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Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver
by
Working for four presidents over six decades, R. Sargent “Sarge” Shriver founded the Peace Corps, launched the War on Poverty, created Head Start and Legal Services for the Poor, started the Special Olympics, and served as ambassador to France. Yet from the moment he married Joseph P. Kennedy’s daughter Eunice in 1953, Shriver had to navigate a difficult course between ind
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Hardcover, 704 pages
Published
May 17th 2004
by Smithsonian Books
(first published May 2004)
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This book brought me back to a time (before I was born) when politicians were larger than life and really thought they could change the world. This book not only made me fall in love with Sargent Shriver, it made me stop calling Maria Shriver "Skeletor" for about a week--an amazing achievement!
Rejoyce, Central patron, August 2017, 3 stars:
This book took me four weeks and six good books to finish. It's an exhaustive account of Sargent Shriver's professional life, and although you get a sense of his personality and motivations, his relationships with his close family is kept at great distance. For such an exhaustive book it felt like you were racing through important stuff, and he was involved with so many governmental/ presidential changes around Kennedy, the Peace Corps and the Great ...more
This book took me four weeks and six good books to finish. It's an exhaustive account of Sargent Shriver's professional life, and although you get a sense of his personality and motivations, his relationships with his close family is kept at great distance. For such an exhaustive book it felt like you were racing through important stuff, and he was involved with so many governmental/ presidential changes around Kennedy, the Peace Corps and the Great ...more
An epic slow read. Comprehensive; it covered everything. At 684 pages it took forever to finish as some parts were just fascinating and others you just had to plow through. A remarkable man who was absolutely selfless. Indefatigable too when he was the head of two federal agencies for several years and routinely put in 17 hour days. He got the Peace Corps as an official federal agency up and running in three months; something that would normally have taken two to three years to accomplish. You e
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This book is about Sargent Shriver, the guy who married into the Kennedy clan, ran the Peace Corps, started the Jobs Corps, and "Head Start", waged the "War on Poverty", and stood in as Vice Presidential candidate when Thomas Eagleton was removed from the Democratic ticket.
In many ways Shriver was a remarkable man. He, more than anyone, could claim to have had more fingers more "liberal pies" than anyone in the American politics of the 1960s.
That said he was also hideously disorganised (getting ...more
In many ways Shriver was a remarkable man. He, more than anyone, could claim to have had more fingers more "liberal pies" than anyone in the American politics of the 1960s.
That said he was also hideously disorganised (getting ...more
I kept in mind the Sarge was married to a Kennedy and in that I hope he stood on his own and made his mark. This book did not let me down. You automatically think that being married to Kennedy would over ride any type of accomplishments that he would try. Sarge Shriver was able to stand on his own with his family, and as ambassador for another country for years. Relationships with his children with stood tests with Eunice on several occasions, as with one of his son's arrest on drug charges. If
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This is a richly detailed biography of a complicated, talented man. I am always fascinated by the early life and development of prominent people, and Sarge is no exception. The account of his leadership of the Peace Corps and the Office of Economic Opportunity showed him in the best light, and perhaps glossed over his weakness in administration. Shriver is widely known as the husband of Eunice Kennedy. His political ambitions never came to fruition, and it is perhaps in this area that the inhere
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dense, long, cerebral, but worth effort
After reading the book written by Mark Shriver I decided to read a different persons view. It wasnt really that different. I still think he was a great man.
A titan....one of my great heroes who I had the great privilege to know.
Interesting and very comprehensive book about the life and career of Sargent Shriver. Though, perhaps a bit overwritten at 700 pages.
After reading "A Good Man" by Mark Shriver I wanted to read more about Sarge. It wasn't really that different, but still a really good book about a really good man.
a really great book. just not "2,000 pages" great.
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“The politics of death is bureaucracy, routine, rules, status quo. The politics of life is personal initiative, creativity, flair, dash, a little daring. The politics of death is calculation, prudence, measured gestures. The politics of life is experience, spontaneity, grace, directness. The politics of death is fear of youth. The politics of life is to trust the young to their own experiences.”
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