First published 2009
Ted Kennedy carries the weight of impossible expectations as the surviving Kennedy brother. At thirty-six, he becomes the keeper of his family's political legacy and liberal ideals. The pressure crushes him. In 1969, he flees a car accident on Chappaquiddick Island that kills a young campaign worker. The incident destroys his presidential hopes and exposes his personal demons. Political enemies use his drinking and affairs to attack his liberal agenda. But failure liberates him. No longer bound by others' dreams, Kennedy creates his own path in the Senate. He builds a loving second marriage with Victoria Reggie and embraces his role as family patriarch. Over decades, he becomes the most influential senator of his era. As his health declines, he passes the liberal torch to Barack Obama, whom observers compare to his brother Jack. This intimate biography by Peter Canellos and Boston Globe reporters reveals how the least promising Kennedy son found personal redemption and political greatness.
Genres: 20th-century, biography-memoir, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, personal-growth
Setting: Chappaquiddick Island
Period: 1969
480 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse