The Robert F. Kennedy Wit

William Adler was born on May 14, 1929 in New York. After attending Brooklyn College (1947-51), Adler served in the U.S. Army. Adler, a full-time writer/editor, has published approximately 150 books on various topics over the past forty years, but he is probably best known for his books reflecting the wit and humor of individual celebrities. In show more books such as The Kennedy Wit and The Churchill Wit, Adler has selected and edited a variety of quotations and humorous anecdotes that reveal a human side of famous individuals. His edited collections of letters written to famous people or organizations, such as Kids' Letters to President Carter and Letters to the Air Force on UFOs, are also quite popular. These books, while interspersed with humor, often explore more serious topics with insight, understanding, and sensitivity. Adler wrote for two popular television programs, Candid Camera and Tex and Jinx, and conceived the ideas for a series of murder mysteries written by other authors, that invited readers to participate in solving the crimes. Large cash awards were offered to the reader who could solve a series of crimes leading to the murders. The first of these popular 1980s mysteries was Who Killed the Robins Family and where, and when, and how and why did they die? Although Adler masterminded the book, Thomas Chastain actually wrote it. Later, Adler would use this same reader-participation strategy when he published Bill Adler's Chance of a Lifetime, a guidebook on how to become a successful entrepreneur. Again a cash prize was offered to the reader who entered the best new business idea after reading and following the principles presented in the book. Adler has also written and edited a number of his more serious books under the pseudonym, Jay David. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Robert "Bobby" Kennedy was the seventh of nine children in the wealthy Kennedy family of Massachusetts. When his elder brother John F. Kennedy became President in 1961, Robert was named Attorney General. The brothers had worked together during the campaign, with Robert serving as his brother's campaign manager. Robert Kennedy had been educated at show more Harvard University, served in the Navy during World War II, and received his law degree from Virginia Law School in 1951. Then he worked in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice in 1951 and 1952, where he helped prosecute corruption and income-tax invasion cases. In the following years he served as congressional investigator for committees on Un-American Activities and on Improper Activities in Labor and Management. In 1961 Kennedy became Attorney General under President John F. Kennedy, and stayed on under President Lyndon B. Johnson. In that position he actively promoted civil rights by prosecuting people who violated the civil rights of minorities. He continued his pursuit of civil rights when he became Senator from New York in 1964. He also worked for antipoverty programs, medicare, and other social programs, and spoke out strongly against escalating involvement in Vietnam. Kennedy set out to campaign for the Democratic nomination for President in the 1968 election. He won five of the six primaries he entered and was becoming a formidable challenger, when Sirhan Sirhan, an Arab immigrant, shot him fatally on June 5, 1968. (Bowker Author Biography) show less