The good son : JFK Jr. and the mother he loved

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Title:

The good son : JFK Jr. and the mother he loved

Author:

Andersen, Christopher P.

ISBN:

9781483024660

Edition:

Unabridged.

Physical Description:

10 audio discs (12 hr.) : digital, CD audio ; 4 3/4 in.

General Note:

Compact discs.

Contents:

Part I. His mother's son -- "Please don't do it" -- The son he had longed for -- "John, you can salute Daddy now" -- "A Kennedy never gives up" -- "I want to help him go back and find his father" -- A shoebox full of diamonds -- The crown prince -- Part II. John on his own -- Just one of the guys -- "My mother will be frantic" -- "I'm not my father" -- "The luckiest man alive".

Personal Subject:

Kennedy, John F., Jr., 1960-1999

Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy, 1929-1994.

Kennedy family.

Subject Term:

Children of presidents -- United States -- Biography.

Presidents' spouses -- United States -- Biography.

Genre:

Audiobooks

Added Author:

Dean, Robertson

Local Subject:

Spoken compact disc collection.

Summary:

Like many parents and children, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and JFK Jr. shared an intense, tender, and often tempestuous bond. It was, quite simply, the most important relationship in John's life. With riveting insight, Andersen reveals how mother and son influenced, challenged, and supported each other through good times and bad, unveiling startling new details about a family we thought we already knew: John's reaction to his mother's bout with suicidal depression and growing dependence on prescription drugs; the surreal and ultimately catastrophic impact of the Onassis years; the premonitions that terrified Jackie about John's fate; Jackie's success at keeping John away from his hellraising cousins, and his complicated relationship with the rest of the clan; the power she wielded over his affairs with Madonna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Daryl Hannah, and others; how John privately handled the scandalous revelations about his parents' marriage; the secrets about John's own turbulent marriage and his senseless death. Bittersweet, provocative, thoughtful and inspiring, this is the often heartbreaking tale of two lives tested by history and tragedy.--From publisher description.

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Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	SCD 973.922092 AND 10 DISCS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	SCD 973.922092 AND 10 DISCS	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Day John Died delivers another dramatic installment in the lives of the Kennedys-including new details about JFK Jr., his relationship with his mother, his many girlfriends, and the night of his tragic death.

Critically acclaimed author Christopher Andersen is a master of celebrity biographies-boasting sixteen bestsellers, among them These Few Precious Days , Mick , and William and Kate . Now in his latest thrilling book, untold details of the life and death of JFK Jr. come to light, released in time for the fifteen-year marker of the tragic plane crash on July 16, 1999.

At the heart of The Good Son is the most important relationship in JFK Jr.'s life: that with his mother, the beautiful and mysterious Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Andersen explores his reactions to his mother's post-Dallas suicidal depression and growing dependence on prescription drugs (as well as men); how Jackie felt about the women in her son's life, from Madonna and Sarah Jessica Parker, to Daryl Hannah and Carolyn Bessette, to his turbulent marriage; the senseless plane crash that took his life; the aftermath of shock, loss, grief, and confusion; and much more. Offering new insights into the intense, tender, and often stormy relationship between this iconic mother and son, The Good Son is a riveting, bittersweet biography for lovers of all things Kennedy.

Author Notes

Christopher Andersen was born on May 26, 1949. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and joined the staff of Time Magazine as a contributing editor in 1969. He was the senior editor of People Magazine from 1974 to 1986. He has also written for numerous publications including The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Life, and Vanity Fair.

He has written over 25 books. His early nonfiction books range from psychology in The Name Game to true crime in The Serpent's Tooth to art collecting in The Best of Everything. He is best known for his biographies including Somewhere in Heaven: The Remarkable Love Story of Dana and Christopher Reeve, The Day John Died, Madonna Unauthorized, and These Few Precious Days: The Final Year of Jack with Jackie. He received the Joan's Legacy Award for excellence in journalism regarding lung cancer in 2008.

In 2016 Andersen's title Game of Crowns: Elizabeth, Camilla, Kate, and the Throne made the New York Time bestseller list.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

Best-selling biographer Andersen (These Few Precious Days: The Final Year of Jack with Jackie, 2013, etc.) chronicles John F. Kennedy Jr.'s too-brief life and the complex relationship he shared with his beautiful, enigmatic mother, Jacqueline. As the only son of John and Jackie Kennedy, the most "glamorous couple" of their generation, JFK Jr. came into the world burdened by expectations. JFK hoped his son would one day enter politics; at the same time, though, he also expressed a desire that John Jr. "would do whatever [made] him happy." Ultimately, though, it would be his widow, Jackie, who influenced their son the most. She, too, wanted him to forge his own path. But she also had a keen sense of herself as the keeper of her husband's legacy and that John Jr. would one day become the Kennedy family standard-bearer. A devoted mother, Jackie fought to protect both her children from the media attention that followed them into their lives as private citizens. She also did everything she could to keep JFK's memory alive in her son. In the meantime, Jr. developed a passion for the stage. But under pressure from Jackie, he abandoned his dream to study acting. Still, he never left the spotlight and went on to have high-profile affairsof which his mother wholeheartedly disapprovedwith celebrities like Madonna and Daryl Hannah. He struggled to find his political identity and fulfill his mother's wishes for him through ventures like the short-lived pop-political magazine George. In the end, though, he never quite found his career footing. Three years before his tragic death at age 38, John Jr. married Carolyn Bessette, who mirrored Jackie in her patrician bearing, stylishness and need for control. Sensitive and astute, Andersen's book offers an intriguing look at a fraught mother-son dynamic that, years after the deaths of both Jackie and John Jr., still has the power to mesmerize. An intimate and compelling look at "the most brilliant star in the Kennedy firmament." Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal Review

Best-selling biographer Andersen (These Few Precious Days: The Final Year of Jack with Jackie) provides an in-depth look at the tragically short life of John F. Kennedy Jr. The author emphasizes the relationship he had with his mother, Jackie, and skillfully interweaves profiles of several other influential people in his life, including his sister Caroline, billionaire stepfather Aristotle Onassis, and wife Carolyn Bessette. Anderson recounts well-known events, such as Kennedy Jr. hiding underneath the presidential desk as a toddler and the tabloid fodder that resulted from his many paramours. Besides the young man's notable achievements, such as founding George magazine, Anderson also describes darker events that impacted the Kennedy clan including criminal prosecutions, accounts of substance abuse, and numerous untimely deaths. There have been several volumes written about America's most renowned former first family and numerous John F. Kennedy Jr. biographies exist. Matt Berman provides a personal perspective on the late scion's life is his recent account, JFK Jr., George, & Me: A Memoir. VERDICT Anderson's work, unfortunately, does not afford much new material. However, this comprehensive text will satisfy new readers to this iconic family's saga, or perhaps Kennedy completists.-Mary Jennings, Camano Island Lib., WA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

Library Journal Review

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