Book excerpt: Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., lived parallel lives. Their leadership helped millions of Americans recover from the assassination of John F. Kennedy and inspired hope for a more peaceful and egalitarian society (which endured well after their own tragic deaths five years later). Their rhetoric addressed the pervasive issues of the era--poverty, war and civil rights--and encouraged young people and the disadvantaged throughout the United States and the world. This book examines the vision they shared through their speeches, writings and public appearances in the years of the cultural groundshift of 1963 through 1968.