Mrs Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill

In this picture Clint Hill is attempting to reach Jackie Kennedy who is trying to get help for her husband who has just been shot.



There have been and continue to be endless books written about the Kennedys. After the death of John F. Kennedy there was a treasure chest of both the myth and the real and for every book written about the late President there is just as likely to have been one written about his wife, Jackie.
We have had Saintly Jackie, Diva Jackie, Working Jackie, Icon Jackie, really the list is endless and most have been read by me!
This book is interesting in that it was written by the Secret Service Agent whose specific task was to look after Lace( Mrs K`s code name) and to ensure that she was safe at all times. In the pre publicity for this book Clint Hill was asked if he had been just a little in love with Mrs Kennedy and after reading it the reader certainly comes to the conclusion that he was, there was nothing yuky and tacky about it and considering the behaviour of her husband, the need for a close, at all times professional man to rely on was not a luxury but a necessity.

Hill really does tell the inside story and he has a unique and very interesting view of the many people and places that he observed during the years 1961-63 and the aftermath of Dallas.View would argue that these men had to work hard but there were also many privileges and benefits to their jobs and the travel alone was mind blowing. A very readable book if at times a little overwrought, his perceptive observation of Aristotle Onassis would likely be spot on.He doesn`t appear to have much liked Lee Radziwill either but I`m yet to read a memoir where anyone particularly does.
His telling of the events of November 22nd 1963 in Dallas, Texas are chilling and heartbreaking and it is easy to forget the number of people who directly saw what Lee Harvey Oswalds bullets rendered.
Hill continue to serve with distinction until retirement and its easy to see why.
This book is available at Dymocks, Newmarket at a very good price for a hardback and is also available through the library system.