Peter S. Canellos

The abridged audio version of this biography (of which this is a review) comes to about 7 hrs of listening. It is an even-handed, non-partisan account of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy's life, one that presents him in full recognition of his major accomplishments along with his transgressions. The person portrayed in this account is complex and multifaceted -- a man for whom the legacy of his famous brothers was both inspirational and confining; a man of great vision, but with character flaws show more that he struggled a lifetime to overcome.

Ultimately, as this account makes clear, "Ted" Kennedy emerged as the most hard- working US senator of his day, second only to Lyndon Johnson as one of the most effective US legislators of the 20th century. Of particular note in this age of hyper-partisan deadlock in the US Congress was his ability to work with members of the opposition party, including Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, with whom he established a close professional relationship and friendship. A small historical irony is that Ted's accomplishments and commitments to such liberal causes as equal rights and justice far outshone those of his older brothers (none of whom lived long enough to fulfill their potential). Arguably, the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy made it possible for Ted to become the major political figure that he was. Edward Kennedy did more than live up to his brothers' legacy -- he invented it! After all, when it came to social issues, JFK arguably was an enlightened conservative (by the standards of the late 1960s through 1970s), a person who was far outshone in accomplishments and abilities by his successor, Lyndon Johnson. Likewise, RFK only discovered a deep passion for social causes during his run for the presidency in 1968, the year of his death. In contrast, as this biography makes clear, Edward Kennedy's passion for social justice was a major motivating factor throughout his career.

One aspect that any portrayal of Edward Kennedy must deal with is his personal failings and character flaws, as evidenced in his private life -- the drinking, the womanizing, the irresponsible behavior, and of course the 1969 "Chappaquiddick" accident. This biography neither excuses nor dwells on these matters; ultimately they are seen as aspects that Ted overcame, albeit late in life. However, one historical note is worth mentioning. During the hearings on the nomination of Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court, Ted Kennedy's effectiveness at challenging Thomas' credibility and integrity was hampered by his own past failings. As a sad result, for over four decades, this incompetent ideologue has sat on the Supreme Court, imposing a radical rightwing agenda that seeks to counter the advances in social justice and civil rights made since the 1960s by Kennedy and his colleagues and successors.

This biography, even in abridged form, provides an excellent introduction to the life and times of Edward Kennedy, one of the truly great US political figures of the 20th century. show less

Author and journalist Peter Canellos has chosen an excellent moment for a biography of the Supreme Court jurist John Marshall Harlan, whose intellectual evolution and eventual dedication to civil rights is not only inspirational, but more relevant than ever.

The author’s aim is to describe how Harlan went from being a slave-owner in Kentucky to one of the greatest advocates of minority rights of all time during his service on the U.S. Supreme Court. As the author writes:

“Among powerful show more white officials, one person’s voice rang out. He reminded the nation that the post-Civil War amendments to the Constitution promised equal protection under the law. He advocated eloquently for Black rights, along with the health and safety of immigrant industrial workers and the rights of people in places such as Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the Philippines, which were ruled by the United States in a time of imperialism.”

One relatively unknown aspect of Harlan’s background is the fact that a Black man and former slave, Robert Harlan, was brought up in Harlan’s house and treated like a brother. There is speculation that Robert was in fact a half-brother of John Marshall Harlan. Robert’s story is also covered by this book, with the author weaving back and forth between the lives of the two men.

Harlan served on the Supreme Court for thirty-four years, from 1877 to 1911. He was appointed to the court by President Rutherford B. Hayes “as a kind of human olive branch to the South,” since the rest of the court was made up of privileged Northerners. Harlan was the only one of the court to have graduated from law school. He was also, as mentioned above, a former slave owner, notwithstanding the unusual status afforded to Robert Harlan.

Thus it is most interesting to see how Harlan come to occupy his position as a liberal bastion among his peers. Notable were his dissents on three infamous civil liberties cases that came before the Court: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), Lochner v. New York (1905), and The Civil Rights Cases (1883).

The author writes: “In case after case, he laid out a framework for what would become the twentieth-century civil rights movement.”

Canellos evinces a fine understanding of the legal issues at stake, which he explains clearly for lay readers. But Harlan’s own words, quoted liberally within the book, are also clear as well as inspirational:

For example, in “The Civil Rights Cases of 1883,” Harlan wrote:

“I cannot resist the conclusion that the substance and spirit of the recent amendments to the Constitution [the 13th, 14th, and 15th] have been sacrificed by a subtle and ingenious verbal criticism. It is not the words of the law but the internal sense of it that makes the law; the letter of the law is the body; the sense and reason of the law are the soul.”

Thus, he argued that the majority of the Court was ignoring the plain meaning and intent of the newest amendments, and that their position revealed racial double standards.

[Here one can clearly see the echoes of his criticism when contemplating the opinion by Chief Justice Roberts when striking down an important section of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder (2013).]

The country however, now, after Shelby, and in Harlan’s time, as the author writes, looked to the Court’s majority who gave them security in and protection for their right to discriminate.

Frederick Douglass later wrote of Harlan:

“…I was wont to console myself with what seemed to many a transcendental idea, that one man with God is a majority; that if such a man does not represent what is, he does represent what ought to be, and what ultimately will be.”

This is an excellent description of the importance of John Marshall Harlan, his moral integrity, and of his continuing relevance today.

This double biography - of John and Robert Harlan - will introduce to most readers two unique characters whose stories are fascinating, and representative of the state of the union at the time. It is a book well worth reading! show less

Very close to a hagiography, this book was written or compiled by several Boston Globe journalists. There’s plenty of information presented about Ted and the family. However, the writing is choppy and repetitive, and the reverence felt toward Teddy by the authors is obvious. The first two hundred or so pages went quickly, but the last half of the book became tiresome at best.
Kennedy was an effective senator for Massachusetts and a man who genuinely cared about people. But he didn’t show more accomplish his senatorial goals without a lot more hard politics than is reflected here. show less

This biography, compiled from the work of a number of Boston Globe writers, gave me a lot of information about the late Ted Kennedy, explaining, for example, his effectiveness as a legislator. Although it deals straightforwardly with the Chappaquiddick incident, it leaves questions hanging, and does so again in its quick explanation of his divorce from Joan and the annulment of their marriage. By implication, she had no issues with the divorce but that is not how I remember her reaction at show more the time. show less