Pacis

Like everyone else in the publishing world, our first instinct in remembering the life of a towering figure in American history is to point to the books we publish. I'll briefly mention two, which I think are suitable memorials:

The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings, by Thomas Maier (Basic, 9780465043187). Recently revised, this contains significant new material on Ted Kennedy's life and legacy.

The Kennedy Family Album: Personal Photos of America's First Family (Running Press, 9781560259237). Linda Corley presents a portfolio of photographs of the Kennedy clan at rest and at play, in Palm Beach and Hayannis Port; the photographs are by long-time Kennedy friend and photographer Bob Davidoff. Ted Kennedy wrote the foreword.

He was a Rabelaisian figure in the Senate and in life, instantly recognizable by his shock of white hair, his florid, oversize face, his booming Boston brogue, his powerful but pained stride. He was a celebrity, sometimes a self-parody, a hearty friend, an implacable foe, a man of large faith and large flaws, a melancholy character who persevered, drank deeply and sang loudly. He was a Kennedy. -- John M. Broder, in the New York Times