The West Virginia University Press will publishRobert C. Byrd: Child of the Appalachian Coalfields,the senators autobiography, this summer. The release is scheduled for June 15.

This forthcoming book will be a virtual catalog of Sen. Byrds experiences from his boyhood in the early 1920s to his election in 2000 to an unprecedented eighth term in the U.S. Senate,said Patrick Conner, director of the WVU Press.

The book will sell for $35 in hardback and run more than 700 pagesincluding several pages of photographs and an indexand provide valuable commentary on national and international events from Dwight Eisenhowers administration through President Clintons years.

Byrd has often been the voice of the U.S. Senate, speaking for his chamber upon the death of President Kennedy, remembering him for all time as a manof good and abiding faith in our people and the peoples of the world.

Again, he spoke for the Senate and for many Americans in noting upon President Nixons resignation that,It is a sad ending of a career of a president who, had it not been for Watergate, might have ranked with some of the greatest presidents.

In 1978, Byrd acted as President Carters emissary to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, urging both of them to sign the draft treaty that President Carter tirelessly promoted. On the same trip, he met with President Hafez Assad of Syria, Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia and King Hussein of Jordan, urging them all toput your fingerprints on the peace process.

These are but a few selected highlights of Sen. Byrds career that can be found in this book,Conner said.His life makes a very rich story.

Byrd was first elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1946 and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives only six years later. He rose to a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1958 and has represented West Virginia continuously since then. Only two other members of Congress have had a longer tenure than Byrds congressional career of more than 50 years.

While fulfilling his Senate responsibilities, he attended night school at the American University in Washington, D.C., and earned his law degree, cum laude, in 1963, the only member of Congress to earn a law degree while serving. He received a bachelors degree in political science from Marshall University in 1994 at the age of 76.

In 1967, Byrd advanced to the Senate leadership when he was chosen to be secretary of the Democratic Conference. In 1971, he was chosen Senate Democratic Whip. In 1977, Byrd was elected majority leader of the Senate by his party and served in that capacity for six consecutive terms.

A member of the Senate Appropriations Committee since 1959, longer than any other senator in history, Byrd chaired the committee from 1989-95 and 2001-03. He still serves as his partys ranking member. Twice, he was unanimously elected president pro tempore of the Senate, from 1989 through 1994, and again from June 2001 through 2002. He has, in fact, held more leadership positions in the U.S. Senate than any other senator of any party in Senate history.

In chapter after chapter, we learn of the institutions, the policies and the opportunities that Sen. Byrd has helped create, both for West Virginians and for citizens throughout the United States,Conner said.The epigraph to the first chapter of the book, written by 19 th century social scientist William James, expresses the theme of the whole memoir:The best use of life is to invest it in something which will outlast life.

For more information, contact the WVU Press at 304-293-8400 or visitwww.wvupress.com