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True Compass: A Memoir Hardcover – Deckle Edge, September 14, 2009

by Edward M. Kennedy (Author)

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Edward M. Kennedy is widely regarded as one of the great Senators in the nation's history. He is also the patriarch of America's most heralded family. In this landmark autobiography, five years in the making, Senator Kennedy speaks with unprecedented candor about his extraordinary life. 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. In 1962, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he learned how to become an effective legislator. His life has been marked by tragedy and perseverance, a love for family and an abiding faith. He writes movingly of his brothers and their influence on him; his years of struggle in the wake of their deaths; his marriage to the woman who changed his life, Victoria Reggie Kennedy; his role in the major events of our time (from the civil rights movement to the election of Barack Obama); and how his recent diagnosis of a malignant brain tumor has given even greater urgency to his long crusade for improved health care for all Americans. Written with warmth, wit, and grace, True Compass is Edward M. Kennedy's inspiring legacy to readers and to history. (2009)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Product Description
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. For 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.

A Look at Edward M. Kennedy Through the Years
(Click on each image below to see a larger view)

Ted Kennedy with Bobby Kennedy at the opening of the Royal Children’s Zoo (June 9, 1938)
John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Edward M. Kennedy
Ted Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in South Boston
Ted and Vicki Kennedy (Photo by Ken Regan)

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Of course, the recent death of Senator Kennedy adds an extra layer of poignancy, but this would be a welcome addition to the political memoir bookshelf under any circumstances. Drawing upon a series of oral history interviews, and with the help of Ron Powers (Flags of Our Fathers), Kennedy devotes more than half of the book to the first half of his life-growing up as the youngest of his generation, gaining a political education while touring the western U.S. for Jack's presidential campaign in 1960, clashing with Lyndon Johnson over Vietnam, and the heartache of Jack and Bobby's assassinations. After a brief section on Chappaquiddick, Kennedy tends to the anecdotal when discussing his political career from clashing with Nixon over Supreme Court nominations to campaigning for Barack Obama. (Recollections of courting his second wife, Vicki, bring a welcome spark of personal charm.) Some readers may feel there is not quite enough introspection-while acknowledging his first wife's alcoholism, for example, Kennedy glosses over his own drinking problems-but despite the firm line he draws in the sand about discussing his personal life, Kennedy's tone of contrition is sincere. When he was a child, Kennedy's father told him, "You can have a serious life or a nonserious life." He chose the former, and at the end, seems genuinely grateful not just for what that life gave him, but what it enabled him to do for others.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Few reviewers doubted the significance of Kennedy's memoir, written in collaboration with Ron Powers, and most viewed it as an interesting read. The Los Angeles Times rated it as an American political classic on par with The Autobiography of U. S. Grant. But the Washington Post deflated the comparison, claiming that while Grant had some help writing his book, Kennedy's clearly shows the influence of his ghostwriter and should be viewed as a typical (if sometimes fascinating) celebrity autobiography. While most critics tended to side with Yardley on the book's literary merit, they all appreciated the various ideas and anecdotes from its pages, suggesting that most readers with an interest in American politics will, too.

Review

"[A] deeply affecting memoir... he writes with searching candor about the losses, joys and lapses of his life; the love and closeness of his family; the solace he found in sailing and the sea; his complex relationships with political allies and rivals. Mr. Kennedy's conversational gifts as a storyteller and his sense of humor -- so often remarked on by colleagues and friends -- shine through here, as does his old-school sense of public service and his hard-won knowledge, in his son Teddy Jr.'s words, that 'even our most profound losses are survivable.'"―Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"Teddy has made a final, persuasive case for why he may actually be his family's greatest torchbearer."―TIME

"Often touching . . . After a life chronicled in tabloid chatter and often vicious editorial cartoons, Kennedy tells his own story here, expansively yet selectively, portraying himself as a dedicated, loving, flesh-and-blood figure who, despite being born well, had to prove himself. And the person, to whom he most had to do that is clearly etched in these pages. It was neither his famous brothers, nor his pious mother, Rose, nor even himself, but his controversial father, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. . . This is a book that all but the most toxic Kennedy critic could love . . . Later, there is much substance about his political life. His accounts are richly detailed. As a reporter covering Kennedy decades ago, I learned that he was keeping a diary and knew what a treasure it would someday be. It is. The best insights are perhaps his accounts of Senate maneuverings prior to the impeachment of Bill Clinton, his advocacy for peace in Northern Ireland, the misgivings that he and Robert both had about Vietnam, and the run-up to the latter's presidential campaign and subsequent murder in 1968 . . . He writes with great affection of dating and marrying the warmly elegant Vicki Reggie. The memoir is dedicated to her."―The Boston Globe, Boston Globe

"Touchingly candid, big-hearted and altogether superb . . . Completed in the shadow of the senator's own mortality, this is a book whose clarity of recollection and expression entitles it to share in the lineage established by America's first great memoir of public life -- 'The Autobiography of U.S. Grant,' which he wrote while himself dying of cancer . . . Kennedy was a devoted diarist whose natural gifts as a storyteller and as a sharp, painterly observer shine through every page . . . In the weeks leading up to [the] publication of TRUE COMPASS, much of the obvious 'news' in this book was leaked to the press . . . What's far more remarkable about this memoir is its capacious and generous spirit . . . TRUE COMPASS reminds us -- we
're all the poorer for his absence."―Los Angeles Times

"Based on 50 years of notes and journal entries, this monumentally moving memoir illuminates nearly every aspect of the late senator's personal and public life and times. With incomparable wit and candor, Kennedy offers up his perspective on Senate colleagues, Presidents past, and most of all himself, revealing the tarnish along with the triumphs . . . Deeply affecting on the subjects of grief, his battle with brain cancer and his devotion to family, sailing and the Senate, this is an astonishingly intimate self-portrait of a man whose belief that 'if you persevere . . . you have a real opportunity to achieve something 'was born out by his extraordinary life."―People

About the Author

Edward M. Kennedy has represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate for forty-seven years. In 2004 he began interviews at the Miller Center of the University of Virginia for an oral history project about his life. Since then, he has drawn from his fifty years of contemporaneous notes from his personal diaries and worked closely on this book with Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Powers, coauthor of Flags of Our Fathers and author of Mark Twain: A Life.

From The Washington Post

From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Jonathan Yardley Like "The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant," Ted Kennedy's "True Compass" was written in the last months of its author's life as he struggled against an unknown deadline imposed by terminal cancer. Like Grant, Kennedy sought to be modest about the successes in his long public life and honest about the failures. Like Grant's, his memoir has been published soon (if not, in fact, with unseemly haste) after its author's death to a flurry of attention and impressive sales, exceeded at the moment only by the latest amusement from Dan Brown. Beyond these, resemblances are difficult to come by. "True Compass" is an engaging and at times moving book, but like virtually all political autobiographies these days, it has the air of having been written by committee. Grant did have the assistance of researchers as he plumbed his memory for details of his service in the Mexican and Civil Wars, but he wrote the book himself, in longhand, and it is an American classic. "True Compass," by contrast, was cobbled together from oral histories, notebooks that Kennedy kept over the years and extensive interviews. It is not always possible to tell where Kennedy's voice ends and that of his capable collaborator, Ron Powers, begins. Thus "True Compass" is at its core a celebrity autobiography, far better than most examples of the genre but the creation at least as much of the ghostly hands behind it as of the man whose name graces its cover. One need only read the acknowledgments at its conclusion to understand that (as Kennedy says of one of his collaborators) many people's "talents added immeasurably to the work" and that it was "enhanced and improved" by these and others. Thus the reader will do best to approach it not as a true memoir but as what Kennedy himself calls a "project." I go on about this because I am old-fashioned and expect memoirs actually to be written by the memoirists themselves, but that having been said, "True Compass" is a good book. It bogs down, as virtually all memoirs by political figures do, when it turns to the dreary business that so fascinates those in the game: legislative battles, policy debates and foreign travels to meet and greet alien eminences, from popes to prime ministers. Fortunately, though, there really isn't all that much gassing here, because what interests Kennedy most is his family, press-the-flesh politicking and the ups and downs of his own uncommonly interesting life. Readers looking for gossip mostly will be disappointed. Kennedy openly admits and deeply regrets the well-documented mistakes of his life -- cheating on an exam at Harvard, driving Mary Jo Kopechne into the water at Chappaquiddick, ending his first marriage in divorce, aiding and abetting younger Kennedys in misbehavior at Palm Beach -- but he would have us understand that he persevered through the pain these brought to others and the shame they inflicted on himself. His apologies (for that's what they are) are heartfelt and colored by an awareness that he learned from his mistakes and profited by those lessons. After the assassination of his brother Robert in 1968, he fell into the depths: "In the months and years after Bobby's death, I tried to stay ahead of the darkness. I drove my car at high speeds; I drove myself in the Senate; I drove my staff; I sometimes drove my capacity for liquor to the limit. . . . I generally managed to keep my public duties and my private anguish separated. Whatever excesses I invented to anesthetize myself, I could almost always put them aside in my role as senator. Almost, but not always." In passages such as this one there can be no mistaking the voice: It is Kennedy himself, speaking with an honesty that too often eluded him in the moment, most notably in the hours after the accident that killed Kopechne, when he tried to talk his way around it. "I am not proud of these hours," he says now. "My actions were inexcusable. Perhaps I have not made my acknowledgment of this clear enough over the years." Perhaps those who hate all Kennedys generally or this Kennedy specifically will not be satisfied with what he says here, but I say he's right: "Atonement is a process that never ends. I believe that. Maybe it's a New England thing, or an Irish thing, or a Catholic thing. Maybe all of those things. But it's as it should be." Kennedy was an enthusiast, a lover. Though the terrible losses he suffered doubtless contributed to the "desire to escape, to keep moving, to avoid painful memories" with which he was afflicted during the 1970s and '80s, much of what he did was simply true to himself: "I am an enjoyer. I have enjoyed being a senator; I've enjoyed my children and my close friends; I've enjoyed books and music and well-prepared food, especially with a generous helping of cream sauce on the top. I have enjoyed the company of women. I have enjoyed a stiff drink or two or three, and I've relished the smooth taste of a good wine. At times, I've enjoyed these pleasures too much." And I say, let him who is without sin cast the first stone. The previous quotation appears at the opening of a chapter entitled "The Woman Who Changed My Life," in which we are introduced to Victoria Reggie, with whom he had "an old-fashioned courtship" in 1991 and '92 -- "We really took the time to know each other and we grew very close. As the months went on, I realized that I loved this woman very deeply and that my love for her was overcoming all the defenses I'd built up in myself against the potential heartbreak of marrying again" -- and whom he married in July 1992. The 17 years of their marriage seem to have been intensely happy, and he writes about his love for her with an affecting openness. No one will be surprised that Kennedy writes with equal openness about his love for his older brothers. As the runt of the large and boisterous family, born in 1932, he didn't know his brother Joe well but was (of course) grief-stricken by his death in combat in World War II. Still, the deaths of Jack and Bobby are the ones that haunted him. Jack "was more than a revered older brother to me. He was almost a second father." His "capacity for playfulness and laughter" was "a gift -- to him, but also to all of us around him," and "his laughter is among the things I miss the most about him to this day." As for Bobby, he had a keen sense of humor, though of a "self-deprecating" sort; "loyalty was one of [his] greatest virtues"; he "lived and made decisions in the moment and not in the cold, calculating way that some critics have tried to attribute to him"; he was a man of "conviction, compassion, courage, and eloquence." What may surprise some readers -- it certainly surprised me -- is the depth of Kennedy's love for his father. Joe Kennedy was a certifiable tough cookie -- a ruthless businessman, a compulsive philanderer -- and his son glosses over these aspects of his life; the name of Gloria Swanson, the actress who was Joe's mistress for many years, is not to be found here. Instead we have Joe Kennedy as loving father -- "Dad could be stern, but he not only loved us; he showed us all a deep respect. He always kissed us when we came home. Not many fathers kissed their children back then" -- and a source of support and wise counsel: "In the long hours and days and years, my father has been there to turn me around and send me back to do what is necessary. . . . I can envision him now, striding toward me, looking me straight in the eye, his handshake firm, his laugh wholehearted. I grew up eager not to disappoint him, determined never to meet any challenge in a half-hearted way, ultimately confident that if he knew I had done my best, he would -- even if things turned out badly -- give me what amounted to his benediction: " 'After you have done your best, then the hell with it.' " He has rather less to say about his mother, Rose. Clearly he loved her, as did all her children, but she seems to have been a tad on the dotty side, especially as she grew older, and one does wonder how seriously he took her. Still, she was very much a part of the family, and the family was everything. "We were just incredibly close, all of us," he writes, "through all our younger years and after. And even though the Cape house was our base, and you'd think we would be restless to get away from it now and then, explore other places, that was not the case. Our whole lives were centered on this one place." They had tons of money, but "Dad never wanted us to flaunt our wealth," and though he lived a life of great privilege, Kennedy reached out to "people who are facing injustice or pain," and this came from the heart. My emphasis in the paragraphs above has been on Kennedy himself and his family, because it is in the passages dealing with these that "True Compass" is at its best. Among the other things to savor are his accounts of politicking ("Politics and public service were in my blood. The euphoria of campaigning was almost an end in itself"), a tart portrait of Jimmy Carter and a bemused one of Ronald Reagan, and numerous passages in which he calls forth his passionate love of sailing and the sea. In these passages the reader does not question whose voice he is hearing. It is the voice of Ted Kennedy, a flawed man and in his way a great one. yardleyj@washpost.com
Copyright 2009, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Twelve; First Edition (September 14, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 532 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0446539252
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0446539258
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.75 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #196,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #943 in Political Leader Biographies
- #1,412 in United States Biographies
- #6,088 in Memoirs (Books)

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Edward M. Kennedy

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Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009) represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate for 47 years. In 2004 he began interviews at the Miller Center of the University of Virginia for an oral history project about his life. For his 2009 memoir, "True Compass," he drew from his 50 years of contemporaneous notes from his personal diaries and worked closely on the book with Pulitzer Prize-winner Ron Powers, co-author of "Flags of Our Fathers" and author of "Mark Twain: A Life."

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Ronald L. Cropper

An Honest, Heartfelt and Outstanding Memoir!

Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2009

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Having read several books about the Kennedys, I was very pleased to learn of the publication of Senator Ted Kennedy's autobiography. Other than the excellent recounting of the Cuban Missile Crisis in Bobby Kennedy's "Thirteen Days", there have been no real memoirs from the Kennedy family. While there have been many extensive and wonderful biographies of President Kennedy, Bobby and the family in general, it is especially exciting to read firsthand the thoughts, views and memories of the youngest brother of this storied family dynasty.

Sen. Kennedy ("Teddy") writes his story with a great sense of introspection, poignancy and wit. His love of family emerges early in the memoir as he recalls fond memories of his brothers and sisters. This is a recurring theme throughout as he views his older brothers, especially Jack and Bobby, as heroes that he's constantly trying to "catch up to". Teddy also spends considerable time remembering important lessons from his father who tells him, after a young Teddy is caught cheating on an exam, that he can either have a "serious life" or waste his time on foolish behavior. This is clearly a seminal moment in the senator's life and one he references on more than one occasion in the book.

There are several anecdotes that Teddy obviously delighted in telling and therefore make for an exciting read. While campaigning for his brother in the 1960 presidential campaign he vividly recounts flying around the western states and attempting to pick up delegates by riding a bucking bronco in a rodeo. He does this in spite of the fact that he's never entered such a contest before. Nevertheless, he ends up winning the support and admiration of the cowboy delegates in attendance. He also notes that, at a campaign party, he and a friend challenged Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. to a "songfest" and then humorously states that he "can't remember who won".

The excitement and optimism of the early days of the Kennedy administration is palpable in his remembrances of meeting with his older brothers in the White House and his admiration of them as they deftly handle the Cuban Missile Crisis, advance the cause of civil rights and inspire the nation in innumerable and immeasurable ways.

The revelations in the book are many: young Teddy's narrow escape from a sexual abuser while in boarding school, the overwhelming depression that almost overcame Bobby after the assassination of President Kennedy and his belief that Bobby should have waited until 1972 to run for president. There are also several behind-the-scenes stories of the many possible presidential campaigns. One gets the sense that the author was continually under pressure to run for president throughout his adult life. In fact, he's almost expected to do so after Bobby's tragic assassination. However, it is his extraordinary work and accomplishments as a senator that eventually defines his legacy.

In the later chapters of the book, the senator provides an insightful analysis of the various presidential administrations and how he was successful, and sometimes unsuccessful, in dealing with them. Interestingly, it is President Johnson's administration that Teddy most admired. This is in spite of the fact that his brother's, particularly Bobby, had been known to clash with LBJ on occasion. Of course his admiration is largely due to the passage of landmark legislation: 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1965 Voting Rights Act, Medicare and other laws that originated in his brother's administration but came to fruition in the Johnson Administration. Nevertheless, Teddy is unequivocal in his praise of LBJ for ensuring that these laws were passed.

Not surprisingly, Dick Nixon comes across as the paranoid, vindictive character that historians have already chronicled. What is surprising is Jimmy Carter's behavior and pious demeanor. Teddy notes that, upon taking office, President Carter immediately bans all alcohol from the White House and then puts on several "seminars" where it's obvious that it becomes Carter's way of asserting authority and his personal agenda. More surprisingly is the president's refusal to deal with Senator Udall on a key piece of legislation simply because Udall didn't support him the primaries. These instances, along with Carter's refusal to act on health care, precipitate Teddy's entrance into the 1980 presidential race.

After his presidential run is unsuccessful, Teddy returns to the Senate and settles into his role as a legislator. In spite of the problems in dealing with Republican administrations, he is able to craft and support landmark legislation such as the Americans With Disabilities Act, the 1990 Civil Rights Act and countless laws benefiting working men and women. Additionally, he manages to serve as a surrogate father to his 13 nieces and nephews robbed of their own fathers due to the heinous acts of assassins.

Rather than shy away from his personal failings, the author honestly states that he has "enjoyed the company of women" and had "one or two or three drinks too many" on occasion. However, at no point does he ever make excuses or attempt to put the blame on anyone but himself. Rather than wallow in self pity and depression after the countless tragedies heaped upon him, the senator is sustained and energized by a sense of optimism that is, quite frankly, astounding. His passion for life is evident in almost every page of the book.

Whether he's sailing with friends, painting pictures for his wife or singing on the campaign trail it's obvious that he is savoring every minute of his life. This is perhaps the overriding theme and lesson from this outstanding memoir. That no matter what hardships or struggles we experience in life we must keep moving forward and keep a true compass and, if we have enough perseverance, we'll get there. I can think of no greater way to remember and honor this lifelong champion of the underdog.

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William Blank

True Compass

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2009

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I grew up in the generation that lived the assassinations of President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. Those images are forever forged in our minds. I watched in real-time as Ted Kennedy eulogized his brother. And I watched and shared the nation's pain when our last remaining Kennedy hero drove off the now famous, Chappaquiddick Bridge, and a beautiful, young lady, Mary Jo Kopechne, lost her life. Ted Kennedy's political and personal life was almost instantly destroyed as well, as questions rose out those dark, murky waters; some still unanswered today. She would forever be branded on his legacy. One he could not remove and probably contributed largely to his lost bid for the presidency. Still, Ted Kennedy who endured so much family tragedy, endured this sad chapter in his life, and went on to become affectionately known as the "Lion of the Senate" by his colleagues. He was the third longest serving senator at the time of his death from brain cancer. Respected and admired by both sides of the aisle, he or his staff wrote over 300 bills that were enacted into law largely to his ability to reach out to both sides.

This book captures his life story with all of its greatest moments and its worst.

We are fortunate that he chose to chronicle his life story at this time, with a clear mind, as he knew he was nearing the end of it. He was a fighter to the end. While most of us have read articles written by authors that either admired him or hated him, this book is worthy of reading because it is written with candor from the perspective of the man himself. A man who has had time to stand back and look at his accomplishments, and his failures, and how he came to cherish or reckon with them. He also knew the importance of faith and family and the role it played in his life.

What I found most intriguing about this book was the honesty and sincerity of a man nearing the final chapter of his life and his desire to put his final stamp on it as he shares some of the most fascinating moments in American political history - assassinations of his brothers, civil rights, Vietnam, health care, Watergate, and the election of Barack Obama. But those iconic moments are also interlaced with another side of Ted Kennedy few knew, such as his time in the military as an enlisted army private struggling with his own youthful desire to volunteer for Korean duty, or remaining stateside for the sake of his parents who had already suffered so many family losses. Should he be gung ho, or play it safe?

Teddy, John and Bobby were by no means saints, but they were truly servants of the people, men who cared about others less fortunate than themselves.

I would like to think that somewhere in the celestial bodies three brothers are finally joined together, sailing the heavens, guided by their true compass, and each are proudly saying, "I made a difference", and God is looking back down and saying, "I know my sons, I know".

I recommend this book. This book will stay on my bookshelf . . . a book that I will re-read again and again, and enjoy.

Bill Blank

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Top reviews from other countries

Ellen

Pleasant read.

Reviewed in Canada on February 20, 2022

Verified Purchase

This is a very pleasant read. It gives much insight into the family from a different perspective. Easy read.

Marcos Luz

Interesting but not essential for life

Reviewed in Brazil on April 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

It is always a pleasure to read someone's long and public life. Ted Kennedy's book is not different. Through his eyes, it has been possible to recall some of the most historic facts: President Kennedy assassination, the Civil Rights Movement and King's death, Cold War, Vietnam, Iraq War, Bill Clinton Presidency, and to the last but not the least: the election of Barack Obama. It is valid to say that this book is well written and brings not the only happy moments of the life of Senator Teddy, but also his struggles with some alcoholic, his divorce, and the well know accident that killed a young woman at Chappaquiddick.

Wonkyjack

The Last Brother.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 22, 2009

Verified Purchase

Having read many critical reviews in the press about the late senators memoirs, 'True Compass', I approached the book with caution. I think some reviewers expected further scandal about his life to be revealed, but instead he gives an honest take on his 'problems' of the past, shall we say, as well as a very interesting insight into his childhood, as the youngest member of a very high profile family. I was born in the early years of WW11, and grew up in England aware, but not knowing a great deal about the Kennedy family. In 1960, in a youth club holiday in Germany, a US soldier expressed to me and my group the hopes he had for the outcome of that years election in the US, and how Jack Kennedy was going to change the world. Now, in my retirement, I have been filling in the blanks I should have filled in all those years ago, reading avidly about the history of the 20th century. This book has been part of this process, and I recommend it to all with similar interests. Ted Kennedy never tries to deny his failures, quite the opposite, and expresses his dreams for the future he sadly will never see. A fascinating life-story told in a thoroughly readable book.

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Amazon Customer

Fast delivery time.

Reviewed in Canada on April 11, 2019

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The book was cheaper than I expected, but the pages are unevenly cut. Still it was good value.

SPMS

Must Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2019

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The book was in excellent condition and arrived on time. A fascinating read and insight into one of the most famous and powerful, successful and tragic families in the history of the world.

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True Compass: A Memoir Hardcover – Deckle Edge, September 14, 2009

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True Compass: A Memoir

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Edward M. Kennedy

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