The Dirksen Congressional Center – The Dirksen Congressional Center promotes research and scholarship to advance the public understanding of the U.S. Congress

The Dirksen Congressional Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting research and scholarship to advance the public understanding of the U.S. Congress.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 13, 2026

PEKIN — An updated version of U.S. Sen. Everett Dirksen’s memoir, “The Education of a Senator,” will soon be published by the University Press of Kansas.

Marking the 30th anniversary of the original, the book publishing Sept. 1 includes a tranche of rarely seen photos and new information that gives added context for present-day readers about the Pekin native’s life and accomplishments.

The memoir was first published posthumously as part of the commemoration of the 1996 centennial of the senator's birth. Its draft pages were discovered as part of the collection at the Dirksen Congressional Center, which houses Dirksen’s archival papers and memorabilia.

The senator devoted time in the final weeks before his death in September 1969 to working on the autobiography, which focuses on his years growing up in Pekin; living here as a young man, husband and father; and then his service in the U.S. House. "The Education of a Senator" highlights experiences from central Illinois and Dirksen's 16-year stint in the House that prepared him to serve in the Senate. His recollections help show the genesis of his career-long support for civil rights legislation, as well as experiences that forged his approach to Cold War foreign policy and governing collaboratively even while serving as a member of the minority party.

Dozens of rare images have been curated from the Dirksen Center’s collection of photographs for inclusion in the book. They span the senator’s childhood, early adulthood, and career in Congress.

“From pictures that wouldn’t be out of place in any family’s photo album to those offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the halls of Congress, we feel the photos enrich the texture of the memoir and help the reader step into Everett Dirksen’s shoes at some key moments of his life,” White says.

In a newly written introduction, Dirksen’s surviving nephew Tom relates a series of poignant memories about his uncle and the community of Pekin, helping to bring the senator off the pages of history and onto a more relatable plane. His recollections even serve to explain the selection of the burial plot in Pekin where most sitting members of the U.S. Senate saw Dirksen laid to rest.

A new afterword by U.S. Senate Historian Emeritus Don Ritchie details Dirksen's historical impact on the Senate and the nation from a view 60 years on, explaining why the senator’s achievements and approach to governing are still relevant for us today.

“Sen. Dirksen is frank and engaging in how he relates his errors as well as his successes,” White says. “The added context provided by Tom Dirksen and Don Ritchie add even more dimensions to what readers will learn about this one-of-a-kind figure’s life in our community and his effects on our nation’s history.”

The Dirksen Center’s partnership with the University Press of Kansas extends more than a decade through UPK’s “Congressional Leaders” series, for which the Center has regularly provided financial subventions to support publication. Other lawmakers covered in the series include House Minority Leader Bob Michel; House Speakers Newt Gingrich, Tom Foley, and Thomas Brackett Reed; and U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn.

The book is available for pre-order from the University Press of Kansas at https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700643608/ but will also be available for purchase during the Pekin Marigold Festival at the Mineral Springs Pavilion from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, at a cost of $30 payable in cash or via QR code purchase. Dirksen's love for the marigold inspired the creation of the festival.

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Advance Praise for “The Education of a Senator” 30th Anniversary Edition

"Everett Dirksen's memoir showcases the values in his early life and career that made him a true leader. Those qualities helped him rise above criticism to act for the good of the country by crafting the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other consequential bipartisan policies crucial to America today."

– Ray LaHood, former Congressman (1995-2009) and U.S. Secretary of Transportation (2009-2013)

“You’ll read this fascinating book with the hope that one day another Everett McKinley Dirksen will live among us. Ev Dirksen was an American political original, a fully formed personality with the timing and instincts of an accomplished actor – he hoped to be an actor as a young man – and the skill and determination to become one of the most successful legislators in the history of the U.S. Senate. Dirksen’s memoir The Education of a Senator is a reminder that, at its best, politics should be the domain of people with Dirksen’s intelligence, sense of humor, human decency and commitment to ideals larger and more important than party of personal aggrandizement.

– Marc C. Johnson, author of “Mansfield and Dirksen: Bipartisan Giants of the Senate” (2023)

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Since 1973, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Dirksen Congressional Center has promoted research and scholarship to advance the public understanding of the U.S. Congress, its people and its policies. Located in Pekin, Illinois, it holds the papers of its namesake, 1964 Civil Rights Act architect U.S. Sen. Everett Dirksen, as well as those of House Minority Leader Bob Michel; U.S. Rep. and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood; U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos; U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis; U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger; U.S. Rep. Harold Velde; and Time magazine congressional correspondent Neil MacNeil.

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About the Center

The Dirksen Congressional Center, founded in 1963, is a non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting research and scholarship to advance the public understanding of the U.S. Congress.

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Grants & Awards

In addition to collecting historical materials and investing in partnerships, The Dirksen Congressional Center pursues its mission by providing research grants and awarding scholarships.

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Collections

The Dirksen Congressional Center houses the papers, photographs, and memorabilia of Everett M. Dirksen, Ray LaHood, Neil MacNeil, Robert H. Michel, and Harold H. Velde.

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