Camelot's End: Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight that Broke the Democratic Party

by Jon Ward Narrated by John Pruden

Overview

From a strange, dark chapter in American political history comes the captivating story of Ted Kennedy's 1980 campaign for president against the incumbent Jimmy Carter, told in full for the first time.

The Carter presidency was on life support. The Democrats, desperate to keep power and yearning to resurrect former glory, turned to Kennedy. And so, 1980 became a civil war. It was the last time an American president received a serious reelection challenge from inside his own party, the last contested convention, and the last all-out floor fight, where political combatants fought in real time to decide who would be the nominee. It was the last gasp of an outdated system, an insider's game that old Kennedy hands thought they had mastered, and the year that marked the unraveling of the Democratic Party as America had known it.

Camelot's End details the incredible drama of Kennedy's challenge -- what led to it, how it unfolded, and its lasting effects -- with cinematic sweep. It is a story about what happened to the Democratic Party when the country's long string of successes, luck, and global dominance following World War II ran its course, and how, on a quest to recapture the magic of JFK, Democrats plunged themselves into an intra-party civil war.

And, at its heart, Camelot's End is the tale of two extraordinary and deeply flawed men: Teddy Kennedy, one of the nation's greatest lawmakers, a man of flaws and of great character; and Jimmy Carter, a politically tenacious but frequently underestimated trailblazer. Comprehensive and nuanced, featuring new interviews with major party leaders and behind-the-scenes revelations from the time, Camelot's End presents both Kennedy and Carter in a new light, and takes readers deep inside a dark chapter in American political history.

Editorial Reviews

FEBRUARY 2019 - AudioFile

This well-researched audiobook about the battle for the 1980 Democratic nomination for president delivers a surprisingly suspenseful story. Narrator John Pruden, with a voice that resembles that of an energetic newscaster, is well suited to this account of infighting between the last of the Kennedy brothers and the earnest peanut-farmer-turned-president. The story culminates at the August convention, where Teddy concedes the nomination to Jimmy Carter after a bitter campaign in which Kennedy had attempted to pry delegates out of their voting commitments. On November 4, Ronald Reagan wins the general election by an Electoral College landslide. An afterword about the two men’s accomplishments later in life adds welcome perspective. Listeners will enjoy this wonderful portrait of two flawed but ultimately dedicated statesmen. L.W.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 12/03/2018
In his captivating debut political history, journalist Ward dissects the 1980 race for the Democratic presidential nomination, when Sen. Ted Kennedy, in an unprecedented move, challenged the embattled incumbent president, Jimmy Carter. Ward gives quick parallel accounts of both men’s early lives, showcasing differences and similarities (“As with Carter, there were deep ties to family pulling Teddy toward a destiny he did not fully control”). Then Ward dives deep into Carter’s first term, including Iran’s capture of U.S. embassy hostages, and Kennedy’s campaign, including an entire chapter devoted to a disastrous interview in which Kennedy struggled to articulate his motivation for running and rekindled public concerns about his involvement in the 1969 car accident that killed Mary Jo Kopechne. The book moves at a steady clip, but not by sacrificing scholarship—Ward draws on journalism of the day, previous biographies, histories, memoirs, and new interviews with some of the players. He engages fully with the complexities and contradictions of both men, including a depiction of Carter as “a man whose toothy grin masked a determined and competitive politician” with a mean streak that may surprise readers only familiar with the nonagenarian Habitat for Humanity volunteer. Ward’s recounting of the seesaw of public opinion in 1980 makes for enthralling reading. Agent: Bridget Wagner Matzie, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency. (Jan.)

From the Publisher

"Jon Ward captures the sound and the fury of [the 1980 Democratic Primary] struggle in Camelot's End, a fast-paced, even-handed look at Kennedy's doomed challenge to a doomed president...Ward's achievement is in showing — better than any of his predecessors — how the two circled each other warily before their public confrontation during the presidential campaign."—The Washington Post

"A masterful account of an all but forgotten episode in modern American politics: the epic clash between Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy for the 1980 Democratic nomination. An accomplished journalist, Ward brilliantly recreates an era when, in the aftermath of Watergate and the country's defeat in Vietnam, American power and prestige were waning and the country's faith in its institutions was being sorely tested. Against this backdrop, his portrait of his two protagonists who fought for the soul of their party is sharp and insightful, capturing both the strengths and glaring flaws of both men. CAMELOT'S END is a must-read for anybody interested in American politics."—Michael Isikoff, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump

"Well written, well reported, and compelling, Jon Ward's CAMELOT'S END paints a picture of two flawed and ambitious politicians and destiny's collision course for them. Beyond the political stakes seen by the Kennedy and Carter camps, Ward manages to draw out the drama of the philosophical choices the two represented, and the character of the Democratic Party and indeed the nation. It's a sheer joy to read."—Jake Tapper, CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent

"In CAMELOT'S END, Jon Ward delivers a dynamic telling of the Kennedy-Carter slugfest that defined the Democratic Party for two generations."—Amie Parnes, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Shattered

"Anyone who wants to understand how our presidential campaigns came to be the way they are needs to read this rollicking, surprising account of an election season whose twists and turns have never, until now, been fully understood by anyone other than the participants. And there's a reason most of them didn't want the rest of us to find out."—Sasha Issenberg, bestselling author of The Victory Lab

"CAMELOT'S END moves through an important time of testing with power and pace. The profiles drawn are sharp and memorable. This passion for politics is woven into our history and skillfully retold here."—Major Garrett, chief White House correspondent CBS News

"In CAMELOT'S END, Jon Ward skillfully resurrects the poisonous 1980 conflict between Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy that sowed new divisions in the Democratic Party and left it in a political wilderness for the next twelve years."—Curtis Wilkie, author of The Fall of the House of Zeus

"CAMELOT'S END is a fabulous work of history that explores the titanic political battle in 1980 between President Jimmy Carter and Sen. Ted Kennedy. In novelistic fashion and with a keen eye for detail, Jon Ward plumbs the human drama behind a fight that tore apart the Democratic Party — a high-stakes confrontation that reverberates to this day."—Del Wilber, New York Times bestselling author of A Good Month for Murder

"The story of two political titans whose clash defined the modern Democratic Party, expertly told by one of the best political reporters around. Jon Ward brings his tragic heroes to life on every page, rendering Carter and Kennedy with all the human complexity they deserve. It's a fresh breeze of a book."—Matt Bai, author of All the Truth Is Out

"Ward's vivid telling of what may be the last missing chapter in the saga of the Kennedy family is compellingly told...CAMELOT'S END is a first-rate work."—Craig Shirley, New York Times bestselling author of December 1941

"A well-researched and valuable look back at a period of intense political turmoil that helped shape our current environment."—Booklist

"[A] thorough and readable chronicle of how the bitter primary fight between Carter and Ted Kennedy and the Democrats' misplaced nostalgia for the past sabotaged their future."—The Boston Globe

"Captivating...[CAMELOT'S END] moves at a steady clip, but not by sacrificing scholarship — Ward draws on journalism of the day, previous biographies, histories, memoirs, and new interviews with some of the players. He engages fully with the complexities of both men...enthralling reading."—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Ward's account of the tussle with Camelot scion Ted Kennedy, one that forced Carter to submit to the indignity of fighting for his party's nomination for a second term, recovers the animal spirits that fueled [Carter's] rise from arrant obscurity. CAMELOT'S END narrates a rich drama."—The Irish Times

FEBRUARY 2019 - AudioFile

This well-researched audiobook about the battle for the 1980 Democratic nomination for president delivers a surprisingly suspenseful story. Narrator John Pruden, with a voice that resembles that of an energetic newscaster, is well suited to this account of infighting between the last of the Kennedy brothers and the earnest peanut-farmer-turned-president. The story culminates at the August convention, where Teddy concedes the nomination to Jimmy Carter after a bitter campaign in which Kennedy had attempted to pry delegates out of their voting commitments. On November 4, Ronald Reagan wins the general election by an Electoral College landslide. An afterword about the two men’s accomplishments later in life adds welcome perspective. Listeners will enjoy this wonderful portrait of two flawed but ultimately dedicated statesmen. L.W.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2018-10-02

The story of internecine warfare in the Democratic Party.

In 1980, Jimmy Carter was in trouble. The sitting Democratic president was unpopular. Though the economy had been flagging for most of the past decade, as sitting president, he bore much of the blame even if he did not deserve it. Iranian revolutionaries had taken Americans hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and Carter seemed helpless. On matters both domestic and foreign, Carter was perceived as weak and out of touch. Even as he anticipated a tough election fight against whomever the Republicans nominated (Ronald Reagan, it would turn out), he faced a challenge from the left within his party. Ted Kennedy, the youngest son of the legendary political family, challenged Carter for the Democratic nomination that year. As Yahoo senior political correspondent Ward notes, "it was one of only a handful of times…that an incumbent president running for reelection had been challenged from within his own party." Though Carter would emerge from that struggle, bruised and battered, he would succumb to Reagan in the general election. This is the story the author tells in this intriguing political history. In a fine dual political biography that becomes a riveting tale of a party seemingly in chaos, the author occasionally overstates his case—the Democrats were hardly "broken" as a party in the 1980s and beyond—and the dual-biography structure sometimes makes it seem as if Carter and Kennedy are somehow inevitably on a political collision course. Still, Ward provides deep insight into American politics in the past five decades. He writes fluidly and demonstrates a firm grasp of how politics work. It is also interesting that he writes in a time when there are increasing whispers that a sitting president might face an internal challenge to his renomination.

A useful reminder of a past era that resonates with contemporary politics.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170235643
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	01/22/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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