Synopsis
Senator Edward M. Kennedy's death in August, 2009 was a time for a major reassessment his life and career, as well as of his place in American history. Kennedy's great achievements and his acknowledged (and perhaps equally great) flaws were the subject of much media review, adding to the accounts in the many books already in print on both the senator himself and on the entire Kennedy clan.
TRUE COMPASS stands out as Ted Kennedy's own assessment of his public and private life. It is based on many decades of personal journals, as well as a five-years-long oral history project at the University of Virginia. In his own words, he shares his perspective on the strong bonds within his family--especially among himself and his brothers John and Robert--the many tragedies that befell them, his relations with colleagues, and his long service in the U. S. Senate, where he authored over 2,500 bills, many which were on health care and education. Kennedy seems inextricably linked to more than a half-century of American history, and, in TRUE COMPASS, he himself brings out the coherence and integrity of a life fully lived.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy's death in August, 2009 was a time for a major reassessment of his life and career, as well as of his place in American history. Kennedy's great achievements and his acknowledged (and perhaps equally great) flaws were the subject of much media review, adding to the accounts in the many books already in print on both the senator himself and on the entire Kennedy clan.
TRUE COMPASS stands out as Ted Kennedy's own assessment of his public and private life. It is based on many decades of personal journals, as well as a five-years-long oral history project at the University of Virginia. In his own words, he shares his perspective on the strong bonds within his family--especially among himself and his brothers, John and Robert--the many tragedies that befell them, his relations with colleagues, and his long service in the U. S. Senate. Kennedy also directly addresses his views on the Warren Commission report, the events in Chappaquiddick in 1969, and the good fortune of finding true love late in life. Kennedy seems inextricably linked to more than a half-century of American history, and, in TRUE COMPASS, he shows that a life that seems at times to be directionless, can be set back on course. Selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the 100 Best Books of 2009.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2009-09-14 |
| Size | | Length: | 532 pages | | Height: | 9.5 in | | Width: | 6.5 in | | Thickness: | 1.8 in | | Weight: | 33.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
A memoir by the senator and youngest sibling of John F. Kennedy shares his personal perspectives on the tragedies that have shaped his family, his long political career, the major events of today's world, and his recent health battles.
The youngest of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, he came of age among siblings from whom much was expected. As a young man, he played a key role in the presidential campaign of his brother John F. Kennedy, recounted here in loving detail. In 1962 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he began a fascinating political education and became a legislator.
In this historic memoir,Ted Kennedy takes us inside his family, re-creating life with his parents and brothers and explaining their profound impact on him. or the first time, he describes his heartbreak and years of struggle in the wake of their deaths. Through it all, he describes his work in the Senate on the major issues of our time--civil rights, Vietnam, Watergate, the quest for peace in Northern Ireland--and the cause of his life: improved health care for all Americans, a fight influenced by his own experiences in hospitals.
His life has been marked by tragedy and perseverance, a love of family, and an abiding faith. There have been controversies, too, and Kennedy addresses them with unprecedented candor. At midlife, embattled and uncertain if he would ever fall in love again, he met the woman who changed his life, Victoria Reggie Kennedy. Facing a tough reelection campaign against an aggressive challenger named Mitt Romney, Kennedy found a new voice and began one of the great third acts in American politics, sponsoring major legislation, standing up for liberal principles, and making the pivotal endorsement of Barack Obama for president.
Hundreds of books have been written about the Kennedys. TRUE COMPASS will endure as the definitive account from a member of America's most heralded family, an inspiring legacy to readers and to history, and a deeply moving story of a life like no other.
Industry Reviews
"Mr. Kennedy is not a particularly introspective writer...But he writes in these pages with searching candor about the losses, joys and lapses of his life; the love and closeness of his family; the solace he found in sailing and the sea; his complex relationships with political allies and rivals. Mr. Kennedy's conversational gifts as a storyteller and his sense of humor...shine through here, as does his old-school sense of public service and his hard-won knowledge, in his son Teddy Jr.'s words, that 'even our most profound losses are survivable.'"
(09/04/2009)
"[Kennedy] writes movingly about being the youngest of nine, and offers as loving a portrait of Joseph P. Kennedy as one is likely to read."
(10/05/2009)
"[TRUE COMPASS] undoubtedly will prove an invaluable resource for any political historian attempting to construct the narrative of the past half-century, offering an insider's view of battles over various pieces of landmark legislation. Beyond politics, Kennedy offers some insight into his private life, duly acknowledging personal failings and recalling joys with affection."
(12/06/2009)
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