{"product_id":"before-chappaquiddick-the-untold-story-of-mary-jo-kopechne-and-the-kennedy-brothers-9781640122697","title":"Before Chappaquiddick: The Untold Story of Mary Jo Kopechne and the Kennedy Brothers","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBefore Chappaquiddick \u003c\/i\u003ecaptures Mary Jo Kopechne's intelligence, idealism, and beauty. Weaving her life story into the fabric of the Kennedy brothers' political careers, Kashatus sets this promising young political consultant free from the rumors and bold-faced lies that have tarnished her reputation for a half century.\u003c\/b\u003e--Donald D. McFadden, attorney and private investigator for the Kopechne exhumation hearing\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn July 18, 1969, a car driven by Senator Edward M. Kennedy plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, off the coast of Cape Cod. Mary Jo Kopechne, a twenty-eight-year-old former staffer for Kennedy's brother Robert, died in the crash. The scandal that followed demeaned Kopechne's reputation and scapegoated her for Ted Kennedy's inability to run for the presidency instead of acknowledging her as an innocent victim in a tragedy that took her life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWilliam C. Kashatus's biography of Mary Jo Kopechne illuminates the life of a politically committed young woman who embodied the best ideals of the sixties. Arriving in Washington in 1963, Kopechne soon joined the staff of Robert F. Kennedy and committed herself to his vision of compassion for the underprivileged, social idealism tempered by political realism, and a more humane nation. Kashatus details her work as an energetic and trusted staffer who became one of the famed Boiler Room Girls at the heart of RFK's presidential campaign. Shattered by his assassination, Kopechne took a break from politics before returning as a consultant. It was at a reunion of the Boiler Room Girls that she accepted a ride from Edward Kennedy--a decision she would pay for with her life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe untold--and long overdue--story of a promising life cut short, \u003ci\u003eBefore Chappaquiddick\u003c\/i\u003e tells the human side of one of the most memorable scandals of the 1960s.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWilliam C. Kashatus\u003c\/b\u003e holds a PhD in history from the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of more than twenty books, including \u003ci\u003eJackie and Campy: The Untold Story of Their Rocky Relationship and the Breaking of Baseball's Color Line\u003c\/i\u003e (Nebraska, 2014). He has also published essays in a multitude of periodicals, including the \u003ci\u003ePhiladelphia Inquirer\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAmerican History Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBaltimore Sun\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eSt. Louis Post-Dispatch\u003c\/i\u003e. Kashatus has appeared on NPR and Pennsylvania Cable Network, as well as on many local television and radio stations. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Potomac Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50493564879122,"sku":"9781640122697","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_620ed6e7-6943-42ff-b847-e331e601f250.jpg?v=1730651187","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/before-chappaquiddick-the-untold-story-of-mary-jo-kopechne-and-the-kennedy-brothers-9781640122697","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}