Work on the Last Lion, which hit stores on February 17, began only this past June. But the book doesn't read like a rush project, perhaps because so many hands were involved. Seven Globe staffers did most of the writing; about as many Globe alumni contributed their recollections; and three freelancers served as researchers and fact-checkers. (The book was written without help from Kennedy, who's currently writing his autobiography for the Hachette Book Group USA, and was contractually precluded from cooperating.)
Not surprisingly, the Globe is using Last Lion to drum up business for the paper and its Web site, boston.com; a condensed, seven-part bio of Kennedy's life debuted in the paper this past Sunday, accompanied by some splashy, complimentary multimedia. But Peter Canellos, the Globe's Washington bureau chief, also sees the book as a counterargument to those — including your correspondent — who've suggested diminishing the paper's presence in our nation's capital.
"I think what this shows is how, in Boston, local politics and national politics are intertwined," Canellos tells the Phoenix. "We have so many national figures in our delegation: not just Kennedy, but John Kerry, Barney Frank, Ed Markey. And then there's Mitt Romney. National politics is a local industry in Boston, and the Globe's made a sustained commitment to Washington coverage, because we see it as complimenting our local mission." As Canellos and others work to make the case for the continued existence of the Globe's Washington bureau, Last Lion is likely to help their cause.
To read the "Don't Quote Me" blog, go to thePhoenix.com/medialog. Adam Reilly can be reached at areilly@thephoenix.com.
