David nasaw recounts the life of joseph p. Kennedy patriarch of the political family that included president john f. Kennedy and senators robert f. Kennedy and edward kennedy. The author examines Joseph Kennedys career in business and politics, which included ventures in wall street, hollywood and the founding chairman of the securities and Exchange Commission. This is a little under an hour. [applause] thank you, all. Delighted to be here. As i tell my history students at the City University of new york in the ph. D. Program thank you. [laughter] as i tell my history students until they want to choke me the past is a foreign country. We can visit, try to learn the customs and the white smith the fragrances, recoil at the foul odors but we are foreigners in a strange land. This is true as much in the recent past as it is of colonial america or 12th century venice. Writing about the recent past is not easy as it is this time around. First there are people you have to talk to. And while