Who Was John F. Kennedy?

Who Was John F. Kennedy?
Author: Yona Zeldis McDonough
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2004-12-29
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1101639946

The man who saved the lives of his PT-109 crewmen during WWII and became the 35th president fought-and won-his first battle at the age of two-and-a-half, when he was stricken with scarlet fever. Although his presidency was cut short, our nation's youngest elected leader left an indelible mark on the American consciousness and now is profiled in our Who Was...? series. Included are 100 black-and-white illustrations as well as a timeline that guides readers through this eventful period in history.

The Men We Became

The Men We Became
Author: Robert T. Littell
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2013-08-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1466851856

For over twenty years Robert Littell was John F. Kennedy Jr.'s closest confidant. Now, in a beautiful and moving memoir, Littell introduces us to the private John. A story of laughter and sorrow, joy and heartbreak, The Men We Became is an unforgettable memoir. Rob Littell was a freshman at Brown when he met the young JFK, Jr. during orientation week. Although Littell came from a privileged background, it was worlds apart from the glamorous life of the son of the late President and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Eager to be accepted on his own terms, Kennedy admired Littell's irreverence toward his celebrity and they became close friends. John opened up to Littell on a very personal level, revealing the complex and sometimes tense nature of his relationships with his sister and cousins, as well as his mother's extraordinary influence on John - and how they both worked to keep it from being overbearing. John's marriage had its ups and downs and Carolyn had made enemies of some of his friends, but she was in great shape mentally and physically and they were planning to have children. Littell recounts wonderful dinners at Jacqueline Onassis's apartment where she surprised him with his favorite dinner of specially burned hamburgers and weekends at her retreat in Martha's Vineyard where she critiqued their touch football while lying on a chaise lounge, her face covered in cold cream and cucumber slices. As students, Littell and Kennedy bummed around Europe. They slept in Hyde Park, sampled the pleasures of Amsterdam, ran afoul of customs officers and almost got busted at the Ritz Hotel for smoking pot. They even shared apartments in New York City until Jackie summoned them to dinner one day and gently suggested it was time to grow up. The two went on to pursue their professional lives. John trained as a lawyer - and Littell speaks of his friend's anguish at repeatedly failing the bar - and then he founded his own political magazine, which seemed only fitting because Kennedy yearned to live up to the family name and accepted that politics would be his destiny. Later on, Littell was a part of JFK, Jr.'s secret wedding to Carolyn Bessette on Cumberland Island, Georgia, and three years later a pallbearer at his funeral. From shared adventures, private moments and lasting memories, Robert Littell offers a unique look at John F. Kennedy Jr.'s life - one that has never been seen before.

Jack and Lem

Jack and Lem
Author: David Pitts
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2009-04-27
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0786732245

Jack and Lem explores the enduring friendship between John F. Kennedy and Kirk Lemoyne Billings (aka "Lem"). Jack Kennedy and Lem Billings met at Choate and remained friends until the Dallas gunfire that ended Kennedy's life thirty years later. Featuring interviews with Ben Bradlee, Gore Vidal, Ted Sorenson, friends, family, and many others, award -- winning journalist David Pitts begins the story with the early friendship between the men. Though Lem never held an official role in the Kennedy administration, his friendship and insight were much valued, so much so that he had his own room at the White House. This is the story of Jack and Lem and the climate for gays during he Kennedy era -- the story of a great friendship that grew and survived against the odds.

Once Upon a Secret

Once Upon a Secret
Author: Mimi Alford
Publisher: Random House Incorporated
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2012
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1400069106

A former mistress of the 35th President breaks 40 years of silence to present a deeply personal and emotionally charged memoir of their 18-month relationship when she was a college intern at the White House. 125,000 first printing.

The Man to See

The Man to See
Author: Evan Thomas
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 568
Release: 2012-12-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1439127964

This bestselling biography of legendary trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams is "a skillful and lively portrait of a larger-than-life lawyer" (Kirkus Reviews). Legendary attorney Edward Bennet Williams was arguably the best trial lawyer ever to practice. Now, for the first time, bestselling author Evan Thomas takes us into the courtrooms of Williams's greatest performances as he defends "Godfather" Frank Costello, Jimmy Hoffa, Frank Sinatra, The Washington Post, and others, as well as behind the scenes where the witnesses are coached, the traps set, and the deals cut. In addition to being a lawyer of unprecedented influence, Williams was also an important Washington insider, privy to the secrets of America's most powerful men. Thomas tells the truth behind the stories that made Williams one of the most talked about public figures of his time, including Williams's role in the publication of the Pentagon Papers and the possibility that Williams may have been Watergate's Deep Throat. Based on Thomas's exclusive access to Williams's papers, The Man to See is an unprecedented look at the strategies and influence of this exceptional man.

Robert Kennedy

Robert Kennedy
Author: Evan Thomas
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 512
Release: 2013-02-05
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1476734569

He was "Good Bobby," who, as his brother Ted eulogized him, "saw wrong and tried to right it . . . saw suffering and tried to heal it." And "Bad Bobby," the ruthless and manipulative bully of countless conspiracy theories. Thomas's unvarnished but sympathetic and fair-minded portrayal is packed with new details about Kennedy's early life and his behind-the-scenes machinations, including new revelations about the 1960 and 1968 presidential campaigns, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and his long struggles with J. Edgar Hoover and Lyndon Johnson.