“Growing up in Missouri in the 1980's and 1990's, I lacked the Kennedy fascination that many New Englanders seem to have. Of course I was well-versed in the presidency of JFK and the tragedy of his assassination but I failed to realize how extensive the political entrenchment of the family was until I moved to Rhode Island several years ago. Ted Kennedy was the long-standing member of US Senate from Massachusetts and his son, Patrick Kennedy, is a US Representative for RI. When Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, I was surprised by the news coverage and compassion that overflowed from MA and RI residents and, as stories recapping his political achievements were told, I was surprised by how much I didn't know about this man and the Kennedy family.
In True Compass, Senator Kennedy begins by describing his life starting at the age of 11 - summers on Cape Cod, winters in Palm Beach, and always interaction with the nine brothers and sisters of his Irish-Catholic family. Ted was the youngest and greatly looked up to Joe, Jack, and Bobby (the oldest of the clan), who were already adults at this time. The beginning of the book was an interesting telling of the older Kennedy boys' entrance into political life through the eyes of an 11 year old boy who felt something close to hero worship for them. It was slightly off-putting that, in Ted's eyes, the Kennedy Family could do no wrong - his older brother's were saints and his sisters were the perfect 1950's women. Even the political catastrophe of the Bay of Pigs Invasion in the early days of the JFK Presidency was not the president's fault even though he handled it better than anyone else could have possibly imagined and actually ended on a positive note. Really?! I don't expect him to drag his family's name through the mud but admitting when something was handled poorly is not expecting too much. While the three oldest were war heroes, political heroes, and personal heroes, Ted was getting into trouble at a variety of private schools up and down the Eastern seaboard, getting kicked out of Harvard, and failing to really commit to anything in his life until his 20's. While I wasn't alive then, I think Ted Kennedy would have accurately been described as a rich, spoiled, playboy!
After the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, True Compass switches from a description of other Kennedy's political campaigns to the description of Ted's. I felt the book lost what little emotional appeal it had at this point as he delves into the description of senate committees, his personal and political standpoints of many topics that have been and continue to be in the public spotlight, and his interaction with each president from Johnson to Obama. The topics were interesting though even if told with a lack of emotion and he provided insight to many major historical/political events and I learned much more about his political stance besides the typical description of him as a very liberal democrat.
I have to admit that I found the book very well written from an organizational and engaging point of view (thank you ghost writer) and it ended up being a very quick read. I did get a little annoyed that every person who supported the Kennedy's was "popular" or "iconic" or "well-known" but I think Ted was trying to be respectful to people he admired. I had no idea that Senator Kennedy was such a proponent of many issues that are near and dear to my heart including the American's With Disabilities Act and National Health Insurance. I was also shocked at the number of family members who faced untimely deaths! I knew of a couple of them but the heartache his family faced as the majority of the Kennedy children died in accidents and their bad-luck (to put it mildly) filtered down to their children is shocking and heart-wrenching. Regardless of political stance, I have amazing respect for Senator Kennedy for overcoming these emotional blows and working to further the memory of his siblings through his dedication to his work.
Given the absolute love Senator Kennedy had for his siblings, I was shocked at how little he mentioned his first wife and children. His first wife was basically reduced to a footnote (an alcoholic footnote at that) while he waxed poetic about his new wife for an entire chapter and mentioned her often. He described his children briefly when they were young, next thing you know they are teenagers, and then he describes a dinner in which they are there with their spouses and children! The book was told with a lack of emotion. Kennedy continuously states that they were raised to not show emotion because it was a sign of weakness and no one wanted to hear you complain. However, his detachment from the telling of many events in his life was borderline bothersome and, he admits toward the end, while he raves about how close he and his siblings were they really had no idea of each other's personal lives. I also found it a bit hypocritical that he refused to discuss the Chappaquiddick Accident, which if it would have happened today he would have been charged with a felony for being responsible for the death of someone while under the influence of alcohol (involuntary manslaughter?), but had no problem describing the details of the Monica Lewinsky Case that plagued the personal life of President Clinton. He also completely ignored his many public displays of drunkenness and the many women in his life between his wives.
The end became very rushed, he didn't talk about his diagnosis with cancer at all, barely mentioned his support of President Obama, and then suddenly the book was done! True Compass was interesting but more as a background for law and policy and not the personal account of an American Royal Family that I was hoping for.
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