Mrs. Kennedy And Me: An Intimate Memoir (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Clint Hill's account of his Secret Service duty protecting Jackie Kennedy, and that fateful day in November 1963 when he famously climbed onto the back of the limo, is often as gripping as any real history account I've read. The buildup to those chapters (near the end of the book, of course) is ominous, and nearly falls into melodrama if it wasn't so heartbreakingly true. (A moment where little JFK Jr. learns his salute prior to his father's death, for example, is painful foreshadowing.) Still, the book is sometimes overdone by constantly reminding us, at the end of every chapter and elsewhere, "if we only knew.." kind of pathos. Another strike is that the reader is not allowed much into Hill's personal world. The leanness of the book could be a plus in some ways, and I get that many only want Hill to hurry to the Kennedy stuff. But I wondered about Hill's home life, only hinted at in a few sentences here and there. For example, what was the damage done to his marriage and his fatherhood of never being home? Did he make it up post-retirement or was he too haunted by the historical tragedy he experienced up close? The book also ends almost abruptly; the year after the assassination is covered in a terse penultimate chapter and decades just disappear and get summarized in the end of the book.I would still recommend the book to those wanting a more personal side of the JFK tragedy (and Jackie herself), and for moments like the need to take the handles off the makeshift coffin carrying the President's body onto Air Force One. Hill's first person eye for details like this often make the book a compelling read. I read this for a book club and probably wouldn't have read it otherwise since I don't have much of a Kennedy fascination. Clint Hill is a serviceable writer in that his prose is readable but not compelling. That said, you get a very clear sense of his voice in the book. I suppose that if you are an admirer of Jackie O, this would be a must read but I can't say that I learned all that much about her except that she is, in the eyes of Mr. Hill, exceptional. He continues to protect her and her reputation long after her death, and I think you learn far more about Clint Hill and the kind of man he is than anything particularly illuminating about Mrs. Kennedy as a person. I found the description of the Secret Service very interesting and it makes me curious about how the protocols have changed since the assassination. Although, given recent events, perhaps they have not changed for the better.
What do You think about Mrs. Kennedy And Me: An Intimate Memoir (2012)?
Wonderfully written book giving a very different look into the lives of the Kennedy family.
—vanessalong
If the Kennedy era interests you at all this is a very interesting read.
—pzapata13
