Additional Information about Shadow President Portions of this page Copyright 1995 - 2008 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.
Synopsis
A political biographer of the Massachusetts senator, written as a sequel to Hersh's earlier "The Education of Edward Kennedy."
Size
Length:
219 pages
Height:
9.0 in.
Width:
6.0 in.
Thickness:
1.0 in.
Weight:
16.8 oz.
Publisher's Note
At
the heart of The Shadow President is a controversial idea - that, more
than his brothers, Ted Kennedy has come to be the most influential
political figure of this generation. Jack and Bobby may have the
stronger grip on the American psyche, but Burton Hersh makes clear that
it is Ted who has done the hard work of writing laws and fighting on
the issues. Despite decades of tabloid headlines sparked by Kennedy's
often chaotic personal life, Hersh argues that much more relevant in
judging the man is his career-long defense of the core values of the
Democratic Party. Respected on both sides of the aisle in the Senate,
where he has served since 1963, Kennedy has been a steadfast champion
of health care, the interests of working people, racial justice, the
environment, and the integrity of the social welfare system. His
challenge to Jimmy Carter in the 1980 primaries, his bitter rearguard
defense of social programs during the Reagan-Bush years, and the many
upheavals in his personal life are all fully treated here. But in this
vivid account of Kennedy's professional career, clearest expression is
given to Hersh's central argument - that it is Ted, of all of the
Kennedy brothers, who will finally leave the deepest impression on
twentieth century American politics.
Industry reviews
"While
he may well be the Democrat the Republican faithful most love to hate,
the do-good liberal incarnate, the Kennedy Hersh describes is a
gracious, congenial, and wily pol who is admired, even downright liked,
by his ideological foes."