By Annette Hinkle
If you sat down to make a list of the most powerful political figures of the 20th century, both Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy would likely be somewhere near the top.
In his book “When Lions Roar: The Churchills and the Kennedys,” author Thomas Maier looks at two titan families who played a major role in charting the course of the world as we see it today. In Churchill and JFK, Mr. Maier sees men with great foresight (and hindsight) who had the ability to make decisions that allowed them to be great leaders.
“They weren’t candidates who got up before a crowd and winged it or acted as if ignorance is a virtue, as some do today,” says Mr. Maier. “These were both men who understood courage, wit, wisdom and how wisdom can be defined by studying history deeply and having a world view.”
“At crisis moments, those combinations allowed them to achieve greatness,” he adds. “They understood human nature but had a long view of history.”
There have been countless books published about these two families — most of them written through the lens of WWII using Churchill’s very public and well-considered writings on the war. And while “When Lions Roar,” which was just released in paperback, looks at the Kennedys and Churchills at the height of their political power, it also exposes the fact that long before the war Winston Churchill and Joseph P. Kennedy (JFK’s father) were doing business with one another — and it wasn’t the sort of thing either of them wanted the public to find out about.
“They really didn’t want certain things known — business dealings between friends and family — because it was dynamite,” says Mr. Maier who will speak about “When Lions Roar” this Saturday at Canio’s Books in Sag Harbor.
The year was 1933. In the United States, Prohibition was being repealed and Joseph Kennedy set sail for Britain with a liquor-centric business proposition for Churchill.
“Joe Kennedy was determined to cash in — like today’s marijuana business,” says Mr. Maier. “Joe was like the Donald Trump of his era, he made a fortune in Hollywood, on Wall Street, in banking and real-estate.”
“Winston was at a low point in his political career and personal finances,” adds Mr. Maier. “He had shuttered part of his home and was worried that he was unable to make any future investments.”
Since the U.S. no longer had a liquor infrastructure thanks to Prohibition, the deal was that Churchill would help Kennedy secure lucrative liquor contracts to import British spirits made by Dewar’s, Gordon’s and Haig & Haig into the U.S. In return, Churchill received stock in two U.S. companies partially owned by Kennedy — including the BMT subway line in New York City which was then privately owned.
In order to make Churchill think that he had connections to the White House, Kennedy also brought along James Roosevelt, President Franklin Roosevelt’s oldest son, who received the insurance contract for the deal.
When asked why, with so many books about the Kennedys and the Churchills in circulation, he happened to be the first author to link these famous names through a somewhat shady liquor deal, Maier, an investigative reporter at Newsday and News 12 producer, explains that most researchers just don't think to poke around in that time period. The common view is that Winston Churchill and Joseph Kennedy hated each other because of their opposing stances on WWII. Churchill felt Britain and its allies needed to get involved in the war while Kennedy stood by his isolationist views.
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Winston Churchill at his tent as a war correspondent during the Second Boer War in Bloemfontein, South Africa.[/caption]
“The history written after WWII was by people looking at the prism of what happened during the war,” he explains. “The principles involved in the business dealings were something these men didn’t want to be known. Winston made $1 million through stocks owned by Joe Kennedy.”
Because so much is available on the Internet now, even information that these men would have preferred to keep quiet can find its way into the public’s hands now. It’s certainly been a game changer for authors like Mr. Maier.
“The Churchill records are on line and one of the great boons for historians is that so many things are available online,” he says. “I was at home in East Northport, Long Island and going through Churchill’s records.”
Mr. Maier’s interest was piqued when the name Bernard Baruch came up in his research. Mr. Baruch, who has a New York City college named for him, was one of Churchill’s best friends. Mr. Baruch also happened to be a Wall Street financier and was a business partner of Joe Kennedy. He’s the smoking gun of the story, so to speak.
“It’s a remarkable story, and one of the untold political scandals,” says Mr. Maier. “It underlines the closeness of these two families, and twists the common view that they hated each other on its head. They were quite friendly until the war.”
While Joseph Kennedy had high political aspirations and planned to run for president in 1940 if FDR didn’t, it wasn’t to be. Ultimately, it was his son, JFK, who would make history as the first Catholic president,
“One of the many ironies in this saga of great men and their sons is the impact of Winston on JFK, particularly intellectually,” says Mr. Maier. “One thing I suggest is Winston is the intellectual godfather of JFK in terms of foreign policy.”
[caption id="attachment_45823" align="alignright" width="600"]
Joseph P. Kennedy takes the oath as U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James (Britain) with President Franklin Roosevelt looking on.[/caption]
Mr. Maier adds that if you were to bet on the fortunes of the sons early on, it would be Churchill’s son Randolph you’d put your money on. Handsome, articulate and traveling the U.S. on speaking tours by the age of 21, he seemed to be the golden boy.
But Mr. Maier points out that Randolph Churchill never had a chance because his larger than life father never quite exited the public stage, even after he was voted out of office in 1945.
“Randolph talked about growing up under a great oak tree — you never quite develop,” says Mr. Maier. “He gets elected to parliament but is always a ne'er-do-well. He becomes an alcoholic, it looks like he was bipolar, with strong highs and low lows. Randolph who many thought would become prime minister. It’s the most dramatic story in the book.”
It’s a story that may soon be told on the small screen. Three months ago, Sony Pictures bought the TV rights to “When Lions Roar.” Mr. Maier also wrote the book behind Showtime’s “Masters of Sex” series and Bravo is currently producing another series based on his book “Newhouse: All The Glitter, Power and Glory of America’s Richest Media Empire and the Secretive Man Behind It.”
This Saturday, November 21 at 5 p.m., Thomas Maier will be at Canio’s Books, 290 Main Street, Sag Harbor to talk about “When Lions Roar.” He will also appear at the Quogue Library on November 28 at 2 p.m.
