The Good Works of Sargent Shriver

[EFerrari]

Scott Stossel - Scott Stossel is deputy editor of The Atlantic and the author of the award-winning Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver.
Jan 18 2011, 4:57 PM ET

The founder of the Peace Corps and leader of the War on Poverty has died. His biographer reflects on a remarkable legacy.



One of the more surreal moments during the seven years I worked on my biography of Sargent Shriver occurred fairly late in the process, when I was invited out to his house in Potomac, Maryland, for dinner one night. By this point, in the summer of 2003, Mr. Shriver had begun his descent into Alzheimer's, which was affecting his short-term memory and sometimes gave him trouble precisely identifying people at first. But his long-term memory was still good, and his analytical faculties remained for the most part intact, and he was always excellent company. So I was looking forward to meeting him that night and hearing his thoughts (which generally remained astute) on some chapters I had recently sent him.

He greeted me in the living room with his usual warmth and enthusiasm, eyes alight with pleasure. "Well, it's good to see you, you look ter-rific," he said, giving me a hearty handshake. I asked him how he was doing. "Fantastic," he said, escorting me to the liquor cabinet at the far end of the room. "Let me tell you about something great." And as he poured our drinks, he told me about what was on his mind.

"Listen," he said. "This is the most amazing thing. There's this guy who is writing a book about me, and I've been reading chapters of it. It's spooky"--that was a favorite Shriver word--"how much information he's got about me. It's uncanny!"

My heart sank; this was catastrophic news. As I had labored month after month on the book, and one year had become two and then three and then seven, one of my fears was that someone would beat me to the punch. I mean, after all, here was one of the great underappreciated figures of modern American history--founder of the Peace Corps, commanding general of the War on Poverty, vice presidential candidate, and so much more besides--and no one had yet written a full-length biography of him. But now someone else was. And here was Shriver--using one of the signature motivational techniques he'd perfected while running the Peace Corps--goading me into working harder by letting me know that a competitor was tilling the same terrain. If I didn't want to get beaten, I'd better work faster, and better.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/01/the-good-works-of-sargent-shriver/69677/

[Lautremont]

1. And for all his good works he never rose in the ranks.

[EFerrari]

2. That may have been fortunate for us.

Looking back, so many of the social programs that gave me a sense of hope about this country were his. Like Head Start -- a revelation, education made accessible for millions of poor children. It was a frame of mind.

[midnight]

3. I'm really impressed by his work in providing resources for the poor...

Who do we know have filled those shoes?

[EFerrari]

4. Here's the BookTV segment by Stossel on his biography of Shriver:

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/SargeT

Filmed in 04, he's there and so is Eunice and Teddy. :)