The Shadow President

Picking up where he left off in his 1972 book The Education of Edward Kennedy, veteran journalist Hersh has written a lively, sympathetic account of Kennedy's career in the Senate over the last 25 years. Hersh presents a rounded picture of the senator's personal and public life including such notorious episodes as Chappaquiddick, Kennedy's role in nephew William Smith's rape trial, and his troubled first marriage. The author's thesis is that Kennedy, more than any of the Presidents from Carter to Clinton, has played a pivotal role in American politics. Hersh considers him the standard-bearer for traditionally liberal ideals. With rare political acumen and uncommon dedication, the author argues, Kennedy has wheeled and dealed to keep alive the ""social safety net"" begun by FDR and expanded by LBJ. Based principally on interviews with the senator and his staff and on newspaper sources, Hersh's narrative is full of interesting anecdotes and details about the nuts and bolts of how legislation is enacted. While Hersh's journalistic technique is skillful, he sometimes succumbs to overwriting, describing his subject's opponents with partisan zeal. While it is far too soon to assign Edward Kennedy a place in our political history, Hersh makes a telling case for him as a steady legislator and champion of working people. Photos. (May)