Bridging the Divide: My Life

By Edward W. Brooke and Professor Edward Brooke

President Lyndon Johnson never understood it. Neither did President Richard Nixon. How could a black man, a Republican no less, be elected to the United States Senate from liberal, Democratic Massachusetts-a state with an African American population of only 2 percent? The mystery of Senator Edward Brooke's meteoric rise from Boston lawyer to Massachusetts attorney general to the first popularly elected African American U.S. senator with some of the highest favorable ratings of any Massachusetts politician confounded many of the best political minds of the day. After winning a name for himself as the first black man to be elected a state's attorney general, as a crime fighter, and as the organizer of the Boston Strangler Task Force, this articulate and charismatic man burst on the national scene in 1966 when he ran for the Senate. In two terms in the Senate during some of the most racially tormented years of the twentieth century, Brooke, through tact, personality, charm, and determination, became a highly regarded member of "the most exclusive club in the world." The only African American senator ever to be elected to a second term, Brooke established a reputation for independent thinking and challenged the powerbrokers and presidents of the day in defense of the poor and disenfranchised. In this autobiography, Brooke details the challenges that confronted African American men of his generation and reveals his desire to be measured not as a black man in a white society but as an individual in a multiracial society. Chided by some in the white community as being "too black to be white" and in the black community as "too white to be black," Brooke sought only to represent the people of Massachusetts and the national interest. His story encompasses the turbulent post-World War II years, from the gains of the civil rights movement, through the riotous 1960s, to the dark days of Watergate, with stories of his relationships with the Kennedys, Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, and future senator Hillary Clinton. Brooke also speaks candidly of his personal struggles, including his bitter divorce from his first wife and, most recently, his fight against cancer. A dramatic, compelling, and inspirational account, Brooke's life story demonstrates the triumph of the human spirit, offering lessons about politics, life, reconciliation, and love.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813539056
• ISBN13: 9780813539058
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A Real Live Republican Statesman In The U.S. Senate

Leave it to Massachusetts to send the first Black Senator elected by popular vote to Congress. The heavily, 98% white Democrat State overwhelming supported him for the state's highest National Office even though he was the "Republican" candidate. Senator Brooke was elected in a landslide by the voters of his liberal state because he had already proven he was an honest, hardworking, devoted, corruption-fighting Attorney General for the Commonwealth. Once in the U.S. Senate he continued to prove he was a wise man with strong core beliefs including his devotion to the Political Party of Abe Lincoln. He was responsible for many important civil rights laws. One of his bills gave women their own credit. They no longer had to have their husbands okay to borrow money and get their own credit cards. Senator Brooke had gone from being a U.S. Army officer leading the Italian Partisans behind German lines during WW II to become a strong, outspoken Statesman Senator. Congress very much needs more peacemakers like Senator Edward Brooke. This book is a fascinating read. Readers can't help but finish the book and still be utterly amazed that Republican Brooke was ever elected to any office in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, he has proven to be one of a kind so far. But there is always hope for the future.

Whatever happened to Edward Brooke?

As I was reading a newspaper article about this book recently it occurred to me that I hadn't heard Edward Brooke's name in a long time. After finishing his book, I'm glad I remember him. Though not from Massachusetts myself, I did follow his career when he was in the Senate. Senator Brooke writes forcefully on a number of issues....the racism he faced growing up in Washington D.C. and which followed him into the U.S. Army in the Second World War, his political losses before he finally won a race and especially about his family. With particular care he tells us of his difficult first marriage and his loving second one, complete with an estrangement for many years from his two daughters. While getting into "Bridging the Divide" it became clear that Edward Brooke was a man of discipline and high principle. I was just about to ask myself why he never made it onto the U.S. Supreme Court when Brooke says that President Nixon actually considered him for a seat on the high court. Brooke turned it down to stay in the Senate, feeling he was too young to take on a judicial role. It's too bad because I think he would have made an excellent Supreme Court justice. Edward Brooke is reminiscent of the days when the Senate was a kinder place. There are very few people in his category these days....moderate to liberal Republican. His was part of the Republican party I remember growing up...one that has changed drastically. Senator Brooke's contributions to our country have been many and I'm glad he's still around to write about it. "Bridging the Divide" is a book I highly recommend.

An amazing life

I was honored to meet Senator and Mrs. Brooke while I was in Miami before his book was published. As a Democrat, I couldn't understand why he was a Republican. After reading his book, I now understand how the times were different and why he would choose that party. It was before the party was co-opted by the far right. As a student of political history, this book gave me great insight into the political climate of from 1940 - 1980. He writes beautifully and his life is a model for everyone, politically involved or not.

Enlightening and overwhelming

This is by far, the greatest book I have ever read...and I am an avid reader. Such honesty, humility, love, faith, and kindness, by the author, Senator Brooke, is overwhelming to the reader and presents us all with the challenge to forgive our hurts, believe in the goodness of people, to serve our nation and the world, most of all, to enjoy life. Each and every chapter, actually every paragraph, made me smile,laugh or cry. It also made me aware of what a bright, kind, funny and articulate human being the Senator is. This world needs more people like Senator Brooke. We can each and all, learn from reading Bridging the Divide. Regardless of your age, creed, race or political affiliation,when you read this book,your life will be enriched by the lessons we can all learn from such a wonderful book, written by such a great example to us all.