Ted and the Kennedy Legend; A Study in Character and Destiny

New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, 1980. Presumed First Edition. First Printing. Hardcover. Good/Good. 22 cm. xvii, [1], 218, [4] pages. Illustrations. Notes and References. Index. DJ in plastic sleeve. Some underlining and ink notes observed. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper. Inscription reads: For Ron--who helps me with all my thinking--With admiration and warm affection, Max Lerner. Playboy Mansion West, June 8, 1980. Max Lerner (1902-1992) was a Russian-born American journalist and educator known for his controversial syndicated column. Maxwell Alan Lerner was born on December 20, 1902 in Minsk. His Russian Jewish family emigrated to the U.S. in 1907. Lerner earned a B.A. from Yale University in 1923. He studied law there, but transferred to Washington University in St. Louis for an M.A. in 1925. He earned a doctorate from the Brookings Institution in 1927. Once out of school, Lerner began work as an editor for the Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences (1927-32), The Nation (1936-38), and PM (1943-48). After PM sold, he continued as a contributor to its short-lived successor, the New York Star (ended 1949). His column for the New York Post debuted in 1949. It earned him a place on the master list of Nixon political opponents. During most of his career he was considered a liberal. In his later years, however, he was seen as something of a conservative since he expressed support for Margaret Thatcher and the Reagan administration. He taught at Sarah Lawrence College, Harvard University, Williams College, and Brandeis University. He is referenced in the lyrics to the Phil Ochs song, "Love Me, I'm a Liberal": "You know, I've memorized Lerner and Golden". Writing in the provocative, controversial, documentary style that has made his New York Post columns so popular, Max Lerner probes into Ted Kennedy's mind, motives, personality, and family background. He shows us the "kid brother" growing up in an atmosphere of fierce competition and political wheeling and dealing; the budding politician who rode his brother's coattails into the Senate; the middle-aged man confronted with one personal tragedy after another; the womanizer who "took the wrong road" at Chappaquiddick; and the respected Senate leader who, after a decade of expiation, has returned to the political arena to vie for the highest office in the land.