According to Edward Shorter, just forty years ago the institutions housing people with mental retardation (MR) had become a national scandal. The mentally retarded who lived at home were largely isolated and a source of family shame. Although some social stigma still attaches to the people with developmental disabilities (a range of conditions including what until recently was called mental retardation), they now actively participate in our society and are entitled by law to educational, social, and medical services. The immense improvement in their daily lives and life chances came about in no small part because affected families mobilized for change but also because the Kennedy family made mental retardation its single great cause. Long a generous benefactor of MR-related organizations, Joseph P. Kennedy made MR the special charitable interest of the family foundation he set up in the 1950s. Although he gave all of his children official roles, he involved his daughter Eunice in performing its actual work--identifying appropriate recipients of awards and organizing the foundation's activities. With unique access to family and foundation papers, Shorter brings to light the Kennedy family's strong commitment to public service, showing that Rose and Joe taught their children by precept and example that their wealth and status obligated them to perform good works. Their parents expected each of them to apply their considerable energies to making a difference. Eunice Kennedy Shriver took up that charge and focused her organizational and rhetorical talents on putting MR on the federal policy agenda. As a sister of the President of the United States, she had access to the most powerful people in the country and drew their attention to the desperate situation of families affected by mental retardation. Her efforts made an enormous difference, resulting in unprecedented public attention to MR and new approaches to coordinating medical and social services. Along with her husband, R. Sargent Shriver, she made the Special Olympics a international, annual event in order to encourage people with mental retardation to develop their skills and discover the joy of achievement. She emerges from these pages as a remarkable and dedicated advocate for people with developmental disabilities. Shorter's account of mental retardation presents an unfamiliar view of the Kennedy family and adds a significant chapter to the history of disability in this country. Author note: Edward Shorter is a Professor at the University of Toronto where he holds the Hannah Chair in the History of Medicine. He is the author of A History of Psychiatry from the Era of the Asylum to the Age of Prozac, as well as many other books in the fields of history and medicine.

This literally "refreshing" collection is based on the notion that the future of bioethics is inseparable from its past. Seminal works provide a unique and relatively unexplored vehicle for investigating not only where bioethics began, but where it may be going as well. In this volume, a number of the pioneers in bioethics—Tom Beauchamp, Lisa Sowle Cahill, James Childress, Charles E. Curran, Patricia King, H. Tristram Engelhardt, William F. May, Edmund D. Pellegrino, Warren Reich, Robert Veatch and LeRoy Walters—reflect on their early work and how they fit into the past and future of bioethics. Coming from many disciplines, generations, and perspectives, these trailblazing authors provide a broad overview of the history and current state of the field. Invaluable to anyone with a serious interest in the development and future of bioethics, at a time when new paths into medical questions are made almost daily, The Story of Bioethics is a Baedeker beyond compare.

Obituaries published in the New York times of notable individuals who died from August 2010 through July 2011.

In this intimate portrait of an extraordinary father-son relationship, Mark K. Shriver discovers the moral principles that guided his legendary father and applies them to his own life When Sargent "Sarge" Shriver—founder of the Peace Corps and architect of President Johnson's War on Poverty—died in 2011 after a valiant fight with Alzheimer's, thousands of tributes poured in from friends and strangers worldwide. These tributes, which extolled the daily kindness and humanity of "a good man," moved his son Mark far more than those who lauded Sarge for his big-stage, headline-making accomplishments. After a lifetime searching for the path to his father's success in the public arena, Mark instead turns to a search for the secret of his father's joy, his devotion to others, and his sense of purpose. Mark discovers notes and letters from Sarge; hears personal stories from friends and family that zero in on the three guiding principles of Sarge's life—faith, hope, and love—and recounts moments with Sarge that now take on new value and poignancy. In the process, Mark discovers much about himself, as a father, as a husband, and as a social justice advocate. A Good Man is an inspirational and deeply personal story about a son discovering the true meaning of his father's legacy.

The Shrivers¿ Story: Eyewitnesses to the Battle of Gettysburg is the true story of one family who called Gettysburg ¿home¿ in 1863. It depicts how not only the Battle of Gettysburg but the Civil War itself dramatically changed the Shrivers¿ lives forever. The story of George and Hettie Shriver, although certainly fascinating and unique in its own way, is typical of the average Gettysburg citizen¿s, and by extension, provides a fuller picture of the overall civilian experience itself. The Shrivers¿ were a young family with hopes and dreams common to most young families then and now. They dreamed of peace and prosperity, of a safe place in which to raise their family, and for success in their economic endeavors. But the Shrivers¿ expectations were abruptly interrupted by the coming of the Civil War and by one of the most significant battles of that war. Afterwards, the world as they knew it would never be quite the same. The Shrivers¿ Story is the story of a house and a home, of family and friends, of expectant dreams and intruding realities, of citizens in a time of peace and civilians in a time of war. The dramatic and moving story of George and Hettie Shriver and their daughters, Sadie (7) and Mollie (5), describes their experiences during the Civil War, and more specifically, the Battle of Gettysburg. In addition the book details how the Shriver House Museum originated as well as the trials and tribulations encountered during the restoration of the Shrivers¿ home.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. inherited his assassinated father's piercing blue eyes and Brahmin style, earning a reputation as the nation's foremost environmental activist and lawyer - the "toxic avenger" - battling corporate polluters. But in this, the most revelatory portrait ever of a Kennedy, Oppenheimer places Bobby Jr., leader of the third generation of America's royal family, under a journalistic microscope, exploring his compulsions and addictions - from his use of drugs to his philandering that he himself blamed on what he termed his "lust demons," and tells the shocking behind-the-scenes story of the curious events leading to the tragic May 2012 suicide of his second of his three wives, mother of four of his six children. If his late cousin JFK Jr. was once dubbed "Prince Charming," RFK Jr. might have earned the sobriquet, "The Big Bad Wolf."Based on scores of exclusive, candid on-the-record interviews, public and private records, and correspondence, Jerry Oppenheimer paints a balanced, objective, but often shocking portrait of this virtually unaccounted for scion of the Kennedy dynasty. Like his slain father, the iconic senator and presidential hopeful, RFK Jr. was destined for political greatness. Why it never happened is revealed in this first-ever biography of him. *Available October

Statistics show that one in every four marriages is impacted by infidelity. So the odds are pretty good that you or someone you know has experienced the searing pain of marital infidelity. But adultery is not an automatic death sentence for your marriage. You can trust again. You can restore intimacy. You can have a relationship that you will both cherish for a lifetime. Ten years ago, Gary and Mona Shriver experienced the devastation caused by adultery, and in the course of trying to save themselves, they wrote this book. Raw, transparently honest, the Shrivers’ story alone is an inspiration, offering hope and practical strategies for healing. Now this updated and revised edition adds other real-life stories of betrayal and forgiveness, and new information defining adultery, including the destruction of emotional affairs. Some doubt if a marriage can truly heal after the ravages of infidelity. Unfaithful proves you can. It’s not easy . . . but it can be done. Is it worth it? Yes. And you hold the first step—and hope—in your hand.