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Review: The Kennedy Enterprise

Gerrold's point of divergence is an interesting one and surprisingly plausible. Something often overlooked when it comes to the Kennedy’s is that family patriarch Joe Kennedy spent the late 1920s in Hollywood, producing films in the late silent and early sound era, bringing a number of smaller studios together to form RKO Pictures before leaving the business in 1931.
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Definitely an interesting POD. Why did he leave the movie business in OTL?
 
Thande said:
Same observation here. Kind of remarkable, given how much obsession there often is over the Kennedies in AH, that we've not heard about that one before.
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Usually pop culture tends to associate the elder Kennedy with Prohibition-era bootlegging. There's a Jour J album in which the Kennedys become an actual mobster dynasty. Until now I was unaware of the Hollywood connection.
 
Joe Jr is listed as becoming a director in the bit which rattles off the careers of the Kennedy brothers. It's admittedly unclear whether it's talking about senior or junior, but given it's in a section which is talking about Joe Sr's sons and Joe Sr. is otherwise described as that, I took it as referring to Joe Jr.
 
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Hendryk said:
Definitely an interesting POD. Why did he leave the movie business in OTL?
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It seems to have been a confluence of events, mostly involving Gloria Swanson. The affair between Joe Sr. and her soured over a number of issues, including him apparently charging one of his gifts to her on her own account and his involvement in keep her film Queen Kelly from getting an American release. Joe Sr. was also starting to make moves into the political circles nationally that would make him and his sons more famous.


Elektronaut said:
Joe Jr is listed as becoming a director in the bit which rattles off the careers of the Kennedy brothers. It's admittedly unclear whether it's talking about senior or junior, but given it's in a section which is talking about Joe Sr's sons and Joe Sr. is otherwise described as that, I took it as referring to Joe Jr.
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I have to confess that both listening to the Audible version and getting my copy of Alternate Kennedys off the shelf, I took that reference as being about the father rather than the son, especially knowing that Sr. could get involved at the production level as a producer. I suspect, looking at it again, that you can read it either way (as this proves).

Also, I love the cover art for the standalone Kindle/Audible edition of the story. I just wish there was a better quality version of it!

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