Do I already know more than any one person needs to know about the Kennedy family? Probably... but it's not gonna stop me from adding, "An Unfinished Life" by Robert Dallek & "The Kennedy Curse" by Edward Klein to my reading list. It's been years since I indulged my Kennedy fancination with an actual book (what with all the magazine articles & TV documentaries I can devour instead).

As for whether I actually believe in a Kennedy "curse" or not, I've always found Rose Kennedy's deeply held belief that "God never gives you a cross heavier than you can bear" an oddly comforting interpretation of their tragedies and troubles. But I think her grandson, Chris Lawford, says it best: "If you think of it as one movement from grandfather's early days to what has happened . . . right now, you realize that the Kennedy story is really about karma, about people who broke the rules and were ultimately broken by them."

Seems Joe Kennedy might have taken out the karmic credit plan for his family: buy now, pay forever...