Camelot's End

"Jon Ward captures the sound and the fury of [the 1980 Democratic Primary] struggle in Camelot's End, a fast-paced, even-handed look at Kennedy's doomed challenge to a doomed president...Ward's achievement is in showing -- better than any of his predecessors -- how the two circled each other warily before their public confrontation during the presidential campaign."

"A masterful account of an all but forgotten episode in modern American politics: the epic clash between Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy for the 1980 Democratic nomination. An accomplished journalist, Ward brilliantly recreates an era when, in the aftermath of Watergate and the country's defeat in Vietnam, American power and prestige were waning and the country's faith in its institutions was being sorely tested. Against this backdrop, his portrait of his two protagonists who fought for the soul of their party is sharp and insightful, capturing both the strengths and glaring flaws of both men. CAMELOT'S END is a must-read for anybody interested in American politics."

"Well written, well reported, and compelling, Jon Ward's CAMELOT'S END paints a picture of two flawed and ambitious politicians and destiny's collision course for them. Beyond the political stakes seen by the Kennedy and Carter camps, Ward manages to draw out the drama of the philosophical choices the two represented, and the character of the Democratic Party and indeed the nation. It's a sheer joy to read."

"In CAMELOT'S END, Jon Ward delivers a dynamic telling of the Kennedy-Carter slugfest that defined the Democratic Party for two generations."

"Anyone who wants to understand how our presidential campaigns came to be the way they are needs to read this rollicking, surprising account of an election season whose twists and turns have never, until now, been fully understood by anyone other than the participants. And there's a reason most of them didn't want the rest of us to find out."

"CAMELOT'S END moves through an important time of testing with power and pace. The profiles drawn are sharp and memorable. This passion for politics is woven into our history and skillfully retold here."

"In CAMELOT'S END, Jon Ward skillfully resurrects the poisonous 1980 conflict between Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy that sowed new divisions in the Democratic Party and left it in a political wilderness for the next twelve years."

"CAMELOT'S END is a fabulous work of history that explores the titanic political battle in 1980 between President Jimmy Carter and Sen. Ted Kennedy. In novelistic fashion and with a keen eye for detail, Jon Ward plumbs the human drama behind a fight that tore apart the Democratic Party -- a high-stakes confrontation that reverberates to this day."

"The story of two political titans whose clash defined the modern Democratic Party, expertly told by one of the best political reporters around. Jon Ward brings his tragic heroes to life on every page, rendering Carter and Kennedy with all the human complexity they deserve. It's a fresh breeze of a book."

"Ward's vivid telling of what may be the last missing chapter in the saga of the Kennedy family is compellingly told...CAMELOT'S END is a first-rate work."

"A well-researched and valuable look back at a period of intense political turmoil that helped shape our current environment."

"[A] thorough and readable chronicle of how the bitter primary fight between Carter and Ted Kennedy and the Democrats' misplaced nostalgia for the past sabotaged their future."

"Captivating...[CAMELOT'S END] moves at a steady clip, but not by sacrificing scholarship -- Ward draws on journalism of the day, previous biographies, histories, memoirs, and new interviews with some of the players. He engages fully with the complexities of both men...enthralling reading."

"Ward's account of the tussle with Camelot scion Ted Kennedy, one that forced Carter to submit to the indignity of fighting for his party's nomination for a second term, recovers the animal spirits that fueled [Carter's] rise from arrant obscurity. CAMELOT'S END narrates a rich drama."