Eau Claire author and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire professor BJ Hollars has a new book on the life of Robert F. Kennedy.
The book, titled 'Becoming Bobby Kennedy: The Transformative Life of an American Icon' and published by Potomac Books, will be released on Nov. 1. Hollars will give a book talk at 6 p.m. on Nov. 12 at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire.
Hollars became interested in Kennedy while working on his 2024 book about the 1960 Wisconsin primary and John F. Kennedy. He then spent about two years researching the new book.
His research included reading extensively and interviewing people who knew Robert Kennedy or were connected to his work, particularly on poverty and civil rights. He also received a Theodore C. Sorensen Research Fellowship from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, which gave him access to original transcripts and documents.
In the book, Hollars examines how Kennedy changed over his life, asking what turns privilege into purpose and ambition into empathy.
