This is a book about the Secret Service agents that were working at the time of the Kennedy assassination. Some were protecting Kennedy, some were protecting Jackie, some protecting John-John, some protecting Caroline.
The true selflessness of these agents is inherent of the field that they are in. They must be willing to take a bullet if it is possible to protect the people that they are assigned to protect.
This was enlightening and fascinating to read. True heroes, to me. ( )

Captivating, interesting and worth time spent reading this story from the perspective of the secret service men, many of whom were impacted by the assignation of President John F. Kennedy on a fateful day of November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.

Clint Hill was forever haunted by the fact if he would have been able to run a few seconds faster, he could have made it to the limo containing the President. He then would have taken the second and third bullets shot from the book depository, and the President would live.

Well written, and of important note is the fact that it was JFK who told the agents to give a wide berth in following or surrounding the cars. Kennedy believed that he was not particularly liked in Texas, and thus wanted to be visible to those watching the President.

This was the first time Jackie Kennedy accompanied her husband on a tour. In detail, we learn of her bravery in accompanying her husband into the hospital, holding his head and in shock, praying for the best outcome.

This is the story of before, during and after. The impact on the nation and the ensuing far-fetched manifold conspiracy theories as well as those who believe they failed to protect the President, is told in a clear, undramatic fashion. ( )

Absolutely fabulous. These agents truly give their whole lives to the job of protecting the President and his family. This book starts from a few weeks before the assassination to many years after it. Their story brings you closer to every member of JFK's immediate family. I found out personal details that I was not aware of that added to much to my view of their live. This book takes you to the heart of Dealy Plaza and puts you right in the heart of the assassination. A great history of the JFK and his family and a great history of the Secret Service. ( )

Close as you could get to event w/out being there ( )

Breaking more than four decades of silence, Secret Service Agent Gerald Blaine has compiled government documents, agent stories and his own personal account of November 22, 1963 to give readers an inside look at what happened the day President Kennedy was assassinated. The book is written in four sections: The Men, The Job, That Day, and Our Lives which fills in the picture of the president’s life in the early 1960s and the small intimate detail of agents who sole job it is to protect the president from harm.

Retired Secret Service agent Clint Hill had been to Dallas just twice in his life. The first time was the day he flung himself on President John F. Kennedy's car a moment after the fatal shot was fired 47 years ago. In 1990, he returned to Dealey Plaza and finally come to terms with what had happened. Hill says "I know exactly where it was and what happened at that moment. ... I still can see the president's head being blown apart, being blown wide open. I can see him lying on Mrs. Kennedy's lap in the back seat of the car as I lay above them trying to get to Parkland Hospital. ... It'll never go away."

These men served their country, not for the low wages, but for inner reasons. Their lives were intertwined with the First Family, spending more time with Caroline and John than their own children. Their wives and children were bonded together in an effort to make up for the time their husbands were away. The agent life style deprived them of regular meals, regular sleep and taxed their inner resources.

I was only nine years old when President Kennedy was assassinated but I remember being let out early from school and our teachers were crying and clinging to each other. This is certainly not an in-depth look at the events that happened in Dallas that day but more of an autobiographical remembrance from a group of men we know little of, even today. When I was done reading it, I downloaded the documentary from the History channel and found it very interesting as well. You not only see the young agents but a lot of footage of the Kennedy family during the years preceding the assassination. I found it more interesting that I expected when it was selected by my local book club as their January read. ( )