Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As a Massachusetts resident, Ted and the rest of the Kennedy's have been a part of fabric of the Boston since before this reviewer arrived here nearly 50 years ago. Naturally, I was anxious to see this memoir. Over the years our family has supported him but sometimes supported his competition as well. We had supported his nephew Joe Kennedy and attended the latter's birthday parties at the Hyannis Cape Cod Compound where Uncle Ted was always in attendance. My kids have strolled the famous sandy dune paths with some of the Kennedy brood and chased their dogs around the circus-sized tents set up by the Kennedy's for their many social and political events. Our family will never forget the "Blues Brothers Production" the Kennedy family acted out at one of these rallies and sing-alongs for political supporters. They are like a troop of uninhibited traveling performers. My Mother-in-law practically swooned when she met Senator Kennedy and commented on how much he resembled the picture she had of JFK on her living room wall. The entire Kennedy family is a well-oiled political machine. The fact that the Senator died just before his memoir's release made me want to see it even more. At a hefty length of 532 pages I was hoping to finally hear Senator Edward Kennedy's explanation of a couple of important events in his life that he hasn't been exactly forthright about in the past. The most important of those events was his driving his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969 and swimming to safety while his passenger Mary Jo Kepechne, a campaign worker and maybe much more, drowned. That accident destroyed his chance to become President because by not even reporting it while there was still a chance of saving the young woman's life, he clearly was either drunk out of his mind, frightened, perhaps terrified of the bad publicity that would effect his career and he had panicked. Clearly not the actions of a man who people want to have his finger on the nuclear war button. His actions were so different than the historic rescue of his PT 109 shipmates that JRK performed in WW II also in the shark infested waters of the ocean in the pitch blackness of night. Ted's panicked actions plus the manipulation of the local legal system that followed and allowed him to cop a plea of leaving the scene of an accident have no doubt haunted him and all the rest of his friends and supporters for 40 years. I was most curious as to whether Ted would provide his readers with the whole truth, even if it weren't brutally exact. The Kennedy's haven't exactly been very upfront about the truth in the past if it was negative. They much preferred to seal it away and then spin it to death. So, did the good Senator from Massachusetts come clean or at least enlighten his friends, supporters and admirers in this final official testimony of his life? Yes, and no. He said his actions were "Inexcusable and he made terrible decisions." He was drunk, frightened and confused. But what about the rest of the story? The memoir doesn't add anything to his accounts of those terrible days even though Ted kept a daily diary throughout his long career. He and co-author/collaborator/ghostwriter Ron Powers probably decided to leave those unhappy memories shrouded in mystery and just concentrate on the more positive aspects, of which there were many, of Kennedy's long and fruitful life. If the old folk saying that a picture is worth a 1,000 words, then this book is twice as long as the word count would indicate. The book is packed with wonderful photos that most people have probably never seen before. In the caption next to one photograph of baby Ted in an old fashioned baby carriage is the comment that "Jack wanted me to be named after George Washington because I was born on his birthday." On another page is a picture of Bobby and his younger brother Ted at the reopening of the Royal Children's Zoo in 1938." It's Ted's first encounter with the Republican Party. Still further along in the memoir is a picture of Ted Kennedy, dressed in cowboy gear "Coming out of Chute 4 on Skyrocket, Miles City, Montana, August 27, 1960." The bucking bronco is rearing back to launch the future U.S. Senator off his back. Who among us has the guts to try this dangerous rodeo event? Across the page is a copy of 1962 campaign poster "I Need You and Your Two Votes" that reminds us of the young Kennedy's movie star good looks. A more recent color photo shows the Senator "Dressed as the Grinch for the office Christmas Party." He is wearing the Santa Claus Grinch costume complete with green face paint. He actually looks like the cartoon character and that is kind of scary. Opposite that picture is a color reproduction of "`Daffodils' a painting I made for Vicki." The readers don't have to be an ex-photographer like this reviewer to see some of the Kennedy's real personality captured by the terrific selection of photos included in this volume. And yes, all the Kennedy's inherited their parent's good looks. One is better looking than another. It's nice to see the photo portraits of their parents as young adults so one can compare the family's looks. This book is of course a very valuable resource for historians. Even though all memoirs are how their authors wish to be remembered, they can still be valuable even if they ignore the warts and only focus on the triumphs. There include insights, memories and thought processes connected to any individual that only that individual is privy to and only they can explain why the event was important to them. This memoir is filled with personal stories about life within his family. Joe Sr. comes across particularly wise in the ways of the world in business as well as being a good father and passing on to his children what is really important in life. It's good that this book was produced and it's also good that Senator Kennedy sat down for a series of recorded interviews about the events in his life. Hopefully, there may even be material included in those personal histories that was left out of this memoir, but will eventually be released for future historians to better understand the life and accomplishments of the youngest of Rose and Joe P. Kennedy's sons. To be honest, this reviewer finds Joe P. Kennedy Sr. the most interesting member of the family. That's usually the case with the founding founders of a dynasty. However, Joe Kennedy's children have made extraordinary contributions to their country. Like every human, they had flaws but they still succeeded. What a shame that Joe Kennedy's namesake was killed in WW II because the entire family felt he was destined for true greatness. Both Ted and his sister Eunice's deaths closed the books on their long careers of public service. It remains to be seen whether Ted or Eunice will have made the greater contributions to humanity. This is an excellent read even for people who may not have always agreed with Kennedy's political causes or decisions. Every reader will learn more about the warm human being that was Edward Kennedy. Frankly, most readers will probably find the personal information and family anecdotes much more interesting than the good senator's detailed reminisces about behind the scenes hardball politics within the U.S. Senate itself. It's definitely a good read.