Book Review
Last Lion
Last Lion is a brilliant and well-balanced portrait of one of the greatest U.S. Senators in history: Ted Kennedy. The book, written by Boston Globe reporters and edited by Peter S. Canellos, not only highlights Senator Kennedy’s all-too-public flaws but also emphasizes his genuine compassion for the less fortunate as evidenced by a life-long commitment to universal health care.
The book takes you through a journey that includes how his brothers were less than thrilled with the prospect of him running for President John F. Kennedy’s former seat in Massachusetts in 1962 and how his inferiority complex energized him to master the rules of the Senate to ultimately pass milestone legislation. Kennedy is portrayed as a loving and faithful son by virtue of being the youngest child but as a reckless husband and often less than perfect father and role model. He is also portrayed as the hardest-working member of the Senate, even during times of injury and poor health, and deeply committed to his current wife, Victoria.
The book does a terrific job addressing the Senator’s commitment to health care with a surprising conclusion: a regret that he didn’t team up with President Richard M. Nixon in formulating a proposal that made sense by today’s standards. Last Lion also touches upon his support of President Barack Obama as well as his reflections of JFK, RFK, his parents, the Senate as a whole and his place in history.
Last Lion goes into depth on the good, the bad and the ugly about Kennedy. In the end, it leaves the reader with a profound sense of not only his shortcomings, but the Senator’s humanity, his sincere kindness towards others and his struggles to conform to his religious faith.
Review By: Abe Amoros
Pennsylvania Democratic Party's
Communications Director
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