Make Gentle the Life of This World: The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy - Softcover

Kennedy, Maxwell Taylor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0767903714 ISBN 13: 9780767903714

Publisher: Broadway Books, 1999

Synopsis

Throughout the 1960s, Robert F. Kennedy kept a private journal of favorite quotations, recording the philosophies of great leaders and thinkers throughout history. Thirty years after his father's tragic death, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy has culled the highlights of this journal, along with moving portions of Robert Kennedy's most memorable speeches, to create an inspiring, immortal voice for his father's vision. With passages on freedom, democracy, civil rights, education, justice, tragedy, and peace, Make Gentle the Life of This World speaks powerfully to America's unstoppable drive for a better world. Complemented by poignant photographs of Robert Kennedy, this is an extraordinary tribute to an extraordinary hero, whose dream for America has never been extinguished.

About this title

Review

President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, collaborated on a daybook project in which they would jot down passages from their reading that moved them in some way. RFK continued the project after his brother's death in 1963, and would frequently use the quotations in it as source material for his speeches.

Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, Robert's youngest son, has drawn upon that journal, as well as material from his father's speeches, to create a unique portrait of RFK's spirit and character. In addition to his own powerful testimony to his passion for social justice, we learn that Robert Kennedy was able to learn as much about the meaning of freedom and justice from Albert Camus as he was from Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln. The concern with civil rights, pacifism, and America's role in the international arena (among other issues) that permeate Kennedy's thoughts are as relevant today as they were in the 1960s. Make Gentle the Life of This World is a stirring reminder of one of this century's strongest political visions.

About the Author

Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy (November 20, 1925–June 6, 1968), also called RFK, was an American statesman. He was United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964 and a United States Senator from New York from 1965 until his assassination in 1968. He was one of the younger brothers of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and also one of his most trusted advisers, working closely with the president during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He also made a significant contribution to the African-American Civil Rights Movement. After his brother's November 1963 assassination, Kennedy continued as Attorney General under President Lyndon B. Johnson for nine months. He resigned in September 1964 and was elected to the United States Senate from New York that November. He broke with Johnson over the Vietnam War, among other issues. After Eugene McCarthy nearly defeated Johnson in the New Hampshire primary in early 1968, Kennedy announced his own campaign for president, seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party. Kennedy defeated McCarthy in the critical California primary but was shot shortly after midnight of June 5, 1968, dying on June 6. On June 9, President Johnson assigned security staff to all Presidential candidates and declared an official day of national mourning in response to the public grief following Kennedy's death.

About this edition

• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0767903714
• ISBN 13: 9780767903714
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 208