JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography

When I started this book! I wondered if there was anything else for me to learn about JFK, Jr. In fact, there was. A lot. I so appreciated the multiple, nuanced, and deeply human perspectives about John by dear ones throughout his life. He seems like he was a truly kind, funny, graceful, and thoroughly decent soul. We could all learn a lot from the way that he embraced joy, his dear ones, and life. The world has lost three bright lights, for sure.

I was really surprised at how well this book flowed. It was organised in an easy to read format with excellent storytelling. It was like being in a room with John F. Kennedy Junior‘s friends having a great chat. It’s gonna take me a while to fully process.. the more I learned about this man the more I realise how much we lost on that day in 1999.

I have read other books about JFK Jr, and really wondered it I would learn anything new from this book, but I really did. It was fascinating to read the comments from people who knew him at different points in his life, and to really understand what a good friend he was to those closest to him. Which, Ofcourse, makes his passing all the more heart breaking.

Like many other young women of the 80's and 90's I had a real thing for JFK, Jr. - it was almost impossible not to. He was better looking than most movie stars anyone's ever seen and seemed to have a nice way about him that made him all the more attractive. The fact that he could've easily gotten away with being an arrogant prick or a complete train wreck (the way some of his cousins unfortunately were) but was instead a good-natured guy just trying to make his way in life spoke well of himself and the way he was raised. He handled all the attention and adulation beautifully, and no doubt his mother was very proud of the man he'd become before she passed. As a result, I've read just about everything there is to read about him, and even still I learned a few new things about him and, most significantly his marriage, that I didn't know. I have always suspected that in spite of many of his friends' best efforts to "set the record straight" about them over the years, including a few who also contributed to this book, things were rockier between them at the end than any of them ever let on. One of them even mentioned her ex Michael Bergin, and lent some credibility to his book about his relationship with her, "The Other Man", which really, really surprised me. They don't go so far as to confirm she was having an affair with him but by all indications from the contributions of others it appears that's exactly what happened, and I suppose it's a testament to her that they also don't condemn her for it, which ultimately speaks well of her. They came to care for her deeply, and, it seems, couldn't really blame her. The surge of attention from the outside after they got married was frightening and traumatizing to her, and apparently he wasn't able to be there for her or help her through it in the way that he should have, which wasn't something that either of them saw coming but exposed a fundamental difference between them. This was just his life as he'd always known it, and he thought she could handle it, while she wanted to see some major changes in how he conducted things to accommodate her. It was a tall order for them both. Can you imagine - this guy could've had any woman in the world, and he ends up with someone who crumbled under the glare of being his wife and ends up cheating on him, and his friends go out of their way not to trash her but defend her instead ? It speaks well of all of them, too. It does make one wonder what would've become of them as a couple, if they'd have managed to figure out a way to make it work or eventually gone their separate ways. Alas, we'll never know, but one thing is clear, and it's that their love was real, and it would've been terribly sad for them both if they'd split up. Also surprising were those missing from the book, including Billy Noonan, an old pal of his who was the first to publish a book about his friendship with John, and Christina Haag, one of his most serious girlfriends who also wrote a book about her time with him. Less surprising is that, save his cousin Anthony Radziwill's wife, among the missing are family members, none of whom contributed to the book at all. It makes you wonder if they simply weren't asked or if they were but felt they've said everything they had to say about him, and that was that. Whatever the case, whether you've read anything else about him or not, this is the real dope from the people who knew him best from the time he was a young kid, and probably the only book anyone really needs to read if they're curious about him and his life. As for me, like so many others, it still just doesn't seem right that he's gone and that we haven't continued to watch him grow and evolve throughout his life as we always had before he died. It's also a terrible tragedy that Carolyn and her sister went down with him, all of their young lives cut too short. I tend to think of her family far more than his in terms of the toll it's taken, and in spite of the fact that it's been 25 years ago now (which in itself is hard to believe), no doubt they're missed just as much today as ever.

This was an excellent book. While reading it, I felt as though I was in a room, sitting comfortably with all of his friends and loved ones sharing good times (I didn't know him, of course, but listening in). The stories were beautiful, heartwarming and showed a vulnerability to JFK, Jr that most may have not known of. Considering we all know things ended so tragically made this read even more heartwrenching for knowing what could have been. How blessed all of you were to have been his true friends and had him in your lives. We only "knew" him from a distance and projected on to him what we thought he should be, and not what he was. May he rest in peace along with his beautiful wife, Carolyn and sister in law Lauren. Thank you for sharing the truth of him with all of us.

I've read almost everything I can find about JFK Jr over the years and this book doesn't disappoint. Friends of his who have commented here and there over the years are much more forthcoming, revealing more about their time spent with him, his family and Carolyn. What's refreshing is that while nothing negative is said about Carolyn here, friends are more straight up about what she was like even though it wasn't always super charming. Overall, this seems to be a loving, honest reflection from friends who are finally more willing to lift the veil a bit while remembering a friend who continues to be loved and missed.

Another life taken to soon. The possibilities never to come from someone taken too soon. At least he is at peace and reunited with his parents.

I’ve read several books about the Kennedy family. This one is my favorite about John Jr. I feel each of the stories brought out his star power and humanity. He never asked to be born into fame. It just happened but he still had humility towards others. There’s no telling what he could’ve done had he lived. Such a tragedy. As I read about the accident again and am now a mother myself, my heart really goes out to Carolyn and Lauren’s mother and family. I know the Kennedy’s have had a lot of loss but I can’t imagine that much loss at once the Bessette and Freeman’s went through.