Mrs. Kennedy and Me

The one issue I have with Kennedy biographies is that, no matter how well sourced they are, they are rarely written by anyone who was actually there at the time, and therefore might know what they are writing about. Authors can spin facts and figures, and even rumour and hearsay, to suit particular biases - the mud-slinging anti-Kennedy brigade, the defenders of Camelot, and the scrupulously neutral 'accountants' of history. I'm all for those who strive to be fair, but really, I prefer to throw my lot in with those who are trying to preserve the fairy tale. Kenny O'Donnell and Dave Powers' memoir of JFK, Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye, is one of my favourites, and now Clint Hill's account of his time with Mrs Kennedy in the White House is show more another. Hill may not have written his own story, but he was there, in the background, and actually present at the assassination too.

Clint Hill was the Secret Service agent who jumped onto the back of the President's car after the fatal bullet struck. He pushed Jackie back into her seat, and then shielded her with his body all the way to the hospital while she nursed her dying husband. Yet he was there through so many happier times too, the Secret Service shadow standing close to Mrs Kennedy in so many press photos. His simple yet heartfelt account, brought to life by Lisa McCubbin, of those three years in the White House really moved me, especially of course the final chapters. I couldn't stop reading, and I've ploughed through more than a few versions of the same era.

What I think I loved most, though, was how much Clint Hill obviously loved his job - and Jackie herself. His ghost writer may have been putting a deliberately romantic spin on Hill's words, but the story of a devoted bodyguard who falls in love with his beautiful, intelligent and charismatic charge would make an excellent film. Oh, wait ... Hill talks about Jackie's 'infectious laugh', reading her mood 'by her eyes', how she looked even more beautiful in riding gear and no make-up than 'in her fancy gown', and thinking to himself, 'You know what impresses me, Mrs Kennedy? You.' He also staunchly defends her against accusations that she was bothering with Onassis on his yacht ('She returned to her stateroom. Alone'.) All very, very sweet, and completely understandable. Jackie Kennedy was an amazing woman.

The chapter on the assassination and the aftermath had me in tears, of course. John Masefield's poem - 'so she took a ring from her finger and placed it in his hands' - finished me off, but Clint Hill's personal devastation and his sorrow for Jackie really brought the shocking timeline of November 22, 1963, into sharp clarity.

Anybody seeking a heartfelt, if decidedly unbiased, recounting of the Kennedy administration - from someone who was there - should definitely start here. show less

Keeping this story to himself all these years nearly killed Mr. Hill. It clearly required a great sum of courage and grace to finally share it with the world. His dedication and loyalty to the former first family is moving, to say the least. This was a fascinating read, especially all of the details he managed to include regarding Secret Service protocol leading up to and including that horrific day. I was touched by the fact that he'd always kept Mrs. Kennedy's smoking habit a secret and saddened by all the sacrifices he made in his personal life. It's a heartbreaking journey. Hill never holds back, yet he somehow remains ever the consummate professional, a man of true character.

MRS. KENNEDY AND ME illuminates the Kennedy family in both glowing and real life descriptions.
It makes us feel as if we are there with Clint Hill watching the good, the funny, the challenging and,
finally,
the terrifying events which cost the nation's innocence.

In comparison with the scandal-ridden (however true) books about JFK,
this readable version focuses on him as a generous
and loving father, husband, son, and boss.

It would have been welcome if Mr. Hill had allowed commentary on the contrasts
of all the Presidential riches given to the already super rich when so many Americans were -
and are - so poor and in need of help.

What are the costs to maintain huge and mostly empty CAMP DAVID?!?

And why is it needed at all?

Sell it now and donate show more the profits to Medicare, Medicaid, the ACA, and Social Security.

Although MRS. KENNEDY AND ME is billed as a Memoir, it is a biography of three years in the life
of Mrs. Kennedy, of the love of a man for his career, and a man falling in love with the women
he was assigned to protect. show less

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was only 9 years old when JFK was killed, so I didn't know much about Jackie at the time. I followed some of the news reports about her later when she married Onassis, then some about her work in the publishing industry, & finally when she died of cancer. I never really felt like I knew her until I read Mrs. Kennedy and Me.

Secret Service agent Clint Hill kept such meticulous notes during his years with Jackie that, even 50 years after JFK died, he made me see Jackie through his eyes. I felt her personality come alive and I came to have a real admiration for her coping with life as the First Lady and afterwards as the widow of an assassinated President. She truly made his legacy much more than it would show more have been had he married someone else.

I should also report that Clint Hill's co-author, Lisa McCubbin, is probably the one who made this book so extremely readable amidst all of the facts & details that were part of a Secret Service agent's job. I was glad to read that this book finally allowed Mr. Hill (as Jackie always called him) to start living again after years of feeling that he had failed in his job of protecting the President. He did his upmost to keep both the President and his wife safe from harm in a difficult situation. show less

This book is more interesting for what it doesn't say than what it actually relates. On the surface it's a rather pedestrian account of the Kennedy presidency, told through the adoring eyes of Mrs. Kennedy's secret service agent But if the reader looks between the lines, a different picture is revealed of a first lady who lived in her own rarified world - an existence that wouldn't be possible under the scrutiny of today's 24/7 media coverage.

Jacqueline Kennedy apparently made no secret of her distaste for politics and Washington, DC and managed to avoid participating in political life as much as possible - spending most of her time at the family's rented estate in Virginia or the Kennedy family's compounds in Hyannis Port and Palm show more Beach, as well as taking foreign junkets to India, Pakistan, Italy and Greece. Any First Lady who absented herself from the White House as much s she did today would find herself the subject of both media and political scrutiny.

The book also shows just how all consuming the job of a Secret Service agent can be. Author Clint Hill was rarely home during the four years of his assignment to guard Mrs. Kennedy and although he doesn't talk about its effect on his marriage, one can only assume that it was detrimental as while he names his sons in the book's acknowledgements, he doesn't say a word about his wife.

And, of course, the most riveting part of the book is of the fateful trip in November, 1963 to Dallas, Texas where Hill gives the reader a blow-by-blow description of the terrible events of that day.

I'm not sure this book will add anything to the mountain of material that already exists on the Kennedys, but it's a quick read and an interesting peek into the domestic arrangements of their lives. show less

This book was better than I had anticipated. Clint Hill takes great pains to show you the side of Jackie that he knew and admired. She was very well educated and knowledgeable about the history and cultures around the world. This helped her to bridge positive relationships with other leaders around the world and cemented her status as one of the world's most beloved first ladies.

Jackie did not "have it all" as some would like you to believe. She endured her own share of troubles. Like other popular people, she had trouble with the paparazzi. She endured heartbreak at the loss of her son, Patrick, and two other pregnancies. The assassination of her husband was a nightmarish experience that no first lady or wife should ever experience. show more

The assassination had a magnificent impact on the Secret Service staff. I cannot fathom the emotions that roller-coasted through them during this tumultuous time. Reading about little John made me cry rivers of tears. Burying your father on your birthday is something no child should go through.

This is more than a memoir. It's a beautiful tribute to Mrs. Kennedy. show less

The author is a former Secret Service agent who was part of Mrs. Kennedy's protection detail almost from the beginning. Here, he recounts his memory of the years spent with her.

I am amazed at how much time is put in by these agents. It is a wonder that any of them manage to stay married given the demands of the job.

There are a lot of behind the scenes details. It struck me that Mrs. Kennedy really wanted to have privacy and a "normal" life--two things that were hard to come by once she became the First Lady.