The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America

The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America Features

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The definitive account of Robert Kennedy’s exhilarating and tragic 1968 campaign for president—a revelatory history that is especially resonant now

After John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Robert Kennedy—formerly Jack’s no-holds-barred political warrior—almost lost hope. He was haunted by his brother’s murder, and by the nation’s seeming inabilities to solve its problems of race, poverty, and the war in Vietnam. Bobby sensed the country’s pain, and when he announced that he was running for president, the country united behind his hopes. Over the action-packed eighty-two days of his campaign, Americans were inspired by Kennedy’s promise to lead them toward a better time. And after an assassin’s bullet stopped this last great stirring public figure of the 1960s, crowds lined up along the country’s railroad tracks to say goodbye to Bobby.

With new research, interviews, and an intimate sense of Kennedy, Thurston Clarke provides an absorbing historical narrative that goes right to the heart of America’s deepest despairs—and most fiercely held dreams—and tells us more than we had understood before about this complicated man and the heightened personal, racial, political, and national dramas of his times.

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From the rallies in Oakland to woo the African American vote to the triumphs in Indiana with the backlash vote that wanted "law and order" you are presented with a person who has belief in his convictions and represents them on the campaign trail (sometimes to his handlers disappointment). This is a wonderful narrative and tells the story very well but there is no interpretation and almost no analysis to go along with the narrative.

Nonetheless still an excellent book on RFK and very well written. It is simply an account of what happened and while interesting to read if you have not read a lot about the time period you will have a hard time placing the significance of some of the events.

Thurston Clarke's book on Robert Kennedy provides a narrative account of the 82 days that he ran for President until he was killed at the ambassador hotel in early June 1968. That leads to my number one complaint about this book and the reason it is only four stars.

Highly recommend. It is a concise and well written account that goes over what happened on the campaign trail showing the triumphs and the struggles of RFK's campaign.

There is little doubt that after winning California RFK was on the way to winning the democratic nomination (based off primary totals) and would have raced a though fight against Nixon that may have led to an RFK victory which this book does dabble in speculation about.

The author shows the dark clouds that formed in reaction to Kennedy's decision to run. Released at a time that corresponds with both the 40th anniversary of RFK's run and the last presidential election, it make for an engaging read. Vietnam was in its 3rd year as far as direct involvement of US combat troops, racial tension and riots continued at home and Americans were looking for leadership out of the morass.The author does a good job of setting up the climate of those days and insight as to RFK thoughts and the hopes/goals he deeply wanted to come to fruition.

Lastly, one cannot read this book without drawing a few parallels to the more recent history of our nation with the presidency of George W. Bush, the war in Iraq and the election of 2008. The author has not written a book that is some fuzzy, glowing highlight reel but one that shows the human side of Kennedy and the drama (and divisiveness) that marked that year. It is getting to that point in time that is interesting.

There were many to contend with, including, President Johnson, Eugene McCarthy, the fractured Democratic party, Nixon and the Republican party. Like a book or film on the "Titanic" we all know have things ended. As Kennedy stated he didn't ".lightly dismiss the dangers and the difficulties.but these are not ordinary times and this is not an ordinary election." True words of the turbulent era. The book reads like a political thriller but of-course this was not a story of fiction.

"It was a "moral obligation". The matter of running was not a easy decision, the agony over it went on for a long time and the debate is covered in the book from many sides; including both inside the Kennedy family and outside of it. Finally, in February 1968, Kennedy tells his friends and advisers he felt he had no choice but run or he would be "nothing.

That said, this book is not to be missed. If he had lived to become president I believe that the world we live in would be a very different place. Robert Kennedy was an amazing man who would have made a wonderful president. Who would want to miss a chance to be inspired. A wonderful book, especially for those of us who were not alive during this campaign; it was so full of interesting details that I felt like I was there. Hearing about his ideas and the way that he inspired so many different types of people all across our country inspired me. Thinking about his assassination and the idea of assassination in general is disturbing and depressing, and hearing the eyewitness accounts of what happened when he was killed had tears streaming down my face in the car (I listened to this one on audiobook).

This is a great book. You want to pretend he lived and things today were different. Im only sad it has made me jaded about our current crop of do nothings in Washington.Must read Growing up in Massachusetts, you think you know the Kennedy's. After reading this I realized I knew nothing of RFK.You know how it ends, but you just don't want to turn to that page.

This book is a wonderful reminder of the value of looking out for all Americans and not just those who are lucky enough to be healthy, wealthy, though not necessarily wise. This book captures the mood of the country in 1967-68, the last time when it was still possible to get Americans to think unselfishly about our less fortunate citizens and the country's place in the world. The 1980's unfortunately brought a period of selfishness and greed that is still with us.