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Seeds of Destruction: Joe Kennedy and His Sons
Chronicles the complex family dynamics & psychological forces that molded the Kennedy men, beginning with Joe Kennedy Sr's driving ambitions that set in motion a family saga of triumphs & tragedies spanning four generations. B&W photos.
702 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1995
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About the author
Ralph G. Martin
66 books8 followersRalph G. Martin was an American journalist who authored or co-authored about thirty books, including popular biographies of recent historical figures, among which, Jennie, a two-volume (1969 and 1971) study of Winston Churchill's American mother, Lady Randolph Churchill, became the most prominent bestseller. Other successful tomes focused on British royal romance (Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson in 1974, as well as Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1985) and on the Kennedy family (John F. Kennedy in 1983 and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. in 1995).
Born in Chicago, Martin was eight years old when his family moved to Brooklyn, New York. He studied at City College of New York and, subsequently, the University of Missouri, where he graduated in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in journalism.
Twenty-one years old upon receiving his diploma, Martin decided to hitchhike and found a newspaper job at the Box Elder News Journal which served Brigham City, the county seat of Utah's Box Elder County. In December, following the U.S. declaration of war in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Martin enlisted in the Army and spent the war as a combat correspondent for the Armed Forces newspaper Stars and Stripes and the Army weekly magazine, Yank. In 1944, after having interviewed New York City's mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, for Yank, Martin asked La Guardia to perform his marriage ceremony to Marjorie Pastel.
Returning to civilian life in 1945, Martin began working as editor for news and analysis publications Newsweek and The New Republic and became executive editor at decorating and domestic arts magazine House Beautiful. During the months preceding the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections, he served as a member of the campaign staff for the Democratic nominee, Adlai Stevenson.
Having lived for years in the Connecticut town of Westport, near New York City, Martin moved to the Kendal on Hudson retirement community in another of the city's suburbs, Sleepy Hollow, where he died seven-and-a-half weeks before his 93rd birthday. He and his wife Marjorie were the parents of two daughters and a son.
Born in Chicago, Martin was eight years old when his family moved to Brooklyn, New York. He studied at City College of New York and, subsequently, the University of Missouri, where he graduated in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in journalism.
Twenty-one years old upon receiving his diploma, Martin decided to hitchhike and found a newspaper job at the Box Elder News Journal which served Brigham City, the county seat of Utah's Box Elder County. In December, following the U.S. declaration of war in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Martin enlisted in the Army and spent the war as a combat correspondent for the Armed Forces newspaper Stars and Stripes and the Army weekly magazine, Yank. In 1944, after having interviewed New York City's mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, for Yank, Martin asked La Guardia to perform his marriage ceremony to Marjorie Pastel.
Returning to civilian life in 1945, Martin began working as editor for news and analysis publications Newsweek and The New Republic and became executive editor at decorating and domestic arts magazine House Beautiful. During the months preceding the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections, he served as a member of the campaign staff for the Democratic nominee, Adlai Stevenson.
Having lived for years in the Connecticut town of Westport, near New York City, Martin moved to the Kendal on Hudson retirement community in another of the city's suburbs, Sleepy Hollow, where he died seven-and-a-half weeks before his 93rd birthday. He and his wife Marjorie were the parents of two daughters and a son.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 25, 2017
Having recently read A Hero For Our Time, Ralph Martin’s examination of the Kennedy White House, I was excited to read Seeds of Destruction. Hero had done an excellent job at distilling how the strengths and weaknesses of the president manifested itself in his presidency. Having also read David Nasaw’s The Patriarch I recognized how Joe Kennedy had benefitted and harmed his sons with his obsession with the presidency. Nasaw’s style is clearly different than Martins so I was curious to see how Martin explored the dynastic ambitions and hubristic falls of the Kennedys.
Martin’s thesis, as evidenced by the book’s title, is that Joe Kennedy’s desire for power & control planted seeds of destruction in his sons that ultimately either killed (Joe, Jack, & Bobby) or utterly destroyed (Ted) his sons. While I don’t necessarily disagree with Martin’s theory, I don’t think his episodic narrative upholds the thesis. Further in trying to expand the narrative to include all of JPK’s sons, Martin stretches the canvas, losing the tight effectiveness of A Hero For Our Time.
Martin also engages in some questionable assumptions to support his thesis. For example, virtually every account of Joe Kennedy indicates his favorite child by a wide berth was Joe Jr. Later in life Teddy also brought his father a lot of joy. Martin ignores this instead arguing Robert was both his parents’ favorite.
These assumptions become most problematic when the narrative turns to Ted post RFK. Here is the son who was least influenced by JPK, the one that by Martin’s thesis should have had the least seeds of destruction. Yet, Ted’s avarices seem to dwarf all the other Kennedys. Martin has no real theories on why this is even as we read pages fixated on Ted’s sexual greed and alcoholism. Finally, the final pages which try to argue that the next generation will plant seeds of hope are almost laughable considering some of the exploits of that generation.
Seeds of Destruction is not a bad book. Martin’s insights are interesting even when flawed, and the arc of the Kennedys makes for page turning reading. Overall, I’d rate this a very interesting read but not a definitive tale by any means.
Martin’s thesis, as evidenced by the book’s title, is that Joe Kennedy’s desire for power & control planted seeds of destruction in his sons that ultimately either killed (Joe, Jack, & Bobby) or utterly destroyed (Ted) his sons. While I don’t necessarily disagree with Martin’s theory, I don’t think his episodic narrative upholds the thesis. Further in trying to expand the narrative to include all of JPK’s sons, Martin stretches the canvas, losing the tight effectiveness of A Hero For Our Time.
Martin also engages in some questionable assumptions to support his thesis. For example, virtually every account of Joe Kennedy indicates his favorite child by a wide berth was Joe Jr. Later in life Teddy also brought his father a lot of joy. Martin ignores this instead arguing Robert was both his parents’ favorite.
These assumptions become most problematic when the narrative turns to Ted post RFK. Here is the son who was least influenced by JPK, the one that by Martin’s thesis should have had the least seeds of destruction. Yet, Ted’s avarices seem to dwarf all the other Kennedys. Martin has no real theories on why this is even as we read pages fixated on Ted’s sexual greed and alcoholism. Finally, the final pages which try to argue that the next generation will plant seeds of hope are almost laughable considering some of the exploits of that generation.
Seeds of Destruction is not a bad book. Martin’s insights are interesting even when flawed, and the arc of the Kennedys makes for page turning reading. Overall, I’d rate this a very interesting read but not a definitive tale by any means.
June 19, 2020
Long book with no new information - I realize it was written in 1995 and there have been many newer interpretations of this family dynamic.
November 25, 2025
Couldn’t finish it. Just not well written for my taste
June 27, 2013
I picked this one up at The Community Resale Shop on the corner of 25th and 78 in East Dundee, Illinois. Having only brought one, half-completed book with me for a two-week stay out here, I needed something long and, hopefully, engaging.
Long and engaging it was, but I cannot give it a strong recommendation. It is, as indicated in its subtitle, about Joe Kennedy Sr. and his sons Joe Jr., JFK, RFK and Ted, but the depth of analysis is shallow, being based almost entirely on countless interviews conducted by the author and others. Favorable accounts outnumber negative ones, but the deeply personal depravity of the men of that family shines through nonetheless. If there are any true role models here they're the women who had to suffer these men.
Long and engaging it was, but I cannot give it a strong recommendation. It is, as indicated in its subtitle, about Joe Kennedy Sr. and his sons Joe Jr., JFK, RFK and Ted, but the depth of analysis is shallow, being based almost entirely on countless interviews conducted by the author and others. Favorable accounts outnumber negative ones, but the deeply personal depravity of the men of that family shines through nonetheless. If there are any true role models here they're the women who had to suffer these men.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews