For over half a century, Robert Schmuhl interviewed and wrote about
Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., who served as the president
of the University of Notre Dame from 1952 until 1987. Beginning as
an undergraduate student during the 1960s, when he covered Hesburgh
and Notre Dame for the Associated Press, to 2014 when he conducted
his last visit with the frail ninety-seven-year-old priest, Schmuhl
maintained a unique relationship with Father Hesburgh. Over time,
Hesburgh's meetings with Schmuhl evolved into a friendship, which
is documented in this personal and warmhearted portrait of the man
who was for decades considered the most influential priest in
America. Fifty Years with Father Hesburgh: On and Off the Record
contains excerpts and commentary from various interviews Schmuhl
conducted with Father Hesburgh about his service as Notre Dame's
president, including the most difficult years of his presidency
during the 1960s, when Notre Dame and other college campuses were
in turmoil because of student protests against the Vietnam War and
other issues. Knowing and working with four popes and nine U.S.
presidents, Father Hesburgh was a moral force in virtually all
major social issues of his day, including civil rights, peaceful
uses of atomic energy, third-world development, and immigration
reform. Schmuhl records Hesburgh's candid reflections on the U.S.
presidents with whom he worked and his assessment of the years
after he left the university's presidency and maintained an active
life of service in retirement. Schmuhl expresses his devotion and
respect in the chapters about Hesburgh's twilight decades. He
describes how Hesburgh dealt with macular degeneration and
blindness in his later years, enlisting students to read the New
York Times and other publications to him. During the 1990s and the
first years of the twenty-first century, Father Ted was, as he
liked to say, "everybody's grandfather." His open-door policy
extended beyond students to faculty, staff, alumni, and campus
visitors, and continued right up until the end of his life.
Throughout the book, Schmuhl captures the essence, spirit, and
humanity of a great leader.
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