In death Edward Kennedy will continue to make his mark on American politics with his greatly anticipated memoirs, which stormed Thursday to the top of online bestseller charts ahead of its new release date of Sept. 14.
The 77-year-old senator kept a personal journal throughout his nearly 50 years in the public eye, and the resulting autobiography – True Compass – chronicles an extraordinary life, including insights from his brother John F. Kennedy s 1960 White House campaign.
In the wake of his death Tuesday from brain cancer, Kennedy s publishers Twelve moved up the book s release, promising them to be a revelation, an international event, and a lasting contribution to American history.
Kennedy worked valiantly to finish the book and made it the best it could be, said Jonathan Karp, editorial director at Twelve, adding the work has been five years in the making.
True Compass, four weeks before its release, was already at the number one spot on Amazon.com s Biographies bestseller list, and number seven in the overall bestseller list – and was still climbing.
Out of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books written about the Kennedys, True Compass is set to be a definitive account by a member of the storied US political dynasty.
A towering figure on the left wing of the Democratic Party during a 47-year career in the Senate, two of his elder brothers – president Kennedy and senator Robert F. Kennedy – were cut down by assassin bullets in the tumultuous 1960s.
A special, limited edition of the memoirs will be available in October. -AFP
