A look at the paradoxes surrounding the life of Ted Kennedy discusses his childhood with a demanding father, Chappaquiddick, his political career, his marriage, his drinking and womanizing, and more. 30,000 first printing.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Vacillating between sympathy and rebuke, this gossipy biography portrays Senator Edward Kennedy as "the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of American politics." "Good Ted" is a fighter for the underprivileged, a "superb legislator" and caring father. "Bad Ted" is the liar of Chappaquiddick, the alcoholic and loutish sexual swinger. David, a journalist and author of five books on the Kennedys, limns Ted as "a victim of the family mystique," unsuited for the role of patriarch which his father Joseph forced upon him after his brothers' deaths. He treads familiar ground in chapters on Chappaquiddick, nephew William Smith's acquittal on rape charges, the senator's sexual conquests and first wife Joan's emotional deterioration and recovery. David divulges that John Hinckley initially stalked Senator Kennedy for three months before he shot President Reagan. We also learn that Nixon, fearful of the prospect of facing Kennedy in the 1972 presidential campaign, launched a covert operation with aides John Ehrlichman and H. R. Haldeman to dig up dirt on Kennedy. Photos. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Known as the "Dean of America's Kennedy Writers," David has written about Joan: The Reluctant Kennedy ( LJ 9/1/74), Ethel: The Story of Ethel Kennedy ( LJ 5/1/71), and Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Folk Hero (Dodd, 1986). While his Ted Kennedy: Triumphs and Tragedies ( LJ 8/72) is not mentioned in the introduction, this new study is clearly David's update to that book. Here, David depicts the senator as the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of American politics. While his writing is gossipy and admiring in tone, David does provide an interesting analysis of Kennedy's political life along with some pop psychology interpretations of his moral lapses. David particularly blames Joseph Kennedy Sr. for his sons' sexual promiscuity. The senior Kennedy was frequently away from home during their formative years and in over 200 letters to Ted and his brothers never mentions moral precepts. While David provides numerous examples of Ted's sexual escapades, he does not dwell on them. In any case, since turning 60 and marrying Vicki Reggie, Kennedy seems to be cleaning up his act. For public libraries.
- Gary Barber, SUNY at Fredonia Lib.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Gary Barber, SUNY at Fredonia Lib.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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