts once said of the rich white families of the Cape. ‘I’ve lived with too many and I’ve worked for too many. I mean, the dinners at night I cook and serve, and you’d listen to them. Scared to death of losing that money. And they’ll do anything to keep it. I don’t care what.’”

[Chris Lindner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved reading books about the Kennedy family. I believe that for me and for others, the Kennedy family has been the closest America has ever come to having a "royal family." Add to that, then you have glamour, wealth, scandals, which contributes to the fascination for me.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not only is it informative, well researched, it is a touchingly told multigenerational story told from the perspective of the family from their home in Hyannis Port. The book provides the family history thoughtfully and tenderly, and of their famous Cape Cod home. It is told with interviews by the people who knew them there: neighbors, friends and persons who resided in the community of Hyannis Port, which provides a unique insight. The book describes the good times along with the tragedies.
Ultimately, I was touched by this book, with the perspective of how much the home meant to the Kennedy family, providing them with a safe place, a home the family could gather and be together and try to escape the world. As a reader who had read many books about the Kennedy family, I highly recommend this one as it surprisingly gives a new perspective.
"Don't let it be forgot that once there was a spot, for one brief, shining moment that was known as Camelot... but there will never be another Camelot."
Thank you to Goodreads for the giveaway and opportunity to read this book.

[Irishcoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been interested in the Kennedy family for years, ever since I was a teenager in 1968. I was 8 when President Kennedy was assassinated and not very aware of what happened or why. It was Senator Bobby Kennedy that sparked my interest. I’d begun paying attention to the news and hoped that he would win the Democratic nomination for president. Sadly, he, too, was assassinated. A few years later, I began reading books about President Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy, including the conspiracy books.

I have since read books by other family members. The last one I remember reading was written by Christopher Lawford and detailed all the troubling issues the younger generation of Kennedys was experiencing. When I saw White House by the Sea by Kate Storey was published, I immediately requested the book from my library. After a long wait, I was able to pick up the book.

What made this book different from the others was that this writer focused on the family in Hyannis Port. Family members have been drawn to the little town as if it was a magnet. The author interviewed surviving family members as well as neighbors and I got an intimate portrait of their lives and those of the other residents. I appreciated learning about the Kennedys when they were children, teenagers, and young adults.

The family has suffered so much tragedy. If I believed in curses, I would think someone had set one on them. With each one, I relived learning the news. My heart broke again when John F. Kennedy’s plane went down near Hyannis Port.

I would recommend the book to anyone interested in learning more about the Kennedy family.

[LaShanda Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

In “White House by the Sea”, Kate Storey invites readers to the Kennedy family's cherished Cape Cod getaway, Hyannis Port, where they escaped the noise of public life to create lasting memories together. This coastal retreat not only serves as a backdrop for joyful moments and laughter but also highlights the challenges the family faced due to their fame. Storey explores the rich history of Hyannis Port and its significant influence on the Kennedy legacy, sharing captivating stories about the house and the remarkable individuals who have visited. Whether you’ve been a fan of the Kennedys for years or are just beginning to learn about them, this book offers a delightful glimpse into their lives, connecting readers to their triumphs and struggles. With heartfelt moments and engaging writing, “White House by the Sea” draws you in and leaves you eager to learn more about this iconic political family. I highly recommend this fascinating read!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this advance copy

[Mscat2u517 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!! I have always been fascinated with the Kennedy family. Reading this book I learned a lot that I didn’t know about the family and some things I did know. I found this book very interesting. It kept my attention and I would highly recommend if you like history and you like to learn about history and the people. The Kennedy family I would say was the American royal family at one time. To read this book and learn the things that have gone on in this family, the tragedies that have happened within this family just astounds me. Life is not always as it appears and reading this book and learning about this family definitely proves that.

[Mary Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really easy to read, however it’s so sad. I liked how the book followed stories from the happenings at the house and not all the details of everyone’s lives. It was nice to see the Kennedy’s commitment to their Catholic faith, regardless of their messy lives. Now I want to go back for a visit to Cape Cod.

[Peg (Marianna) DeMott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even before reading this I've long thought that it's not worth it to have great privilege and wealth because of all the public hassles that come with it. One of America's foremost "royal" families the whole Kennedy clan, from Joseph P. And Rose through the third and fourth generation of the power couple are revealed. The love and struggle of family life in Hyannis Port on Cape Cod are covered in this book. If you're looking to expand your take on the Kennedy family this is a good one.

[Mary Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Cape Cod, you’ll love this book. Although the Kennedys are a centerpiece of the story, it’s really about Hyannis Port and the town’s role in the family’s lives.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A DNF for me. Too gossipy, without an attempt to put said gossip into any meaningful historical context. Disappointing.

[Tawnya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A kinder way of looking at the Kennedy's and their life on Hyannis Port.

[Christine Battista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, highly recommend

[Mary Katherine Vanderpool · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much about the Kennedy Family. Great read if you’re curious about their life in Hyannis Port.

[Sungyena · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is how I found out Taylor Swift dated an underaged Kennedy!

[Maya Berardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

an intimate, well-researched, genuinely fresh take on the Kennedy fam in the year 2023? I used to dream about days like these..

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the beginning to be a bit slow but it really captured my attention around 200 pages. All around a really interesting perspective on what made the Kennedy’s the Kennedy’s.