Rating: 
Summary: The Contender
Review: They that forsake the law praise the wicked; but such as keep the law contend with them. Proverbs 28:4What can I say but that I love the Kennedy family. The more I read and hear, the good and the bad, I still love them. There are many Christians in this country, but, in actuality, there are precious, few, true saints. I say this not because of the martyrdom of members of his family, but because they, to me, embody best the Christian ideals of, not just service or sacrifice, not just charity or love of justice and truth, but seeing the evil for evil and trying to show forth that which is good, and doing good to those who may have hurt them. I've been told by a local Bostonian that this book is a partisan piece, and that I should read another biography about him. Well, I've read this one and admire Senator Kennedy for allowing Adam Clymer to not whitewash any detail of his life. He is a tireless worker and defender of worker's rights, which is amazing given the many tragedies, trials, with which he has had to deal while in office. I actually got tired of reading Clymer's book, many times, because Senator Ted Kennedy just doesn't seem to rest. A man with true world missions too, whether it be inspecting Vietnam refugee camps, working for Soviet dissidents' release, or working for justice and change in aparteid, South Africa. I'm proud to be living in this state and that he is my Senator. Clymer's book will take you intimately through Senator Kennedy's ongoing Senate career. I learned many things about him and his family that I didn't know before: that he was a private in the army briefly, that JFK was his godfather, and that JFK started out working as an accountant at Gilette before his career in government. Now I'm prepared to give an answer in defense, to anyone who asks me what Senator Kennedy has accomplished. Thank you, Mr. Clymer. As to the Kennedy disposition for carousing and the like, I leave you with this, a quote out of a little book entitled A Wee Bit of Irish Wisdom that my mother gave me one St. Patrick's day: God created whiskey so the Irish would not conquer the world. Now, that's something to think about.
Rating:
Summary: The Contender
Review: They that forsake the law praise the wicked; but such as keep the law contend with them. Proverbs 28:4 What can I say but that I love the Kennedy family. The more I read and hear, the good and the bad, I still love them. There are many Christians in this country, but, in actuality, there are precious, few, true saints. I say this not because of the martyrdom of members of his family, but because they, to me, embody best the Christian ideals of, not just service or sacrifice, not just charity or love of justice and truth, but seeing the evil for evil and trying to show forth that which is good, and doing good to those who may have hurt them. I've been told by a local Bostonian that this book is a partisan piece, and that I should read another biography about him. Well, I've read this one and admire Senator Kennedy for allowing Adam Clymer to not whitewash any detail of his life. He is a tireless worker and defender of worker's rights, which is amazing given the many tragedies, trials, with which he has had to deal while in office. I actually got tired of reading Clymer's book, many times, because Senator Ted Kennedy just doesn't seem to rest. A man with true world missions too, whether it be inspecting Vietnam refugee camps, working for Soviet dissidents' release, or working for justice and change in aparteid, South Africa. I'm proud to be living in this state and that he is my Senator. Clymer's book will take you intimately through Senator Kennedy's ongoing Senate career. I learned many things about him and his family that I didn't know before: that he was a private in the army briefly, that JFK was his godfather, and that JFK started out working as an accountant at Gilette before his career in government. Now I'm prepared to give an answer in defense, to anyone who asks me what Senator Kennedy has accomplished. Thank you, Mr. Clymer. As to the Kennedy disposition for carousing and the like, I leave you with this, a quote out of a little book entitled A Wee Bit of Irish Wisdom that my mother gave me one St. Patrick's day: God created whiskey so the Irish would not conquer the world. Now, that's something to think about.
Rating:
Summary: a powerful history of both the man AND the country
Review: THIS is the way high school history texts should be written. You read Clymer's bio on EMK (Edwardd M Kennedy) and, without realizing it, come away with a world of knowledge about Ted Kennedy, his brothers John and Robert, as well as almost every other relevant figure in U.S. and world history since the 1940s. By recounting the political history of the Kennedy family, and EMKs initially minor, but overall dominant, role in it, we learn about the political history of the United States in the past 50 years, and come to realize - astonishingly - that TED Kennedy is responsible for so many more accomplishments than either of his more famous brothers. More importantly, the text is a fair, objective assessment of EMK. Clymer does not shy away from the scandals like his expulsion form Harvard, the tragedy at Chappaquiddick and the rape trial of EMKs nephew in 1991. He deals with these issues head on, in detail, and lets the reader decide how to judge Kennedy - framing the paradox that IS Ted Kennedy - a man who has deal with more personal tragedy than most Shakespearean characters and sporadic personal failings, but who has spent 5 decades shaping US policy on domestic and international issues. There are so many great details in this book about JFKs early campaigns, the 1960 presidential election, Ted's Senate races in '62 and '64, the 1968 presidential election, Ted's work in the Senate in the 70s and international human rights efforts in Poland, Soviet Union, and South Africa, the 1979-80 presidential campaign, the Bork and Thomas Supreme Court nominations, and his work under Reagan, Bush and Clinton. You learn so much about the different presidencies and the leaders in Congress and US history that you cannot help but feel edified. This book is not a cheering section for EMK, but an articulate, thoughtful, objective history with just the perfect blend of detail, inertia and humor. Should be the standard for political biographies.
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