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4th out of 79 books
—
32 voters
The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence
by
Gerald Blaine,
Lisa McCubbin (Goodreads Author), Clint Hill
THE SECRET SERVICE. An elite team of men who share a single mission: to protect the president of the United States. On November 22, 1963, these men failed—and a country would never be the same. Now, for the first time, a member of JFK’s Secret Service detail reveals the inside story of the assassination, the weeks and days that led to it and its heartrending aftermath. Thi...more
ebook, 448 pages
Published
November 2nd 2010
by Gallery Books
(first published October 25th 2010)
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A pretty compelling account of the Kennedy assassination by the Secret Service agents themselves. I'm convinced: one gunman (Oswald), three bullets, no government conspiracy. The book doesn't address Oswald's motives in detail, as the Secret Service agents have no particular insight into that. Well-written and super detailed. Excellent history of this tragic event, with great background information.
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This is an amazing book! well written, has some great stories from the agents and their experiences with President Kennedy and the First Family. At times funny, heartwarming, and sad, this book shows the love the agents had for the President and his family. The difficulties they encountered with security, and the sadness of the agents when Patrick died after only being on this earth for a couple days, and when President Kennedy was brutally killed during the motorcade in Dallas. I highly recomme...more
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Five stars, absolutely. And here is why! I began my research (1980) into the Assassination after the HSCA released its’ findings around 1979 I think it was. My Assassination library is extensive. By 1980 I had been in Law Enforcement 4 years. I had an understanding of how investigations come together, how the physical evidence relates to the case, what is needed to complete an investigation and most of all the ability to separate true needed facts from what is interesting, but not really relevan...more
This was an excellent book about the Secret Service at the time of the JFK assassination in 1963. The book includes the type of man who chooses this life, the selection process, their relationships with the presidential family they protect, how their daily lives work out as well as advance work for a presidential trip and the trip itself. It's an honor, but a hard life of rather constantly being on call. When the president goes home for Christmas, the Secret Service agents assigned to his entire...more
Jerry Blaine wasn't there when Kennedy was shot, but he could have been.
Blaine was a Secret Service agent assigned to protect JFK, but on November 22, he was in Austin preparing for the president's next stop after Dallas.
The book is full of fascinating (but decorous) detail about how the Secret Service worked before the assassination, why certain decisions were made that increased the danger to Kennedy in a hostile town, and what the agents did after the shots were fired. For one thing, it sound...more
Blaine was a Secret Service agent assigned to protect JFK, but on November 22, he was in Austin preparing for the president's next stop after Dallas.
The book is full of fascinating (but decorous) detail about how the Secret Service worked before the assassination, why certain decisions were made that increased the danger to Kennedy in a hostile town, and what the agents did after the shots were fired. For one thing, it sound...more
THE KENNEDY DETAIL is an account of the Kennedy Assassination told almost entirely from the perspective of the handful of Secret Service agents who were assigned to guard the president. In almost any discussion of the events of November 22, 1963 it is nearly impossible to avoid the specter of, "Who was Really Responsible" for this catastrophic slaying. However, it soon becomes clear that to these men, it was largely irrelevant as to who committed the crime, but only how the events of that terrib...more
I do not know why these individuals have waited 48 years to talk about what happened that day. However, in a positive light it offers unique insight into what it was like to work with President Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy on the Secret Service Detail. It is an oral testimony of history through the eyes of men that were that day and witnessed the assassination first hand. Interestingly, the book was written by one agent that was not in Dallas that day.
One of the problems I have with the book is tha...more
One of the problems I have with the book is tha...more
For inexplicable reasons, I am always drawn to books on the JFK assasination and this one seemed particularly interesting as it is told from the perspective of the secret service detail assigned to protect both JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy. While the book is rather awkwardly written in a third-person omniscient voice, it does attempt to articulate the oddly close--and yet distant--relationship between the agents and the politicians they have pledged to protect. Critics contend that the book was wr...more
With time moving on and memories fading, former Secret Service agent, Jerry Blaine decided it was time to finally publish the authoritative version of events from those who had the closest view, the U.S. Secret Service detail assigned to handle the president’s security on that fateful day. Though not there in person, Blaine has gone back though notes, records and most importantly his associates who were there on the front lines as the events of the day unfolded to assemble the book, “The Kennedy...more
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A close up and personal look at the Kennedy assassination from the perspective of the men who were assigned to protect the President - and those who were the closest to the actual events that horrible November day in Dallas..
Former Agent Jerry Blaine tells the story of the remarkable dedication and professionalism of the Secret Service agents on the presidential protection detail. It also gives an intimate glimpse into the personalities of John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacquelin Kennedy.
The b...more
Former Agent Jerry Blaine tells the story of the remarkable dedication and professionalism of the Secret Service agents on the presidential protection detail. It also gives an intimate glimpse into the personalities of John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacquelin Kennedy.
The b...more
The Good Stuff
* Compelling and authentic and extremely classy (no tell all gossip book here)
* Touching first hand accounts of the relationship between JFK and his staff and his family
* Good selection of photographs including a lovely candid one of JFK and his kids on Halloween
* The scene between JFK and his son is very touching when you realize this is the last time they will ever see each other. Made me cry -- for once at least I wasn't in a public place when I read it
* Enjoyed the little...more
* Compelling and authentic and extremely classy (no tell all gossip book here)
* Touching first hand accounts of the relationship between JFK and his staff and his family
* Good selection of photographs including a lovely candid one of JFK and his kids on Halloween
* The scene between JFK and his son is very touching when you realize this is the last time they will ever see each other. Made me cry -- for once at least I wasn't in a public place when I read it
* Enjoyed the little...more
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I enjoyed this as an audio book. It really gave me something to think about. I was only about 7 years old at the time of the assassination but like everyone else I vividly remember where I was and what I was doing. I was in music class, had just been given a triangle and was looking forward to my big part when the Mother Superior rushed in to whisper something to the music teacher. The school was closed and we were sent home. I found my mother crying in the living room.
But, I digress.....This is...more
But, I digress.....This is...more
Since I am in that age group that remembers exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard that President Kennedy was shot and killed, this book appealed to me. Since I stood in line for hours to file by his body lying in state in the Capitol rotunda, I was interested in reading the story of that period in history written from the point of view of the Secret Service men who served President and Mrs. Kennedy and were present on that horrible day in Dallas. While this book could have benefi...more
The Kennedy Detail is a gripping look into the lives of the men who took the oath to protect President Kennedy. Blaine and McCubbin made me feel that I was actually standing on a running board in the Dallas motorcade and I found myself hoping that history would be changed as Agent Hill made his way to the president. Very powerful writing about a very powerful time in our history.
"Disclaimer": I began this book with a deep appreciation for the United Secret Service, and I finished this book with flat out adoration for the agents and their families. Further, I should note that I never believed any conspiracy theories.
We all know what happened fifty years ago on that November day. This book takes us back in the years and weeks preceding the assassination. There is a lot of coverage of the President, and we learn how the USSS was organized in the 1960s. We follow the Presid...more
We all know what happened fifty years ago on that November day. This book takes us back in the years and weeks preceding the assassination. There is a lot of coverage of the President, and we learn how the USSS was organized in the 1960s. We follow the Presid...more
I don't know what to think about this book? I read it first in a 3 part series about the assassination and while I appreciated the descriptions of life on Kennedy's Secret Service detail and "their side of the story" regarding the assassination, the book raises a lot of questions.
The author and the other primary agent in the book (Clint Hill who was Jackie's Special Agent) really want the world to accept the "Magic Bullet" principal. I can understand why. The agents who guarded the President tru...more
The author and the other primary agent in the book (Clint Hill who was Jackie's Special Agent) really want the world to accept the "Magic Bullet" principal. I can understand why. The agents who guarded the President tru...more
This is an excellent book that gives readers a glimpse into the lives of the secret service agents in charge of protecting President Kennedy. It's a work of historical non-fiction, but at the same time, a human interest drama about what these men dealt with during a painful and emotionally heart-wrenching time.
The book is well written and brings the reader into the heads and hearts of the Kennedy Detail Agents. It lays out the difficulties of the job the agents had, as well as captures a glimps...more
The book is well written and brings the reader into the heads and hearts of the Kennedy Detail Agents. It lays out the difficulties of the job the agents had, as well as captures a glimps...more
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Real review: 3.5 stars
Like most Americans, I know of the Kennedy assassination and the conspiracy theories surrounding it. I'll confess that modern history is not my forte, so that's why I picked up "The Kennedy Detail." This book delves into the relationships of the secret service agents with the Kennedy family from his inauguration to his death to the aftermath.
My issue with this book stems from how it was organized. While it didn't need to have a chronological order, it jumped from the 1963 t...more
Like most Americans, I know of the Kennedy assassination and the conspiracy theories surrounding it. I'll confess that modern history is not my forte, so that's why I picked up "The Kennedy Detail." This book delves into the relationships of the secret service agents with the Kennedy family from his inauguration to his death to the aftermath.
My issue with this book stems from how it was organized. While it didn't need to have a chronological order, it jumped from the 1963 t...more
Nonfiction books are usually interesting to me, but a slower read. This one, I just couldn't put down!
With all of the research done by the author, he provides a very thorough and firsthand account of the JFK presidency, what it was like to be a secret service agent on the kennedy detail (as well as other presidents), and that awful day in Dallas. Though at times it was difficult to follow who all of the agents were, I really appreciated the fact that the author used information from so many men...more
With all of the research done by the author, he provides a very thorough and firsthand account of the JFK presidency, what it was like to be a secret service agent on the kennedy detail (as well as other presidents), and that awful day in Dallas. Though at times it was difficult to follow who all of the agents were, I really appreciated the fact that the author used information from so many men...more
Overall, a good book, with a lot of good insight into the Secret Service. I thought Blaine tried a bit too hard to convince readers of the "company line" about the assassination. While reading the book, I went back to the Zapruder film several times, and came away doubting Blaine's version. First, understand that by his own admission, he wasn't at Dealey Plaza that day, yet he calls any questioning of the lone assassin theory ludicrous. Looking at the film, I find Blaine's adherence to this vers...more
This was a very interesting book about the Kennedy years as seen through the perspective of those Secret Service men assigned to protect President Kennedy and his family. Great detail is given to all aspects of security leading up to and including the assassination of JFK as well as the years following. Although there is a lot of personal information and insight into the personalities of JFK, Jackie and their children, and great detail about what went on behind the scenes during the time of the...more
This book puts a new slant on the Kennedy Assassination, which has been approached from almost every conceivable angle. It was enlightening to read about this most horrendous of atrocities from the point of view of those who were sent to Dallas to protect the man who was killed. I feel sorry for the burden they have born all these years. With that said, though, I have never read a really satisfying account of the assassination, this book included. There are still just too many troubling details...more
November 2, 1963 will always stand out in my memory. My first year of high school and rumors began during our lunch break that President Kennedy had been shot. I hurried to the school office and asked if I could make an emergency call home. (No cell phones in those days!) I called my mom and she confirmed that not only had he been shot, but that he had died. For the first time in history all three television networks cancelled all programming and featured only assassination and funeral coverage...more
This is a completely fascinating book. This is not a tell-all, not a truth-revealing-expose, but the story from the perspective of the truly remarkable men who provided security to JFK and his family.
It is not the story of Kennedys, so it avoids many of the controversies surrounding the Kennedy presidency, and instead focuses on the lives of the secret service: their sacrifices, their relationships with the Kennedy's and each other, their heartbreak and guilt over the assignation of JFK. So man...more
It is not the story of Kennedys, so it avoids many of the controversies surrounding the Kennedy presidency, and instead focuses on the lives of the secret service: their sacrifices, their relationships with the Kennedy's and each other, their heartbreak and guilt over the assignation of JFK. So man...more
Ok I am on a roll with my picks. Reading has been slow. Get a page in then need to drop and continue on something else. This book does a great job of making clear what really took place that day. These are the stories from the "REAL" men that had the job as Secret Service Agents during this sad day for Americans. Small forward by Agent Clint Hill the man who leaped towards the President and First Lady is very telling of what he has endured all these years. The behind the scenes true accounts fr...more
The Kennedy Detail, by former White House Secret Service agent Gerald Blaine, was an incredibly emotional book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's a story we all know but seen from a perspective that I suspect few have ever experienced. Agent Jerry Blaine was on Kennedy's White House detail and was one of the advance agents during Kennedy's tour of the south that ended that fateful day in Dallas in November of 1963. The book is chock full of factual details and avoids any in-depth discussions of the...more
Interesting read about the secret service agents that provided protection for President Kennedy and his family. The beginning was a little slow but when it got to the details surrounding the assasination of the President, myself an avid reader of anything "Kennedy" found new information I had not read before. Anyone interested in being a secret agent should read this book to see just what the job is about. These agents not only sacrificed time with family and friends to do this job, but endured...more
I'm a tad ignorant when it comes to history, so I may have gained more from this book than others who have read it in terms of refreshing my memory about the Cuban missile crises, Kennedy's campaign, etc.
Nevertheless, the focus of this book is on the Secret Service agents in charge of protecting the Kennedy family. The first half of the book goes into heavy detail about each agent: Their personal and professional background, family, relationships with other agents, etc. It did drag in some plac...more
Nevertheless, the focus of this book is on the Secret Service agents in charge of protecting the Kennedy family. The first half of the book goes into heavy detail about each agent: Their personal and professional background, family, relationships with other agents, etc. It did drag in some plac...more
This was like reliving three days of my life. When I was in the 7th grade, the teacher announced to the class that the president had been shot and then disappeared to the teachers' lounge with all the other teachers to listen to the radio and figure out what to do. (This was a small school but housed all 8 grades and it was not unusual for a teacher to put the kids busy at a task and attend to something and know the students would continue working.) Eventually she came back and told us President...more
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“I sat there, staring at the television set, the images of her playing over and over, my memories right there on the screen. I was overcome with a deep sense of loss. The tears streamed down my face, and I was not ashamed.”
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