Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing and Honest
Review: Of the many volumes on the subject, I find this book to be the best. Told with charm and grace, Nellie Connally relates the events of November 22, 1963 as only an occupant of that ill-fated Presidential Lincoln could. Devoid of conjecture or theories, we are simply presented with the facts. The Connally's viewpoint from the jumpseats is sobering. Pivotal moments, from Mrs. Connally's last words to President Kennedy to Governor Connally' near fatal wounds to Oswald's emergency room visit after the Jack Ruby shooting are covered in a comfortable format; making one feel that Mrs. Connally is relating the events to you personally. Thank-You, Mrs. Connally.
Rating:
Summary: A Treasure From A Treasure
Review: As a Texan who remembers that November day, and as one who was delighted to have John Connally as our Governor, I looked forward to reading this book when it came out. Nellie Connally remains a Texas treasure in her eighties, dignified and still just plain pretty. She proves, in this book, that she can be articulate as well. After watching an entire week of History Channel telecasts that refute the lame Warren Commission report, it is unfortunate that at this late date we will never know the complete truth behind the Kennedy tragedy. However, no matter which side of the fence on which a reader rests, this slim volume will remain a great resource. I found it particularly interesting not for her recollection of the murder, but for her account of the treatment of her husband after the event. A book for all who are interested in that day.
Rating:
Summary: A Treasure From A Treasure
Review: As a Texan who remembers that November day, and as one who was delighted to have John Connally as our Governor, I looked forward to reading this book when it came out. Nellie Connally remains a Texas treasure in her eighties, dignified and still just plain pretty. She proves, in this book, that she can be articulate as well. After watching an entire week of History Channel telecasts that refute the lame Warren Commission report, it is unfortunate that at this late date we will never know the complete truth behind the Kennedy tragedy. However, no matter which side of the fence on which a reader rests, this slim volume will remain a great resource. I found it particularly interesting not for her recollection of the murder, but for her account of the treatment of her husband after the event. A book for all who are interested in that day.
Rating:
Summary: Mrs. Connally Speaks Her Views
Review: As the last surviving member of the motorcar of two couples in which President John F. Kennedy was assassinated forty years ago, the wife of former Texas Governor John Connally provides us with her experiences of that ill-fated event. Mrs. Connally supports the belief of three shots being fired from behind. The first hit President Kennedy in the throat, the second hitting her husband behind the right shoulder, and the third shattering the skull of President Kennedy. She states that her husband sitting in the front seat had time to move from side to side after Kennedy had been hit in the throat. She states, "Even magic bullets don't hang in the air that long." Following this shot, Mrs. Connally states, her husband was hit behind the right shoulder, and then the President was hit in the head. She states her husband heard the first and third shots, the second one he did not. She has been told you do not hear a bullet that hits you, and John heard the first and third shots. She also describes her apprehension while her husband was in the emergency room, and wondering if he was getting the proper care (he was), or was everyone attending to the stricken president. John Connally researched every report prepared on the subject, and in 1983 he still held to the belief of Oswald's guilt stating, "Nobody in America can keep a secret that big for that long." In addition to Mrs. Connally, each of her three children provide their remembrances of this infamous day. The book concludes with the speeches President Kennedy was to deliver at the Dallas Trade Mart at noon, and his speech in Austin that evening. Forests have been felled with versions of this American tragedy, but it is special to hear it from one as close to the situation as she was. Thank you, Mrs. Connally, for sharing your experiences with us.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: History doesn't get much better than this. Here's a book written with passion and pathos from notes that Ms. Connally wrote shortly after the assasination of President Kennedy. Connally has taken an event burned into the consciousness of the world and breathed new life into it. She puts us in the seat next to the President and First Lady and takes for a most moving ride. This is a MUST HAVE book for anyone who cares about the past and the Kennedy legacy.
Rating:
Summary: For The Ages
Review: Its obvious from reading the Publisher's Weekly review above, the reviewer is a conspiracy buff, doesn't believe the Warren Commission report, and only wants the tabloid-type writing that is so plentiful on the JFK assassination. Would you want to read Mary Lincoln's account of what happened in the theatre box when President Lincoln was assassinated? Would you want to read what any eyewitness to the shooting that night had to say? If you want a first hand account of what a beautiful day November 22, 1963, started out to be, and how horribly wrong it went, you will want this book. Nellie Connally, wife of Texas Governor John Connally, was sitting directly in front of Jackie Kennedy in THAT car on THAT day, November 22, 1963. She turned in time to see President Kennedy's hands fly up to his throat, saw the shocked look in his eyes, saw him slump in the seat. Mrs. Connally then made a snap decision that she later learned saved her husband's life. Also, Publisher's Weekly states that her description of her family's security needs afterwards and her accepting of the Warren Commission's findings "are not of broad interest." I wonder if the Publisher's Weekly reviewer saw any of the programs this past week where every one of these shows came to the conclusion Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone? This was after painstaking analysis of forensic evidence, and looking into every crackpot theory imaginable. I also found it very interesting to read about the fears and nightmares Mrs. Connally and her husband endured after that tragic day. I can't believe anyone would consider that of no interest to the public. I want to thank Nellie Connally for writing this book, and not only sharing this story with her grandchildren, but with all of us. Mrs. Connally is truly a "steel magnolia." She has made a great contribution to the telling of the history of the 20th century, and that tragic day in November.
Rating:
Summary: Meeting the gracious and beautiful Nellie Connally
Review: My husband and I had the opportunity yesterday to get our copy of "From Love Field" signed by Mrs. Nellie Connally. What a treat! She is so elegant and eloquent, and gracious to all of her fans. She spoke personably with every single person in line and made everyone feel like they were of interest to her. I started reading her book as soon as I got in the car, and read straight through til I finished it. It is a wonderful book, exactly what you would expect from someone who lived through that horrible day. I got exactly what I expected to get from reading it, and even more. I especially appreciated the speeches that President Kennedy wasn't able to give being reproduced in the book. This is a book I will always cherish, along with meeting this great Texan, Mrs. Nellie Connally.
Rating:
Summary: So touching and real
Review: Nellie Connally is the ultimate authority on this earth=shaking tragic event. She was there! And she tells her story beautifully and with touching honesty.
Rating:
Summary: first-hand account, simple and gripping
Review: Nellie Connally's story of the fateful day in Dallas when John Kennedy was assassinated and her own husband, John Connally, was very seriously wounded, is a first-person account, simply written and gripping. Especially interesting to readers like me, those of us who were never swept up by the Camelot myth, is her finely tuned, rather ambiguous depiction of Jacqueline Kennedy. While she writes respectfully of Mrs. Kennedy, there are unmistakeable undertones of Connally's feelings that Jackie was rather aloof and off-putting, and not entirely considerate of other people.
Connally's own hearty connectedness, her ease in her role of loving wife and devoted mother as well as First Lady of Texas, comes through strongly. Here is a woman whom readers will
warm to as they read her account of that November afternoon. Connally put her memories into writing when they were still disturbingly fresh, then stowed the papers away in a drawer to save for her descendants. Thirty years later she came across them again, and this eyewitness story was made available to all of us, as our nation still remains fascinated with the Dallas tragedy. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: From Love Field: Our Final Hours with President John F. Kenn
Review: The assassination of President Kennedy 40 years ago this month jolted Americans into the realization that their country would never be the same, says Wrone. This history of the 26-second Zapruder film and its role in the criminal investigation argues forcefully that Kennedy was shot by more than one person, none of whom was Lee Harvey Oswald. Wrone is neither a Warren Commission defender nor an outlandish conspiracy theorist but a careful historian who presents a strong case that the Warren Commission hastily and wrongly concluded that Oswald murdered Kennedy and that a single "magic bullet" shot both the President and Texas governor John Connally. Wrone calls Gerald Posner's influential 1993 Case Closed "one of the most error-ridden works on the assassination" but also condemns conspiracy enthusiasts like Oliver Stone for offering such shoddy speculations that the government and mainstream media often treat the work of serious assassination researchers as screeds bordering on the paranoid. Future assassination researchers will consult this fascinating history of the indelible Zapruder film. Strongly recommended for academic and most public libraries. While Lubin (art, Wake Forest Univ.) also makes some interesting comments about the Zapruder film, which he calls "a political thriller," his book offers only cursory comments about the assassination itself. Instead, he provides a series of provocative essays about how perceptions of the Kennedys have become part of our national memory. Lubin's spirited and gracefully written essays demonstrate that John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy became such dominant personalities because the public associated them with enduring themes of classical and popular culture. For example, the Kennedys, viewed as classic defenders of the poor, and The Beverly Hillbillies, the most popular TV show of 1963, were both known for poking fun at the rich. In addition, the macho image that Kennedy cultivated was enhanced by his reading Ian Fleming's best-selling James Bond novels. Following the death of the President, the Camelot myth of noble leadership and the protection of all subjects was readily accepted by a grieving nation. As Lubin shows, this myth was already ingrained in American culture, and he skillfully relates how Kennedy used it to stir the populace and create his own iconography. He also explains why these myths, reinforced by both ancient and contemporary images, remain vibrant. Strongly recommended for academic and larger public libraries. "Mr. President, you certainly can't say that Dallas doesn't love you!" These were the famously innocent last words that Nellie Connally, wife of the Texas governor, uttered to Kennedy seconds before he was killed. In a voice that is both forthright and personable, she presents her recollections of the momentous events of November 22, 1963, based on notes written shortly after the assassination but lost and not rediscovered until 1996. Nellie Connally is the last surviving dignitary who rode in that fateful presidential limo, and this memoir shows how the events of this national trauma personally affected her and the three Connally children. The reader shares her anger at seeing Lee Harvey Oswald receiving excellent medical treatment in the same hospital where President Kennedy was pronounced dead and where her husband almost died from an assassin's bullet. The three Connally children tell how they were pulled out of school that day, while rumors swirled that their wounded father was already dead. This unique account tells how Nellie Connally coped with the long recovery of her husband and how the Connally family lost its sense of security as a result of the assassination. This well-illustrated memoir by a witness to history is recommended for public libraries
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