The Race for the Eighth: The Making of a Congressional Campaign: Joe Kennedy's Successful Pursuit of a Political Legacy

The ""eighth'' is the Massachusetts congressional district formerly represented by Tip O'Neill; the race, the campaign among seemingly scores of Democratic candidates to fill the vacancy left by the Speaker's retirement. In a lackluster, pedestrian recap of the 1986 contest won by Joseph Kennedy II, Sullivan, coauthor of Who Spoke Up?, and Kenney, a reporter for the Boston Globe, narrow the field of contenders to concentrate on the front-runners, one of them, James Roosevelt Jr., like Kennedy, with instant name recognition. The other two focused on are George Bachrach, a state senator, and Melvin King, MIT professor and the only black candidate. Touring us through historic sites like Bunker Hill and Faneuil Hall along the campaign trail, the authors recount several of the 51 forums at which the candidates spoke, invite us to celebrity fund-raisers featuring the likes of Andy Warhol, show us such standard electioneering as candidates working subway crowds and shaking hands with drivers stopped at a traffic light. Politics as depicted here is so provincial that one doubts there will be much of a turnout, even among voters in the eighth. (November)