Preface Acknowledgments Prologue: The Odyssey Begins 1. On His Own: Kennedy's Evolving Critique of the War, May 1965-February 1966 2. A Slow Path to Peace: Kennedy Calls for a Negotiated Settlement, March 1966-March 1967 3. At the Center of the Storm: Kennedy and the Shifting Political Winds of 1967 4. "The Hottest Place in Hell": Kennedy, the Democrats, and the McCarthy Candidacy 5. The Collapse of the Myths: Kennedy, Johnson, and the Tet Offensive, January-February 1968 6. The Breaking Point: Kennedy Responds to Tet, February 8, 1968 7. Fifteen Days in March: Kennedy Challenges Johnson, March 1968 8. Civil Rights and the Urban Rebellions, Kennedy, King, and the Politics of Race, 1965-1968 9. Building a Coalition: Kennedy and the Primaries, March 16-May 28, 1968 10. California: Kennedy's Last Campaign, May-June 1968 Conclusion: A Potential Unrealized Notes Bibliography Index
Based on never-before-seen documents, this book chronicles RFK's extraordinary transformation from Cold Warrior to grass roots activist. Palermo focuses on the crucial nexus between '60s social activism and Kennedy's role as national leader, demonstrating how civic groups and individual activists educated him about the conflict in Southeast Asia and racial and class injustice at home.
Joseph A Palermo lectures at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has written for Peace & Change and other journals.
"A thorough investigation of RFK as a political leader that is a worthy continuation of the years covered in James Hilty's Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector." - Library Journal "A vivid portrait of the problems and promise of the 1960s and the way Kennedy shaped and was shaped by the era." - Publishers Weekly
"A thorough investigation of RFK as a political leader that is a worthy continuation of the years covered in James Hilty's Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector." - Library Journal "A vivid portrait of the problems and promise of the 1960s and the way Kennedy shaped and was shaped by the era." - Publishers Weekly
Robert Kennedy used his position as senator from New York (1965-68) to lead a coalition of grass-roots voters members of the peace and Civil Rights movements, African Americans, members of the working class in a fight for the liberal soul of the Democratic party while making a credible challenge for the 1968 presidency, notes Palermo (Cornell Univ.). He struggled with President Johnson, who attacked his patriotism because he was an early advocate of a negotiated peace settlement in Vietnam, and with Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Johnson's hawkish surrogate, who continued the fight over Vietnam during their battle for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination. "Peace candidate" Eugene McCarthy is portrayed as an indifferent senator with a poor record on civil rights who lost many votes and credibility when Kennedy replaced the Vietnam issue as his focus. Evan Thomas's Robert Kennedy: His Life (LJ 8/00) and Jeff Shesol's Mutual Contempt (LJ 9/15/97) offer more lively accounts of Kennedy's feuds, but Palermo provides a thorough investigation of RFK as political leader that is a worthy continuation of the years covered in James Hilty's Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector (LJ 4/15/98). Strongly recommended for academic collections and recommended for larger public libraries. Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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