The Day John Died

Rating:
Summary: Scant Account of JFK Jr.'s life
Review: As has been stated in the other reviews, "The Day John Died" is not so much about the day JFK Jr. died, though there is a whole chapter dedicated to it, as it is about his entire life. However, half the book concerns his parents' lives more so than JFK Jr.'s. I realize that is is impossible to talk about JFK Jr. without talking about his father, the President, or his mother, the glamorous first lady, because that context is needed in order to understand John Jr.'s life. Yet this book somehow feels like a retread of Andersen's other book, "Jackie After Jack." Intimate details of Jackie's marriage to Onassis are inexplicably included in "The Day John Died" and do not help shed any light on what John Jr. was like.

When Andersen finally gets around to JFK Jr.'s story in the last third of the book, the portrait of a genial, sexy, if somewhat dim man emerges. Andersen shows that because JFK Jr. was unfazed by his celebrity and sought to be ordinary like those around him, these traits made him even more popular. There is the requisite list of all the women JFK Jr. dated, including Madonna, but there is only a sketchy description of the woman he finally settled down with, Carolyn Bessette. When Carolyn was alive, she was enigmatic and she remains so after reading this book. Andersen vaguely refers to Carolyn and JFK Jr. having problems, mainly concerning starting a family and the media's effect on their marriage. But no new information is given as to exactly how these two met, what kept them together, and ultimately, would JFK Jr. and Carolyn have stayed together.

This book was a bit of a letdown after Andersen's excellent "The Day Diana Died", which gave more insight and detail into its story. However, this book gives some insight into the private life of JFK Jr. as well, although it is nothing you could not have read in People magazine.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money, get the library copy
Review: Christopher Andersen has written a book that is symbolic of taking a walk down memory lane. The title is misleading, as this writing is a recount highlighting the Kennedy family history.

Andersen paints a believable story of John, and one that sees him in a much more human light than in most writings. It is refreshing to note that as a child, John did get into his fair share of mischievous adventures. As a young man, these adventures became more daring and life threatening. Andersen writes of accounts of John experimenting with drugs, and makes it clear that John did not have a drug problem. However, Andersen sketches Jack as one that became hungry for speed. Strangely, John is described here as scatterbrained, and unstudious, yet rather smart. John seemed to have the knack of keeping friends and family happy, and also maintaining happiness for him at the same time. For Jackie, John's escapades had to be unnerving and her power over her son wavered. Andersen's writing of Jackie, depicts a much stronger woman than the media portrayed in the 60's. Jackie protected John from the worst Kennedy family influences; squashed John's ideas of an acting career and was most powerful in decisions John had in the romance arena. Jackie and Caroline were opposed to relationships he had with several women, and John seemed to abide by his mother's and sister's wishes, to end less-than-suitable relationships. Even though John may have broken the hearts of many young women, his classy reputation stands untarnished, as all of his ex's still maintained friendships with America's son.

John's marriage to Carolyn Bessette , and their happiness will always remain a mystery for us. We can speculate, but John tried to keep his personal life out of the spotlight, as he demonstrated with their secret wedding.

Uncanny as it may seem, Jackie had premonitions of John's plane-crash death. She begged her son not to pursue his love of flying. But this time, John only postponed his lessons for a short while, then continued the lessons without Jackie's stamp of approval.

At the end of this book, John is viewed as less of a celebrity figure and more of a friend, who touched the hearts of so many. He will be sorely missed.

Rating:
Summary: The Tragic End of an American Era and an American Family
Review: Christopher Andersen, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller "The Day Diana Died" tells the story of American's son, John F. Kennedy, Jr. It's the bittersweet tale of the American Icon and sadly the unfulfilled fate of his tragic death.

If anyone would hear the name of John Kennedy, Jr. knew he was destined for greatness. He once quoted of himself saying: "People keep telling me I can be a great man. I'd rather be a good one." On the day John died that July 16, 1999 it seemed known only to God of his father's assassination and the death of Princess Diana was the most distinct moment to affect our lives. The world would never be the same. On the day President John Kennedy died, I was a little girl of 5 years. On the morning of Nov. 22, 1963, I walked into the living room. My mom sat on the couch motionless in front of the TV in tears. I asked her what was the matter. She said, "They assassinated President Kennedy." From that day, thirty some years later since little John, Jr. saluted his father's casket in that famous snapshot to the present time in 1999. It is something that we all live with for the rest of our lives. Where were you on July 16, 1999? When a nation's grief would be buried in the ocean along with John, Jr., his wife, Carolyn Bessette and her sister Lauren where they died and where they are at rest.

Andersen writes in detailed form the beginnings of the Kennedy legacy and the legend that John, Jr. would live with. It was a time not far in the past that two lives paralleled between Britain's Princess Di and America's John Kennedy, Jr.. Both of their persona of power and elegance inspired the dreams of their generation. Whatever these two did in their lives whether it was weaknesses and failures they were more loved by the public. The public follows John's life as he failed his bar exam twice, his romances with Christina Haag, Madonna and long time love Daryl Hannah, dodging the paparazzi, the famous fight in the park with his future wife, his struggle to find his own career path in the shadow of his legendary parents and the unveiling of his magazine, GEORGE.

In the coming few years up to the time of his fated future. John enjoyed time flying. It was the only chance he could get away from the demands of his busy life and the paparazzi. It was such a shame that on the day of his tragic end. It had to go so quickly. As one would put it 'Gone Too Soon.' The lives John, Jr. touched while he was here with his remarkable legacy of a family that endured both triumph and heartbreaking tragedy. His sister Caroline stands alone. The only sole survivor of America's American family. Everyone took solace along with her in her sorrow. In this life that John Kennedy, Jr. lived he never follow in the footsteps of his father's career. Never did he write a book, do any great heroics or discover anything. Just because simply he existed. Everyone knew him. He belonged to all of us. From that beginning John Kennedy, Jr. was America's son. You'll have to read the book to know what I mean.

NOTE: The book includes photographs that chronographs his life from his youth to his death with sources, chapter notes and selected bibliography.

Rating:
Summary: JFKs Children
Review: John Jr. was known as the "Master of Disaster" to his friends because of his willingness to accept physical challenges and daredevil nature.

Chapter 1 focuses on the day John died giving his, his wife's and her sister's itineraries then proceeds to takeoff followed by a fictionalized account of what probably went wrong during their flight. Andersen interviewed other pilots who'd flown that day and some who knew John's abilities in order to put that part together. The scene is so gripping that I felt was flying with them!

Chapters 2 opens in 1960 chronicling Jackie's first pregnancy, which ended in a miscarriage and goes through John's early life. Chapter 3 begins in 1963 with the assassination and gives a lot of background at what was happening to the children at this time. It's a very poignant chapter guaranteed to move the reader to tears. Chapter 4 deals with RFK's assassination and Jackie's fear for his children's safety. She always believed that they were primary targets.

Chapter 5 discusses Jackie's marriage to Aristotle Onasis and the world's reaction to the destruction of the Camelot mystique. It seemed that people believed that the love between Jack and Jackie was perfect and they felt Jackie should remain America's dowager queen. Jackie was a compulsive shopper, which irritated Ari to the point where he cut her allowance. After his only son Alexander died in a plane crash, Ari made it clear he wanted nothing to do with the Kennedys. He referred to her as "The Widow"and his friends and family referred to her as "The Black Widow" blaming the Kennedy Curse for all Ari's misfortunes. When Onasis died, Jackie had to battle his daughter Christina to get her inheritance.

Jackie overshadowed John controlling much of his life and tried to force him into politics to carry on his father's legacy. Consequently, John held a series of different positions before starting George Magazine. In an interview with Fidel Castro, Fidel disclosed that he admired John's father and apologized for not giving Lee Harvey Oswald an entry visa in October 1963.

John's relationship with Carolyn was stormy but it would seem that there was true passion behind it. John was not forced to marry Carolyn, as his father had been to marry his mother purely for political expediency so he had the option to get a divorce but never sought one out. A lot of their troubles were caused by the constant intrusion into their private life by the media and the public. Carolyn simply was not used to this; but John took it in stride since he'd grown up with it.

The text takes John's life from Chapter 2 onward right up to Chapter 9, which covers the search and recovery effort for his plane.

A great companion book to this is by All Too Human The Love Story of Jack and Jackie by Edward Klein, which focuses on Jack and Jackie's relationship. I simply could not put either book down!

Rating:
Summary: Quietly engrossing
Review: The book is not as the title impresses, but a biography of the life of JFK, jr. The book was a moving tribute to a wonderful man. I would highly recommend this book to any Kennedy admirer.

Rating:
Summary: A 38 Year Chronicle, Plus The Day John Died
Review: The new 384 page book, written by Christopher Anderson who authored "The Day Diana Died", makes for easy and interesting reading, but places emphasis on his whole life, not the day he died, as the book is titled. Most readers will have already read much of this in the press or have heard it on the air. In spite of this, I enjoyed looking at the 50 photos included, and found the text and writing-style pleasant and interesting. There are detailed accounts of his early days and later family life, with some particularly interesting insights into his family relationships. His romances and political aspirations are examined. The book tends to give the reader a closer look at the life of John. The very detailed picture of what could have occurred as he flew on the fatal flight does create some vivid images of what happened, but the details, of course, are only guesses. There are some clear views of what his last days were like, and his concerns about his "George Magazine" and its future. Not a lot of new information, but nicely and concisely packaged making it a desirable read.

Rating:
Summary: Rehash and Speculation
Review: There are a number of wonderful photographs included in this book, but I think that the author at times dares to presume dialogue and events which may be less than accurate than eye witnessed accounts. It's not quite trash, but then again, it is not quite THE biography of Mr. Kennedy.

Rating:
Summary: Fluff and Gossip
Review: This book is not a detailed account of the plane crash that took JFK JR's life, the book is an attempt at a biography of his life. If you have looked at the book then you know that this is a bio that is going to fall more in the Kitty Kelly area then a deep historical work. I was looking for more of an account of the forces within his life pushing into politics and his thoughts that lead him away from politics. We did get a little of these types of details, but the main focus of the book was to get the more tabloid type facts to the front of the chapters - sell more books. The author does give us some of the highlights of the Kennedy family history, but he does not connect how the events may have affected JFK JR's thoughts on a public life.

I was interested in some of the insight on Jackie relationship with him. It did seem like she held a bit of power over his life, but that could have been the author tying to sell more books. There are also lots of details about how many incidents he got into growing up that could have been physically dangerous. As I said we do get a broad overview of the Kennedy family over the past 100 years but it almost came off as filler, like there may not have been enough on JFK JR. for the full book.

This is a light, gossipy book that touches the surface of his and his family's life. If that is what you are looking for then this book is a good one. The writing is good; easy to read and fast paced. Overall, I felt that this book was just too light.

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Read
Review: To all who have objected to the title, what title would you have given this book? Was this the author's choice or did someone at the publisher's make the final decision?

The moment I heard the announcement over the radio that Saturday morning that his plane was missing, I knew his was gone. And as the day went on and more details were made known I wasn't surprised that the plane had crashed. Andersen's chapters about the events leading up to the flight and the search had a few things I hadn't read before, but it was heartbreaking to read them again.

I've read a lot of books about the Kennedys, the last being the cookbook by Marta Sgubin, but this one gives more information about John's and Caroline's formative years than I've seen before. Mostly had seen photos of them attending graduations, weddings, and was nice to read the rest of the story.

I think that John did a fine job of being normal. Just think of his life - handsome and rich enough to do anything he wanted. That he wasn't a playboy like so many rich people can be is a miracle.

There are private things we do not need to know or shouldn't know and I think the author has gone far enough. I wasn't disappointed that there was so little about Carolyn Bessette. She didn't seem very interesting to me.

I think those of us who were here at the time of Camelot will always be interested in the family. This book has just enough gossip to make it worth reading.