Eunice: The Kennedy Who Changed the World

Does Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921–2009), the fifth of Joseph and Rose Kennedy’s nine children, deserve a full-fledged biography? McNamara, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist at the Boston Globe, answers with a resounding yes. Spurred by the virtual loss of her intellectually disabled sister Rosemary, whom Joseph had lobotomized in 1941, and who then “disappeared” from the family, Shriver became a relentless campaigner for those similarly disabled. She helped expand the Special Olympics into an international organization, persuaded her brother John to establish a National Institute on Child Health and Human Development, and funded programs through the Kennedy Foundation. McNamara also portrays a deeply devout Catholic dedicated to “being an instrument of God’s will on earth”; a woman happily married to Sargent Shriver, the founding director of the Peace Corps; and an often engaged (though sometimes absent) mother. While the author clearly admires her subject, this is no hagiography; Shriver can come across as arrogant and entitled, among other flaws. McNamara’s book is an exemplary biography: thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and just the right length. It deserves a wide readership. Agent: Colleen Mohyde, the Doe Coover Agency. (Apr.)