The Kennedys and the Shrivers

Even after decades as a mainstay of our political and pop culture, including countless best-selling books, America’s fascination with the Kennedy family is as strong as ever.  Why?  Think about it: you have all of the elements of a great, epic tale:  triumph, tragedy, accomplishment, heroism, human flaws, privilege, benevolence, and the idealism to captivate and inspire a nation.  Perhaps it’s also because we see ourselves in the Kennedys, and at the same, they represent what we aspire to be.

Well, this year at the GBF we have two amazing programs that explore the Kennedy legacy:

Mark Shriver is the voice of the family itself.  He is the son of Sargent Shriver and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, nephew of JFK, RFK, and Ted Kennedy.  Mark will be speaking about and signing his book “A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver.”

Kitty Kelley is well-known as a mega-best-selling biographer of the stars.  Her latest book, “Capturing Camelot: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the Kennedys,” however, is a bit of a departure.  Tretick is a photojournalist, whose pictures of the JFK White House helped define an era.  And Kelley’s accompanying essay brings us back to those hopeful days.  Should be very interesting and insightful.

So, if you’re a Kennedy buff, you know where you need to be on May 18th: right here in Gaithersburg!