In His Own Right: The Political Odyssey of Senator Robert F. Kennedy

Joseph A. Palermo

Columbia University Press, May 7, 2001 - Biography & Autobiography - 352 pages

Robert Kennedy's role in American politics during the 1960s was pivotal yet has defied attempts to define it. He was a junior senator from New York, but he was also much more. The public perceived him as possessing the intangible qualities of his brother, the slain president. From 1965 to 1968 Kennedy struggled to find his own voice in national affairs.

In His Own Right examines this crucial period of Robert Kennedy's political career, combining the best of political biography with a gripping social history of the social movements of the 1960s. How did Kennedy make the transformation from cold warrior to grassroots activist, from being a political operator known for ruthlessness toward his opponents to becoming, by 1968, a "tribune of the underclass"? Based on never before seen documents, this intimate portrait of one of the most respected politicians never elected president describes Robert Kennedy's relationship with such well-known activists and political players as Benjamin Spock, Eugene McCarthy, Allard Lowenstein, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez, as well as the ordinary men and women who influenced Kennedy's views as he came to stand in the public arena and in the national consciousness as a man and a leader in his own right.

Contents

• The Odyssey Begins: 1
• On His Own Kennedys Evolving Critique of the War May 1965February 1966: 8
• A Slow Path to Peace Kennedy Calls for a Negotiated Settlement March 1966March 1967: 32
• At the Center of the Storm Kennedy and the Shifting Political Winds of 1967: 57
• The Hottest Place in Hell Kennedy the Democrats and the McCarthy Candidacy: 77
• The Collapse of the Myths Kennedy Johnson and the Tet Offensive JanuaryFebruary 1968: 100
• The Breaking Point Kennedy Responds to Tet February 8 1968: 117
• Fifteen Days in March Kennedy Challenges Johnson March 1968: 130
• Civil Rights and the Urban Rebellions Kennedy King and the Politics of Race 19651968: 161
• Building a Coalition Kennedy and the Primaries March 16May 28 1968: 188
• California Kennedys Last Campaign May 1June 6 1968: 220
• A Potential Unrealized: 250
• Notes: 259
• Bibliography: 323
• Index: 337

About the author

Joseph A Palermo lectures at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has written for Peace & Change and other journals.

Bibliographic information

• Title: In His Own Right: The Political Odyssey of Senator Robert F. Kennedy; Columbia Studies in Contemporary American History
• Author: Joseph A. Palermo
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2001
• ISBN: 0231502656, 9780231502658
• Length: 352 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs; Biography & Autobiography / Political; History / United States / 20th Century