The Good, the Bad, and the Mad Kennedys

A dynastic audit of America’s unofficial royal family

By George Pendle

The Kennedys have been making headlines, and feeding the gossip pages, for over a century, and, like their British equivalent—the royal family—their members come in every conceivable variety: saintly, devilish, deranged, and sometimes a mixture of all three.

For example, John F. Kennedy excelled in public service (good) while being a horndog in private (bad). Robert F. Kennedy Jr. began as an environmental crusader (good) before turning into an anti-vax crank (bad) with a penchant for beheading whales (mad). Others have been nutty from the get-go—here’s looking at you, Jack Schlossberg!

So, as America celebrates its 250th anniversary, we sort the famed clan into its proper dynastic categories. READ ON