Catching up over the weekend on Steve Collins’ fascinating retrospective in the Sun Journal on the 50th anniversary of the collapse of Edmund Muskie’s presidential campaign, I wondered if there was a high-quality political biography of the influential lawmaker, Maine native and fellow Bates College alumnus that I could pick up to learn more, but came up largely empty-handed.
A classmate of mine who worked at the Muskie Archives after graduation made a few recommendations, including 2014’s “Ed Muskie: Made in Maine” by James Witherell about his early years.
Nevertheless, the definitive study of Muskie’s political life seems not to have been written yet, which seems strange for someone who served as a state legislator, governor of Maine, U.S. senator and secretary of state, and moreover was a serious presidential contender and a major legislative figure who authored several pieces of landmark legislation and served as the inaugural Budget Committee chair during his two-decade tenure on Capitol Hill.
I encourage relevant historians to take on the task and I look forward to the result. The Muskie Archives at Bates is a great place to start.
Winthrop Rodgers, Arlington, Va.
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