Before Chappaquiddick: the Untold Story of Mary Jo Kopechne & the Kennedy Brothers
by William C. Kashatus
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On 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.
William 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.
The untold—and long overdue—story of a promising life cut short, Before Chappaquiddick tells the human side of one of the most memorable scandals of the 1960s.
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Potomac Press
2020 | Hardcover, eBook
ISBN: 978-1-64012-269-7 (hardcover), 978-1-64012-346-5 (eBook, EPUB), 978-1-64012-348-9 (eBook, PDF)
Pages: 248
Illustrations: 3
Photographs: 20
Map: 1
Price: $29.95 (hardcover, eBook)
2020 | Blackstone Publishing
Narrated by: William C. Kashatus, Traber Burns
Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
Price: $20.97
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“Senator Edward M. Kennedy has dominated the tragic story of Chappaquiddick until now. In Before Chappaquiddick William Kashatus gives us the life story of Mary Jo Kopechne, the young woman who died in Kennedy’s car that summer night in 1969. Inspired by her volunteer work on JFK’s 1960 presidential campaign, Kopechne later became a valued staff member to Robert F. Kennedy. Crushed by his assassination, she rebuilt a political career as a consultant and adviser to Democratic candidates. Ironically, Mary Jo will forever be linked to Ted Kennedy, who was a distant reflection of his elder brothers and the idealism she cherished.”—Walter Mears, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Kennedy Brothers
“Before Chappaquiddick captures 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.”—Donald D. McFadden, attorney and private investigator for the Kopechne exhumation hearing
“For more than fifty years after Chappaquiddick, the public never knew anything about Mary Jo Kopechne or how her parents suffered after her tragic death. Kashatus has filled the void with Fatal Attraction, which tells Mary Jo’s story accurately and with compassion. She was a young woman with ideals, hopes and dreams for the future, only to have her life cut short before she could realize them. Mary Jo deserves this book as does anyone who seeks to know the truth about her death.” — Leslie H. Leland, Grand Jury Foreman, Inquest into death of Mary Jo Kopechne
“William Kashatus’s Before Chappaquiddick is beautifully written, thoughtful, and compassionate. He captures the strength of Mary Jo’s character and does so in the context of the idealistic and often tumultuous sixties. In the process, Kashatus shows that she was innocent of any indecent behavior with Senator Ted Kennedy and that she was unjustly treated by the public and the press. His efforts on Mary Jo’s behalf have given our family much needed solace and comfort.” — Georgetta Nelson Potoski, executor of the estate of Joseph and Gwen Kopechne and coauthor of Our Mary Jo
Listen to the interview below of Dr. William C. Kashatus speaking about his recent biography, “Before Chappaquiddick: The Untold Story of Mary Jo Kopechne & the Kennedy Brothers” during a two-part feature in anticipation of the 51st anniversary of the tragedy at Chappaquiddick in Massachusetts on July 18, 1969 (with NPR WVIA Radio from July 16th & 17th, 2020).