Camelot's End

Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight That Broke the Democratic Party

By: Jon Ward

Narrated by: John Pruden

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

From a strange, dark chapter in American political history comes the captivating story of Ted Kennedy's 1980 campaign for president against the incumbent Jimmy Carter, told in full for the first time.

The Carter presidency was on life support. The Democrats, desperate to keep power and yearning to resurrect former glory, turned to Kennedy. And so, 1980 became a civil war. It was the last time an American president received a serious reelection challenge from inside his own party, the last contested convention, and the last all-out floor fight, where political combatants fought in real time to decide who would be the nominee. It was the last gasp of an outdated system, an insider's game that old Kennedy hands thought they had mastered, and the year that marked the unraveling of the Democratic Party as America had known it.

Camelot's End details the incredible drama of Kennedy's challenge - what led to it, how it unfolded, and its lasting effects - with cinematic sweep. It is a story about what happened to the Democratic Party when the country's long string of successes, luck, and global dominance following World War II ran its course, and how, on a quest to recapture the magic of JFK, Democrats plunged themselves into an intra-party civil war.

And, at its heart, Camelot's End is the tale of two extraordinary and deeply flawed men: Teddy Kennedy, one of the nation's greatest lawmakers, a man of flaws, and of great character; and Jimmy Carter, a politically tenacious but frequently underestimated trailblazer. Comprehensive and nuanced, featuring new interviews with major party leaders and behind-the-scenes revelations from the time, Camelot's End presents both Kennedy and Carter in a new light and takes listeners deep inside a dark chapter in American political history.

©2019 Jon Ward (P)2019 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"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."—The Washington Post

"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."—Michael Isikoff, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trum

"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."—Jake Tapper, CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent