As a young man, Edward W. Brooke wanted to be a doctor. Today, he is the first Negro to win state-wide office in Massachusetts and is the attorney general-elect, writes Ronald A. Wysocki of the Boston Globe.

 

It was while he was in Italy as an infantry captain in World War II that he decided to practice law. Disturbed by the indifference in which officers were chosen as defense counsel in courts-martial - many without any inkling or military law - he began a study of the subject.