Rating: 
Summary: Exceptional book about an exceptional man
Review: I had a [money] gift card for [local store] that I have held onto since February so that I could get this book at a lesser price; regardless, it's worth every penny of the regular cost! Richard Blow gives us an engaging and lively perspective about John Kennedy Jr. that gave me a "right there as it happened" vibe throughout every page. It could almost pass as a novel, let's put it that way. As I read, I could really feel a sense of what John was going through; the ups and downs, the pressure of being a Kennedy, starting a new magazine, and a year later, a new marriage. I saw the author interviewed with Barbara Walters, and he really came off like a warm and honest person, not out to make a killing off of the Kennedy legacy or bad mouth his former boss with gossip and negative allegations. He, like me and I'm sure alot of others, seems to genuinely miss John Jr., and for good reason. He expressed this candidly in his interview and in his book. While Christopher Anderson's "The Day John Died" is an excellent read, and is definitely worth purchasing, this book struck a bit more personal, and sadder note with me. John Kennedy Jr. bore his legacy quite well, and in an age where celebrities are big on lacking poise, manners and modesty, John rose above everyone else. He is sorely missed, and I hope that anyone who decides to read this book will come away with a sense of wanting to remember John as a good man who tried his best to create a vision for himself and his magazine for the better of this country. This was truly John's gift to us. One last note of importance. The book does a tremendous job in showing you what goes on in the magazine business, and how difficult it must have been to start one up like George, which was way ahead of it's time in terms of layout, editing, the writers, etc. I am thouroughly impressed with every aspect of this book. Eloquent, classy, honest and passionate.....just like John. Get it today!
Rating: 
Summary: Reader Beware
Review: No doubt because of what my grandmother said long ago ("If you can't say something nice...."), I generally do not review a book unless I can rate it four or five stars. As I read this book, however, I realized that I would review it in the hope that perhaps (just perhaps) I can save others time and expense which could -- and should -- be invested elsewhere. By his own admission, Blow is unqualified to provide an accurate and revealing "portrait" of John F. Kennedy, Jr. "I had the opportunity to observe John from a different vantage point: professional proximity. I wasn't his best friend or favorite employee. John did not confess to me his darkest secrets or most painful revelations....But we spent four years working together." His is not a portrait; rather, a clumsy sketch. Had Blow only written about his involvement with George magazine, perhaps (just perhaps) the result would be of somewhat greater value.Addendum: Whatever your opinion of this book, whatever your reactions to various Customer Reviews of it, I urge you to read Christopher Buckley's "J.F.K., Jr. and Me: An Intimate Portrait" in the June 3, 2002, issue of The New Yorker. ...
Rating: 
Summary: How To Make Out on A Tragedy
Review: Most of the information in this book has been covered on TV or in magazines. What I found most disturbing though was the attempt to capitalize on a sad day in American history. John was famous and there are those that want to make money off of that fame. Very, very sad indeed and I am sorry I bought the book. I was looking for gossip and rumor and found it. I was looking for a good story and did not find it.
Rating:
Summary: Old Friend Found
Review: My review of the book is going to be a bit biased becuase I was one of the small staff that Rich talks about from Regardie's. I was also one of the people that got to see the George offices and I have to say my interest in being there was not because it was where Rich worked. The book was a beautiful description of a man that most of us would have never met anyway. If you want to feel just a little bit closer to unraveling the mystery that was JFK, Jr., this book does just that and it does it with eloquence and grace. I enjoyed the professional unbiased perspective that Rich used. In addition, he provided the reader some interesting insights into the decision making of a non-journalist, non-writer, and non-politician that was an editor-in-chief of a political magazine. I was an avid reader of George Magazine and I also liked learning what made them choose some of the articles that they did. Buy it, read it, and enjoy. Thank you Rich.
Rating:
Summary: Honest & Forthright
Review: Finally a book that treats JFK Jr. or any Kennedy as a person, NOT as "American Royalty" or an icon. This book is honest and respectful. The author writes only what he knows. This is not a book filled with half-truths, innuendo & gossip. You can watch JFK Jr. grow along with his "George" magazine, as the author is one of the original editors/employees. If you are tired of the usual "Kennedy-worshipping" books, you'll relish this candid biography covering JFK Jr.'s four years with George.
Rating:
Summary: Overrated
Review: I find the whole prospect of this book on "John John" preposterous. The fact of the matter is that he happened to be the outrageously good looking son of a renowned American president. Had there been an iota of sense (privacy laws notwithstanding) we'd have had a book on the inifinitely brighter Caroline .....
Rating:
Summary: Judge For Yourself
Review: After all the controversy, we finally get a chance to read the book which Blow has always had the right to publish, and it is engaging, insightful and honest. Blow never pretends to have been John Kennedy's best friend. He even admits that he often feared he'd be fired by his boss, whom he eventually comes to respect and admire. But as the reading public should know, "authorized" biographies by "approved" writers/friends are just as suspect as "unauthorized" quickies by writers who've never even spoken to their subject. Blow's book strikes a delicate balance between the two and offers readers the first genuine portrait of John Kennedy we've ever had access to.
Rating: 
Summary: Friend? Employee? Goupie?
Review: Though I found Blow's prose to be engaging, and, at times lyrical, I was continuously distracted by the feeling that this was a book penned not so much by an employee of Mr. Kennedy's, but a groupie who was intoxicated by the power of merely being in JFK Jr's presence. Masquerading as an author and collbaborater - whose "relationship" with Kennedy simply must be told, seemingly as a public service to "the rest of us" who simply must know the "real" John- Blow portrays himself instead to be not so much a friend of John-John's, but a needy young man whose own sense of self was magnified tenfold each time he was permitted to be within Kennedy's circle (which, when one looks at the book's contents closely enough, really wasn't that often). More often than not, Blow's place in Kennedy's world seems to be that of a carefully placed professional outsider - allowed "in" at varying and essential intervals of Kennedy's evolving magazine - but always one step behind the velvet rope, among the "rest of us" onlookers to the bizarre spectacle that was JFK Jr's life. I was especially put-off by the references Blow uses to describe himself as John's rescuer (blocking cameras in a paparrazi session; keeping party-goers from getting too close to his employer-turned-idol), and intruigued by some misplaced references to Kennedy as though he were a force in Blow's life whose power he could barely resist (saying, in one part of the book, that he refused to be "seduced" by John). The book is peppered with references to the power-by-osmosis Blow experienced as he was with Kennedy, and one gets the feeling that Blow is merely continuing to ride that intoxicating wave with the publication of this book. Indeed, Mr. Blow, JFK, Jr still sells, and I am proof of that.
Rating: 
Summary: Prince Charming-maybe
Review: Finally a book about JFK Jr. that shows he was a flawed human being just like the rest of us. Yes, he was a great guy, but he was also moody. His marriage was so-so, like everyone else's. It seems that John had a blind streak when it came to men and philandering-what a surprise! Imagine a Kennedy male with antiquated notions regarding woman. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. American Son also showed how JFK Jr. tried to break away from the mold-without much success. He claimed to be a normal New Yorker-no bodyguards. Bt most people I know in NYC don't have co workers running interference to protect their privacy. At the end of the day he was a decent guy-flaws and all.
Rating:
Summary: More than just another Kennedy book
Review: Much like reading "The Titanic", knowing the tragic ending only pulls the reader further into this warm and beautifully written insight into the last years of John Kennedy Jr. At book's end you are swamped with not only an overwhelming sense of loss but also gratitude for being allowed to share his last days.
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