The University of Notre Dame Australia's internationally-renowned expert on the Kennedy political dynasty, Associate Professor Leigh Straw, has authored a fascinating new book that reveals how one summer in the 1940s shaped the trajectory of the famous political family.
The Kennedys at Cape Cod, 1944: The Summer That Changed Everything tells the overlooked story about a time when the Kennedy family, already stressed by an inter-faith marriage "scandal", is broken by the human tragedy of war.
The book gives an insight into a devastating turning point faced by the Kennedy family before they become the larger-than-life, heroic and tragic figures depicted in both history books and popular culture.
It takes the reader back to a time when the US was on the cusp of becoming a superpower and invites reflection on central characters within American political history.
Associate Professor Straw has spent years working in the archives at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston to bring to life the Kennedy's summer of 1944 for the first time.
Backed by leading global publisher Bloomsbury, the book is international recognition of her standing as a researcher into a topic typically dominated by American scholars.
"This is a story that resonates today in terms of looking back on significant American political families in what many would regard as a more settled time in political affairs domestically for the US," Associate Professor Straw said.
"It's a fascinating book about the 'what ifs' of the past. What if JFK's older brother, Joe Jr, hadn't been killed in WWII? He was the first political hopeful of the family. Would he have been successful in politics? He was far more conservative than JFK and may have divided more people."
Associate Professor Straw has been invited to Boston, Hyannis and Washington D.C. to launch the book this month.
She has been invited to take part in the Summer Author Series at the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum during the Labor Day weekend in the US, which draws big crowds to the Cape Cod region.
The book has been endorsed by three best-selling Kennedy scholars, including Harvard University's Pulitzer Prize winning historian, Professor Fredrik Logevall.
"The summer of 1944 was an extraordinary time for the Kennedys and for America, and Leigh Straw captures the moment wonderfully in this absorbing narrative," Professor Logevall wrote.
"With nuance and sensitivity, she deepens our understanding of a fraught – and consequential – moment in a family's history."
The publication of this book highlights Associate Professor Straw's contribution to understanding the past not merely to document historical events, but as a means to uncover the lived experiences that shape our understanding of society today.
The Kennedys at Cape Cod, 1944: The Summer That Changed Everything will be released worldwide on 7 August.
