Bridging the Divide: My Life [Hardcover]

Edward Brooke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2006

"Read about Ed Brooke-who in a just world, would have been President-and see the kindness, wisdom and courage the country missed. Join his friends and constituents who are inspired and enlarged by knowing him."-Gloria Steinem, cofounder Ms. Magazine and National Women's Political Caucus

"Senator Brooke's story shows the kind of effective, authentic leadership our nation hungers for today. He broke through lines of race, creed, and class to unite Americans in the pursuit of justice and defeated the Radical Right at critical moments in our history-sometimes single-handedly."-Ralph G. Neas, President of People for the American Way

"Real Power is often exercised behind the scenes. In the U.S. Congress, the scene is the Conference between the House and Senate. There, Senator Ed Brooke was a true master, molding a consensus between left and right. People who seek to make the world a better place can learn much from his story, told here for the first time as one of the nation's quiet, but brilliant history makers of the twentieth century."-Andrew Young, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

"In an eloquent and forthright style, Senator Ed Brooke leads us through the extraordinary story of his life-from the grandson of a slave to the first popularly elected African American senator. It is a story that does honor to both the senator and the country he served for so many years."-Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm

President Lyndon Johnson never understood it. Neither did President Richard Nixon. How could a black man, a Republican no less, be elected to the United States Senate from liberal, Democratic Massachusetts--a state with an African American population of only 2 percent? The mystery of Senator Edward Brooke's meteoric rise from Boston lawyer to Massachusetts attorney general to the first popularly elected African American U.S. senator with some of the highest favorable ratings of any Massachusetts politician confounded many of the best political minds of the day. This articulate and charismatic man burst on the national scene in 1966 when he ran for the Senate.

His story encompasses the turbulent post-World War II years, from the gains of the civil rights movement, through the riotous 1960s, to the dark days of Watergate, with stories of his relationships with the Kennedys, Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, and future senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Brooke also speaks candidly of his personal struggles, including his bitter divorce from his first wife and, most recently, his fight against cancer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1967, Edward Brooke became the first popularly elected African-American to join the U.S. Senate. Now 86, the liberal Republican serves up an autobiography with plenty of interesting stories about the Second World War, the tumultuous post-war period and the Vietnam era in an engaging, intelligent and humble voice. In WWII, Brookes fought racist American officers more than he fought Nazis, and as Massachusetts Attorney General he led efforts to find and convict the Boston Strangler. In the Senate, Brooke opposed Richard Nixon's Supreme Court nominations and was the first Republican senator to call for Nixon's resignation (leading to his Mercedes getting keyed, he believes, by neighbor Rosemary Woods). At times, however, Brooke's humility gets in the way of his story: though he met numerous luminaries, including every US President from Eisenhower to Ford, plus Martin Luther King Jr. and Hillary Rodham (who ambushed Brooke when he spoke at her Wellesley graduation ceremony), he has surprisingly little to say about most of them. Still, Brooke's reflections on everything from his position on Vietnam (which he now sees was untenable), to his deep disappointment with Republicans who have undone his work for minorities, prove thought-provoking, even if they devolve too frequently into letters of thanks to behind-the-scenes players.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Brooke's election to the U.S. Senate in 1967 was historic not only because he was the first black U.S. senator since Reconstruction but also because he was a black Republican elected from the liberal and Democratic state of Massachusetts. In this engaging memoir, Brooke recalls his initiation into local politics, "cross-filing" in a state representative election as both a Republican and a Democrat before eventually choosing the Republican Party. Throughout his career, his moderate disposition gave him ready access to politicians on both sides of the aisle but made him suspect among black radicals. Brooke recalls his Senate career through the turbulent days of the civil rights movement, opposition to a racist Nixon Supreme Court nominee (and a later offer to join the court, which he declined), and Watergate. Brooke also recalls his relationship with political figures, including the Kennedys, Colin Powell, Martin Luther King Jr., and the future senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Brooke looks back on his time in the Senate as a "golden age" when political positions were less extreme and less partisan. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (November 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813539056
• ISBN-13: 978-0813539058
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Regional U.S. > New England

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bridge Builder, November 21, 2006

By 

James Schuyler (Richmond VA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bridging the Divide: My Life (Hardcover)

It took a long time to receive my copy from Amazon, but it was so well worth the wait. What an extraordinary life story, told with the style and substance that I would expect from Senator Brooke. For those of you who don't know him, this is a special opportunity to learn about him and learn from his diverse life experiences. For those of you who remember him from his notable service in the US Senate, there is so much more to know--and it is very well told in his own words. And for those of you who question whether his views are still relevant to today's national debate, read the last few pages along with the issues he championed throughout his career. This is a book that will inspire you, and will give hope and pleasure to all who read it. It is noteworthy that Amazon is "pairing" this book with Senator Barack Obama's latest work.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whatever happened to Edward Brooke?, March 17, 2007

By 

Jon Hunt "musician, teacher" (Old Greenwich, Ct. USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bridging the Divide: My Life (Hardcover)

As I was reading a newspaper article about this book recently it occurred to me that I hadn't heard Edward Brooke's name in a long time. After finishing his book, I'm glad I remember him. Though not from Massachusetts myself, I did follow his career when he was in the Senate.

Senator Brooke writes forcefully on a number of issues....the racism he faced growing up in Washington D.C. and which followed him into the U.S. Army in the Second World War, his political losses before he finally won a race and especially about his family. With particular care he tells us of his difficult first marriage and his loving second one, complete with an estrangement for many years from his two daughters.

While getting into "Bridging the Divide" it became clear that Edward Brooke was a man of discipline and high principle. I was just about to ask myself why he never made it onto the U.S. Supreme Court when Brooke says that President Nixon actually considered him for a seat on the high court. Brooke turned it down to stay in the Senate, feeling he was too young to take on a judicial role. It's too bad because I think he would have made an excellent Supreme Court justice.

Edward Brooke is reminiscent of the days when the Senate was a kinder place. There are very few people in his category these days....moderate to liberal Republican. His was part of the Republican party I remember growing up...one that has changed drastically. Senator Brooke's contributions to our country have been many and I'm glad he's still around to write about it. "Bridging the Divide" is a book I highly recommend.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing life, February 24, 2007

By 

Nancy Clayton "looking for miracles" (Rowland Ht., CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bridging the Divide: My Life (Hardcover)

I was honored to meet Senator and Mrs. Brooke while I was in Miami before his book was published. As a Democrat, I couldn't understand why he was a Republican. After reading his book, I now understand how the times were different and why he would choose that party. It was before the party was co-opted by the far right. As a student of political history, this book gave me great insight into the political climate of from 1940 - 1980. He writes beautifully and his life is a model for everyone, politically involved or not.