Against the Wind - Discussion with Neal Gabler

Join the Edward M. Kennedy Institute, Senator Paul G. Kirk, and acclaimed author Neal Gabler for a dynamic conversation about Gabler’s newest book AGAINST THE WIND: Edward Kennedy and the Rise of Conservatism.

With the publication of AGAINST THE WIND: Edward Kennedy and the Rise of Conservatism, 1976-2009 (Crown; on-sale November 15, 2022), Gabler now completes his epic narrative, twelve years in the making. Where volume one ended with Kennedy’s own constituents chasing him through the streets of Boston outraged by court-mandated school integration, volume two finds Kennedy fighting to pass critical legislation in a pitiless conservative era, when white Americans have largely turned their backs on civil rights and when Reaganite bromides blaming the poor for their own suffering have gained currency throughout the nation.

The conversation, moderated by Senator Kirk, will cover Gabler’s journey in writing the second volume of the magisterial biography of Senator Ted Kennedy in a book that sheds new light both on one of the most revered figures of modern politics and on the origins of America’s current existential crisis.

As he did in Catching the Wind, Gabler looks frankly into that contradiction between the personal and political and asks incisive, timely questions about the role of morality in American politics, especially: How did the project of liberal democracy fail, and how can we resurrect it now, in this moment of profound national tension?

The conversation will include:

• Neal Gabler, author of AGAINST THE WIND: Edward Kennedy and the Rise of Conservatism

• Senator Paul G. Kirk, former U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Moderator

This is a free program; tickets are available in advance by registration. Doors will open at 6pm, and seats are first come, first served.

6:00 - Doors open

7:00pm - Program Start

8:15pm - Program End

8:15pm - Book signing

Photo Credit: Jason Longo