Book Review: Robert Kennedy: His Life by Evan Thomas

by Clarence Yu

Any discussion of Barack Obama's message of hope would not be complete without the inclusion of Robert Kennedy, whose life was cut short by an assassin's bullet on June 5, 1968 at the age of 42. Award-winning journalist and Newsweek assistant managing editor Evan Thomas chronicles the life of this peculiar man who lives on in contemporary mythology as a figure of tragedy and a symbol of unfulfilled greatness. Drawing on unprecedented access to Robert Kennedy's personal papers, Thomas (who shares the same alma mater as his subject, University of Virginia School of Law), creates the most definitive biography of RFK since Arthur Schlesinger Jr.'s Robert Kennedy and His Times.

Thomas details Kennedy’s life from his unpromising beginnings as the third son of former Ambassador to England and businessman Joe Kennedy; his rise to power as Attorney General to his brother President John F. Kennedy; his fall from grace following his brother’s death in 1963; his career as a US Senator; and finally, his entrance into the 1968 presidential race under the banner of the Democratic Party.

Insightfully, Thomas examines the transformation of Kennedy through various stages of his life. Kennedy was not a perfect man by any measure, but the circumstances surrounding his life brought out the one thing he was least prepared for: direct leadership. Thomas cites that most of RFK's life had been in the shadows, operating behind-the-scenes, and staying out the limelight in favor of his brother's political ambitions. When the President was dead, Kennedy had two choices: to withdraw from political life, or to capitalize on his dead brother's martyrdom.
He opted, albeit subconsciously, for a third alternative, borne out of an existentialist nature: he suffered, experienced much about loss, and ultimately, in his pain, connected with the American people and much of the world in a way that few other politicians ever could. Thomas' excellent perspective on the matured Kennedy's multi-faceted, often self-contradicting personality gives the reader a closer look at the man who could have been a great President. In this sense, His Life reads like a classical Greek tragedy, like the many that Robert Kennedy himself carried around for inspiration.

Relevant now more than ever, His Life gives readers a profound glimpse into a man who really promised hope in the turbulent world he lived in, but who never had a chance to carry his message into action. To fully appreciate the meaning of hope and change, read and re-read this excellent book.

Book Review: President Lincoln - The Duty Of A Statesman

You can also read this review at Blogcritics.org:
Book Review: President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman by William Lee Miller
The author uses Lincoln as an example that statesmen are not born but made. Future young leaders can find inspiration

Any new book on President Lincoln will almost always beg the question, "Why?" In this follow up to Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography, author William Lee Miller answers the question with an eloquent, yet easy to read 512-page analysis of Lincoln’s term in the White House and his actions as the Civil War president.

I’m not a scholar of Lincoln by any measure, but I have a small collection of books about him; half I consider garbage and the other half essential reading. Of course, it takes reading the essentials to find out which ones are really meant to be in the trash can, and Miller’s book is one of the essentials.

In President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman, Miller reminds us of a time when the young nation was faced with a crisis, and how an inexperienced man by conventional standards was able to withstand and eventually exert his will in seeing the country through the Civil War. In this sense, he asserts that (using President James Buchanan, Lincoln’s predecessor, as one of his examples) experienced men do not necessarily qualify for the nation’s highest office. Instead, morals, kindness of heart, and raw intelligence are also qualifiers in the mix. There is a basic truth to this, and young leaders should take this to heart (President-elect Obama, are you listening?).

The book also tackles the art of statesmanship, that ever-ambiguous field in politics that so many try to inhabit. In the context of Lincoln’s time, Miller writes, statesmen were of noble blood, but Lincoln changed all that, having been a prairie lawyer and of poor family background but rising to the challenge by defeating all his critics, winning the Civil War and preserving the Union of the States. In this sense, you can argue that Lincoln invented the blueprints for the modern politician today.

President isn’t new on factual details, but delivers great insight on the shaping of Lincoln as a politician as he assumes office. The long-standing arguments and debates on whether the Civil War was over slavery, preserving the Union, or whether Lincoln was a dictator or not, shouldn't influence the way the reader interprets the author's intent. The book is supposed to be about Statesmanship, and thus should be treated as such.

Mr. Miller writes with fluidity and a passion, and you are surely convinced by the first few pages that he is clearly pro-Lincoln. The President seems almost infallible in every decision he makes, and the skill of Miller’s writing almost convinces you that Lincoln might be more than mortal. If the reader can be discerning enough to steer clear of this bias, then President is required reading for Lincoln and Civil War buffs, and for those who seek to find meaning in what our everyday politician says.

The United States Civil War: Lessons Learned

I've always been interested in U.S. history. As a child in school, all that was taught to me in History classes was that it was a war fought between North and South, over slavery. Simple enough for a 12 year old boy to understand, but as I matured, I started following the war more closely. I bought all kinds of books: Coffee Table books, books on President Abraham Lincoln, you name it.

On film, all sorts of movies are available that depict the Civil War in one form or another: North and South, Gettysburg, Gods and Generals, Dances with Wolves, Glory, to name a few.

There is a great deal of information out there right now on the Internet, and I'm no scholar, but after years of reading up on Civil War events and trivia, I've concluded that this war wasn't a war between good or evil, generally speaking. It was a great era, and the United States indeed was in a crisis. Good men acted decisively, men fought for their beliefs, and human nature itself was tested. The outcome really did not matter to me in the end (the South "lost").

What is most fascinating about this war are the small stories and events that were not highly publicized in media. I've stumbled on a very informative blog dedicated to the 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. You might want to take a look at this.

More to come on the Civil War...stay tuned.