cover image While the Music Lasts: My Life in Politics

While the Music Lasts: My Life in Politics

William M. Bulger. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), $22.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-395-72041-7

Bulger was born in South Boston in 1934, the son of Irish-Catholic working-class parents. While working his way through law school, he was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1960. He found the leadership of the house inadequate and fought it so he could get his bills, most prominently his child-abuse legislation, passed. He tells wonderful stories about the famous 1962 U.S. senate race between Ted Kennedy and Eddie McCormack (he was for McCormack); his brother's prison record for bank robbery; and the legendary (at least in Massachusetts) stinginess of JFK. Bulger goes on to explain his role in the Boston busing controversies ""over alleged segregation in our schools""; his election to the state senate in 1970; and his selection as senate president of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He recently was appointed to the Presidency of the University of Massachusetts. Bulger's superb storytelling ability makes this memoir not only entertaining but a primer on how local politics works. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (Mar.)