The Kennedys — America's royalty. Powerful, rich, and influential, they are regarded by their admirers as dedicated citizens committed to the public good through their political service, philanthropy, and social consciousness. To their critics, they are the spoiled, law-evading scions of a corrupt patriarch whose ambition was matched only by his ruthlessness. Regardless of one's view, there's no denying that the Kennedy family story embodies the best and worst of the American dream: self-made immigrants whose successes and achievements have been repeatedly tempered by tragedies of Shakespearean proportions.