All This Marvelous Potential: Robert Kennedy's 1968 Tour of Appalachia

All This Marvelous Potential: Robert Kennedy's 1968 Tour of Appalachia

by Matthew Algeo

Narrated by David Colacci

Unabridged — 7 hours, 45 minutes

All This Marvelous Potential: Robert Kennedy's 1968 Tour of Appalachia

All This Marvelous Potential: Robert Kennedy's 1968 Tour of Appalachia

by Matthew Algeo

Narrated by David Colacci

Unabridged — 7 hours, 45 minutes

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Overview

In the winter of 1967-68, Robert F. Kennedy, then a US Senator from New York, ventured deep into the heart of Appalachia. As acting chairman of a Senate subcommittee on poverty, RFK went to eastern Kentucky to gauge the progress of the War on Poverty. He was deeply disillusioned by what he found. Kennedy learned that job training programs were useless, welfare programs proved insufficient, and jobs were scarce and getting scarcer. Before he'd even left the state, Kennedy had determined the War on Poverty was a failure-and he blamed Lyndon Johnson.



Robert Kennedy wasn't merely on a fact-finding mission, however; he was considering challenging Johnson for the Democratic presidential nomination, but he needed support from white voters to win it. His trip to eastern Kentucky was an opportunity to test his antiwar and antipoverty message with hardscrabble whites. Kennedy encountered deep resentment in the mountains, and a special disdain for establishment politicians. A month after his visit, RFK officially announced he was challenging Johnson for the Democratic nomination. Four months after his visit, he was murdered. He was forty-two.



All This Marvelous Potential retraces RFK's tour of eastern Kentucky and provides a new portrait of the politician-a politician of uncommon courage who was unafraid to shine a light on our shortcomings.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

“I’ve been waiting thirty-five years, since I was a young reporter at the Courier-Journal in Louisville, for someone to do justice to Bobby Kennedy’s milepost trip across eastern Kentucky. Matthew Algeo’s new book makes it worth that wait.” —Larry Tye, author of Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon 


“An astoundingly good book! This is a must read for anyone interested in history, politics, poverty, Appalachia, Robert Kennedy...” —Carrie, Goodreads 


“A concise historical analysis through which stories of Appalachia's coal country, and its residents’ poverty, make clear the challenges of the past and the legacies that shaped a more hopeful future.” Foreword Reviews ​


“This is a fantastically researched and written book, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone…” —Elizabeth, Goodreads 


“This fast-paced narrative, focusing less on Kennedy and more on local people, will find audiences among those who enjoyed J. D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy and Tony Horowitz's Spying on the South.” Library Journal 


“This title was a page-turner and eye-opening on the topic and the region of the US. Exceptional work and very intriguing.” —Brett, Goodreads 


“The book humanizes Kennedy, showing his strengths and foibles. As an Appalachian myself, this book resonated with me deeply.” —Holly, Goodreads 

“This book is marvelous! I learned so much from it.” —Jan, Goodreads 

Library Journal

02/01/2020

On February 13 and 14, 1968, Sen. Robert Kennedy went on a fact-finding mission to eastern Kentucky, one the nation's most impoverished regions, to determine the success of President Johnson's War on Poverty. Algeo (Abe and Fido) presents a captivating account of Kennedy's journey, which ultimately helped him decide to challenge Lyndon B. Johnson for the Democratic presidential nomination. The people who invited Kennedy into their homes and then testified at hearings Kennedy held are the heroes here. They advocated forcefully for environmental concerns and education equality as ways to escape grinding poverty. Among the many colorful figures introduced are Alice Lloyd, founder of Carey Junior College (now Alice Lloyd College); Thomas Duff, a high school student who railed against politicians; and Reverend Lawrence Baldridge, the first local minister to marry an interracial couple. Baldridge concludes that the anger that drove people to support Kennedy at the time now motivates eastern Kentuckians to support Donald Trump. VERDICT This fast-paced narrative, focusing less on Kennedy and more on local people, will find audiences among those who enjoyed J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy and Tony Horowitz's Spying on the South.—Karl Helicher, formerly with Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA

Product Details

BN ID: 2940172484391
Publisher: HighBridge Company
Publication date: 03/03/2020
Edition description: Unabridged
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