True Compass: Kennedy's Life in Modest Terms

Senator writes openly of his worst moments

(NEWSER) - Ted Kennedy tells of his anguish after Chappaquiddick in a memoir to be published this month, reports the New York Times, admitting that he "made terrible decisions" in the accident that killed his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne. In True Compass, Kennedy deals unsparingly with the low points in his life, telling of his self-destructive drinking after brother Robert was assassinated, but blasting the "false, bizarre, and evil theories" about his life written in some books and tabloids. More»

True Compass will be released Sept. 14

(NEWSER) - Ted Kennedy’s unreleased memoir, True Compass, is already creeping up the bestseller lists. Originally scheduled for 2010, it's been moved up to mid-September by publisher Hachette, which plans to ship 1.5 million copies to booksellers. Pre-orders have put True Compass at No. 9 on Amazon and No. 3 on Barnes and Noble, reports Politics Daily. A limited edition version is for sale on Hachette's website for a mere $1,000. More»

(AP) - Ted Kennedy's body is en route to Boston, where he will lie in repose at his slain brother's presidential library for 2 days of public visitation. The motorcade carrying the senator's body and members of his family departed the family compound on Cape Cod for the 70-mile trip to the state capital. Hundreds of people are lining the route of the motorcade, which will end at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. More»

(NEWSER) - On the weekend of his inauguration, John F. Kennedy gave his youngest brother a cigarette case engraved with the words, “And the last shall be first.” Fifty years later, that prophesy has come true, writes Richard Lacayo of Time. The "long shadow of Chappaquiddick" may have kept Ted Kennedy out of the White House, but "as the Romans understood, there can be Emperors of no consequence—and Senators whose legacies are carved in stone." More»

Yes, he's a Kennedy, but Ted is loved for effectiveness, not flash

(NEWSER) - Ted Kennedy's malignant brain tumor adds yet another chapter to the tragic epic of the Kennedy clan, Robert Kaiser writes in the Washington Post. The youngest of Joe Kennedy's sons got a huge boost from his older brothers when he entered politics, Kaiser notes, but he built his legacy of different stuff than theirs—not so much brilliance and charisma, but effectiveness, admired on both sides of the aisle, at making government work. More»