EDWARD M.KENNEDY:TRUE COMPASS

Edward M. Kennedy was the third longest-serving member of the United States Senate in American history. Voters of Massachusetts elected him to the Senate nine times—a record matched by only one other Senator. The scholar Thomas Mann said his time in the Senate was “an amazing and endurable presence. You want to go back to the 19th century to find parallels, but you won‘t find parallels.” President Obama has described his breathtaking span of accomplishment: “For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health, and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts.” He fought for and won so many great battles—on voting rights, education, immigration reform, the minimum wage, national service, the nation‘s first major legislation to combat AIDS, and equality for minorities, women, the disabled and gay Americans. He called health care “the cause of my life,” and succeeded in bringing quality and affordable health care for countless Americans, including children, seniors and Americans with disabilities. Until the end he was working tirelessly to achieve historic national health reform. He was an opponent of the Vietnam War and an early champion of the war‘s refugees. He was a powerful yet lonely voice from the beginning against the invasion of Iraq. He stood for human rights abroad—from Chile to the former Soviet Union — and was a leader in the cause of poverty relief for the poorest nations of Africa and the world. He believed in a strong national defense and he also unceasingly pursued and advanced the work of nuclear arms control.

He was the conscience of his party, and also the Senate‘s greatest master of forging compromise with the other party. Known as the “Lion of the Senate,” Senator Kennedy was widely respected on both sides of the aisle for his commitment to progress and his ability to legislate.

Senator Kennedy was Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Previously he was Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and served on that committee for many years. He also served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Congressional Joint Economic Committee. He was a leader of the Congressional Friends of Ireland and helped lead the way toward peace on that island.

He was a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia Law School. He lived in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, with his wife Vicki. He is survived by her and their five children Kara, Edward Jr., and Patrick Kennedy, and Curran and Caroline Raclin, and his sister Jean Kennedy Smith.

Statement for The Kennedy Family

August 26, 2009

“Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port. We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.”

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From the TWELVE PUBLISHERS: "We are deeply saddened by the recent news. In the final years of his life, we had the honor of working with Senator Kennedy on his autobiography, True Compass. He worked valiantly to finish the book and make it the best it could be. As always, he was true to his word. The result is a great and inspiring legacy to readers everywhere, a case study in perseverance. We look forward to sharing it with the world."

True Compass will be published on September 14, 2009. A signed, leather-bound limited edition will be available by mid October; click here to pre-order. Only 1,000 will be sold to the public.

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GIVEAWAY ENDED
TRUE COMPASS
(SEE BOTTOM FOR SPECIAL EDITION NEWS!)
A MEMOIR BY EDWARD M. KENNEDY

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In this landmark autobiography, five years in the making, Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story--of his legendary family, politics, and fifty years at the center of national events.

TRUE COMPASS

The youngest of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, he came of age among siblings from whom much was expected. As a young man, he played a key role in the presidential campaign of his brother John F. Kennedy, recounted here in loving detail. In 1962 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he began a fascinating political education and became a legislator.

In this historic memoir,Ted Kennedy takes us inside his family, re-creating life with his parents and brothers and explaining their profound impact on him. or the first time, he describes his heartbreak and years of struggle in the wake of their deaths. Through it all, he describes his work in the Senate on the major issues of our time--civil rights, Vietnam, Watergate, the quest for peace in Northern Ireland--and the cause of his life: improved health care for all Americans, a fight influenced by his own experiences in hospitals.

His life has been marked by tragedy and perseverance, a love of family, and an abiding faith. There have been controversies, too, and Kennedy addresses them with unprecedented candor. At midlife, embattled and uncertain if he would ever fall in love again, he met the woman who changed his life, Victoria Reggie Kennedy. Facing a tough reelection campaign against an aggressive challenger named Mitt Romney, Kennedy found a new voice and began one of the great third acts in American politics, sponsoring major legislation, standing up for liberal principles, and making the pivotal endorsement of Barack Obama for president.

Hundreds of books have been written about the Kennedys. TRUE COMPASS will endure as the definitive account from a member of America's most heralded family, an inspiring legacy to readers and to history, and a deeply moving story of a life like no other.

THE GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Kelly and the Hachette Book Group
I am honored to have three copies of this
phenomenal book to give away.

RULES:

--U. S. and Canadian Residents Only
--No P. O. Boxes, Please
--Email address in your comment
--All comments MUST BE SEPARATE to count

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: Comment on one thing about The Kennedy Family that you remember most in your lifetime

+1 MORE ENTRY: Blog or Tweet about this giveaway and come back here with a link I can follow

+1 MORE ENTRY: Enter another giveaway to come after this one on my blog and then come back and tell me which one it is

+1 MORE ENTRY: Read my review when it is posted in a few days and then come back here and comment about it--good or bad, I can take it

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE IN BY
6 PM, EST, OCTOBER 24
(Note date extended to 24th)

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!
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NOTICE OF SPECIAL EDITION
LEATHER BOUND, SIGNED COPY
PREORDER
CLICK BELOW FOR DETAILS