Search results for ""Author Richard E. Byrd""

When Admiral Richard E. Byrd set out on his second Antarctic expedition in 1934, he was already an international hero for having piloted the first flights over the North and South Poles. His plan for this latest adventure was to spend six months alone near the bottom of the world, gathering weather data and indulging his desire "to taste peace and quiet long enough to know how good they really are". But early on, things went terribly wrong. Isolated in the pervasive polar night with no hope of release until spring, Byrd began suffering inexplicable symptoms of mental and physical illness. By the time he discovered that carbon monoxide from a defective stovepipe was poisoning him, Byrd was already engaged in a monumental struggle to save his life and preserve his sanity.

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In this fascinating autobiography, the late Massachusetts Governor and Senator Leverett Saltonstall shares stories from a political career that spanned nearly five decades—from the Massachusetts House of Representatives to the chambers of the U.S. Senate. Few politicians in the history of the Republic have experienced such a successful career as this Yankee from Massachusetts. Saltonstall takes us behind the scenes, beginning with that day in 1923 when Governor Channing Cox swore him in as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. We get the insider’s perspective on the Boston Police strike and its aftermath, the controversial Sacco-Vanzetti case comes to life once again, and we are treated to the remarkable details of Saltonstall's battles with James Michael Curley, Dan Coakley, and William F. Callahan. His story of the "hush-hush" Senate committee that was charged with overseeing the CIA is still intriguing today as is his portrayal of Senators caught in a bind by Joe McCarthy. The stories of Saltonstall’s life are told with humility and warmth—from his close working relationship with John F. Kennedy while they served in the Senate to together to the strong bond between him and his wife of sixty years to the impact "Uncle Cotty" and Henry Shattuck had on his political education and development.

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