-raucous but right. There were divorces, bizarre sexual escapades and tragic accidents, all of them strewn across the tabloids and blared worldwide by the talk-show hosts. But beyond these titillating interludes of scandal is the fact that most of the 87 surviving members of the Kennedy clan live worthy lives, the number of their family and personal debacles far below the national average. Most of the adults have advanced degrees of some sort. Virtually all the clan of proper age has been involved at some point in public service. The great fortune of Joe Kennedy has been divided into trusts, and while it provides the family with ease in education and travel, it does not put any of them in today's ranks of the super wealthy, the super indolent, the super arrogant. The adventure of public service still is the clan's most powerful impulse. "More exciting than anything I've done" (Perret 89) said Old Joe a long time ago. The call is heard unto the fourth generation. ...
