Customer Reviews

The Bodyguard's Story: Diana, the Crash, and the Sole Survivor

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This is a straightforward explanation of what Mr. Trevor Rees-Jones experienced, and continues to cope with, to this day. This is not a "Diana" book. While she is a victim in this tragic accident, and the stupidity that lead to it, she is portrayed as a human being. Mr. Rees-Jones shares his time around her and her sons, and portrays Princess Diana as a person and Mother, not as the star of tabloid circus fiction. He was NEVER her bodyguard. He worked for and guarded Mr. Fayed the son, and by extension the Princess, and her Sons.

I picked up this book as I remember that date as the day that took two special people from us, who were also great friends of each other, Mother Teresa and Princess Diana.

This book is written from the perspective of Mr. Rees-Jones with contributions from family, friends and co-workers when he was not conscious to narrate events himself. This is his story, of a remarkable man who recovered from horrendous physical damage, and contends with the accident that will haunt him for life. He and his Family share what it was like for them, how it nearly tore the Family apart, how it may have contributed to the death of his Nain (Grandmother). His story is one of courage and of his personal values and integrity that he never lost, when nearly everyone around him were themselves for sale, regardless of whether they knew anything, or just spouted fiction.

The book gives insight into the French Legal System, emergency medical practices, and the remarkable young reconstructive surgeon who gave this man back his face and his life.

The only time sensationalism appears is when it is condemned. Photographers who literally got in the way of rescue workers so as to get their pictures of the dead and dying. The ridiculous stories that were touted as fact by even the most "respectable" of news agencies.

This is also about a Father who lost his Son, and still will not accept what happened. Today he filed a suit to prevent the Author from benefiting financially from this book. The Author was loyal to Mr. Fayed long after 99% of people would have told him where to get off.

Nothing less than a conspiracy of Oliver Stone proportions will satisfy Mr. Fayed the Father. Somewhere I hope he knows that an extremely incapacitated employee of his, who drove a limousine that was owned by a company Mr. Fayed is Co-Owner of, who was not licensed to drive the limousine, was at the wheel when the horrific crash occured.

I also believe the photographers contributed to the accident. What I still don't understand, is how many pictures were needed of this woman, 1 million 2 million? Decide for yourself, but I believe no motorcycles, no white Fiat, no deaths.

A tragic accident brought about by a series of judgement errors. And they were not the errors of the security provided by Mr. Trevor Rees-Jones or his Partner Kez.

Very good book, very sad story.

Interesting book. I was devastated at Diana's death, having followed her life since 1980, but I cannot believe the number of Diana admirers who just will not put her death behind them and move on. Trevor Rees Jones clearly outlines the botched Fayed security job not only that fateful night but also throughout her entire involvement with Dodi Fayed. If a car is driven at three times the legal speed limit through a tunnel with a curved entrance and no crash barriers by a drunk driver and none of the occupants are wearing seatbelts, I don't care how famous the occupants are, it seems pretty obvious that this is a recipe for disaster. Diana is gone and as sad as it is, believing Al Fayed's conspiracy theories only does damage to people like Trevor Rees Jones and Prince's William and Harry. I hope Rees Jones' book will be the final word and we can now all let her rest in peace.

The bodyguard Trevor strikes me as having integrity in the way he dealt with this most famous event. I believe he is vindicated, in this honest account, from those who sought to twist the facts to propagate conspiracy theories. Some people just cannot accept the simple truth. Read for yourself and decide. It's well worth the read. May he now go back into obscurity and live out his life normally.

I found this book to be a fascinating and (to me) honest account of Princess Diana's last month, her relationship with the Fayed family and the Paris accident that claimed her life. It left me with three distinct impressions: Princess Diana was spoiled but still acted decently and honorably when dealing with the Fayed family and their staff; the Fayed family (all of them, but most notably Mohammed and his son Dodi) were spoiled, head strong, obnoxious people, and seemingly impossible to work for; and Trevor Rees-Jones is to be strongly commended for putting up with them, coming out of these tragic events in reasonably good emotional shape, and for the misguided but honorable loyalty he maintained to Fayed as long as he did after the accident.

I have long thought that the relationship that Fayed protrayed between Dodi and Diana was fantasy, and the book confirmed that without being nasty about it. How he could argue conspiracy theory when even those closest to Dodi couldn't anticipate his movements 5 minutes into the future is beyond me. After all, if Dodi had just skipped Paris and returned home to London, history would be entirely different. And Dodi has always appeared to me (and the book again confirmed this) to be a spoiled, directionless, immature daddy's boy with no accountability to anyone in life. I was left with nothing but distaste for the entire family, and am sorry that, whatever her life's success and failures, Diana found herself so involved with them at her death.

It is shocking to me (a product of the U S judicial system) that TRJ was said to have no claim against the Ritz or the Etoile limo company as a result of the accident. Thank goodness England DOES have nationalized health...the medical bills must have been astronomical (and, unlike some other reviewers, it was obvious to me that Fayed paid very little toward them, and even less toward TRJ's legal fees). It was certainly no hardship for Fayed to put up TRJ's family in Paris...they could have stayed in any of his many properties there, and I'm sure he did it only to keep his "claws" in the family and the situation. And the actions of the Fayed organization after TRJ returned to England are downright spooky. Too bad TRJ remained loyal to them for so long, but after the injuries he sustained in their service, I can understand why it was such a measure of success for him to get back to his old life (although putting up with all that abuse for less than US $50K a year is martyrdom).

And finally, I don't blame TRJ at all for profiting from the book. After all, many, many people, generally with no relationship to Diana, have written "definitive" books about the last days of her life. And the French legal system did nothing to help TRJ put away any money for all the medical and emotional issues he is likely to have for the rest of his life, or compensate him for the months of his life that he lost. The impact of the accident on his quality of life is obvious...the impact on his QUANTITY of life remains to be seen.

Not the best written book, but fascinating all the same.

I have always wondered what kind of a person Trevor Rees-Jones was and his book gave an in-depth view of him, personally and professionally . . . in his own words.

The saying goes that "truth is stranger than fiction." The truth is also less sensational and colorful than the portrait painted by tabloid hacks and unethical "journalists" the world over.

From the start, I didn't think Trevor was trying to cash in on his time with Diana, Princess of Wales. In the foreward, he stated that writing the book (author Moira Johnston helped him write it) was his way of dealing with the situation and moving on with his life.

Trevor is an ordinary guy who had a very high profile job. It was because of circumstances on the job (that lead to what Trevor called "an industrial accident") and the fact that he was in a car with the world's most famous woman that has put him center stage for the rest of his life.

I felt sorry for the entire Rees-Jones family as diary entry after another explained the turmoil going on inside each of them: His mother and stepfather's struggle to getting Trevor on the road to recovery, the whole family having to deal with the intense media pressure, having Trevor's professionalism called into question by so-called experts (that, in his own words, were not at the Ritz nor in the car), Trevor's having to cope with the fact that he was the only survivor, the family's having to deal with the first overprotective and subsequently vicious hand of Mohammed Al Fayed. The list goes on.

I did get mad at, but then later understood, Trevor's wanting to keep his job with Al Fayed. He was the textbook case example of a loyal employee. Unfortunately, Mohammed Al Fayed was (and still is) so hung up on his conspiracy theories that he thought Trevor was lying to him about how much he remembered of the accident. It was only when he (Al Fayed) was more forthright in wanting to take complete control of the investigation that Trevor had finally had enough and quit (his good friend, Kez, would also quit about two years after the crash for the same reason: He told Al Fayed to his face that he thought his theories were rubbish).

I give Trevor and his family (his real last name is just Rees but he changed HIS name to Rees-Jones because he was so in love with his now ex-wife Sue Jones) MUCH credit for coming through such a trying time in their lives not only intact but stronger than ever. They did not let any of the media attention go to their heads (even as Trevor's so-called friends and even Sue were selling themselves to the highest bidder in the media). They remained true small town folks to the end (and Trevor was even able to play his beloved rugby not a year after the crash).

Some folks may find this book boring as Trevor is a very down-to-earth chap who just shoots straight from the hip. He doesn't trump up the facts (or make things up entirely as the media decided to do time and again while Trevor refused to give interviews). He presents Diana in a very positive light and tells the unexciting truth about the goings on of the case and behind the scenes shananigans of one Mohammed Al Fayed.

Highly recommended (if you can still get it) for a first hand account of wha it's like on the other side of the camera and news reports.

What a great book! I couldn't put it down. Even if you thought you'dheard all there is to tell about that tragic August night,Mr. Rees-Jones puts a human touch to the story with respect and decency. His story goes far beyond the last few weeks of Diana's life and the horrible accident that ended it. It's the story of the amazing strength, courage, and tremendous amount of love shown by his family in the face of so much adversity. His mother's unwavering devotion and commitment to nurse him back to health; I cried through so much of it that I had to go back and read it again! It is for sure worth the read!

This is a wonderful book written by an amazing person. It is a must read for anybody interested in Princess Diana or Trevor Rees-Jones himself. It not only talks about the events leading up to the crash, but also the struggle Trevor had to re-build his life. It is a heart warming story of a wonderful young man who had his life torn to pieces. One really feels for Trev. The physical injuries he received are devistating, but one gets the feeling that the emotional trauma far outweighed this. This book is written to tell Trev's side of the story, and yes, he does come across as a caring and honest person. One can only marvel at how well he came through the ordeal. I wish Trev every happiness for the future. May he now be able to live a happy and fulfilling life. This book really is a wonderful, heart-warming story that is well worth a read.

This fine book not only clears up alot of rumor and inaccuracies that still cloud Diana's death -- for example, Trevor was not wearing a seatbelt. But it goes far beyond the crash to tell an amazing and moving human story of Trevor and his family facing unbelievable pressures with rare courage and decency. I couldn't put it down!

There is only one person that knows what actually happened before, during and after the horrific accident that left most of the world in shock and disbelief and that is Trevor Rees-Jones.

This was a fascinating look "behind the scenes" of a royal and much beloved figure and a very foolish "commoner". The fault of this accident seems to rest with Dodi making a bunch of unwise decisions that ultimately led to 3 people losing their lives.

A fascinating read, albeit a bit slow in some chapters, but fascinating none the less!

I learned a few things that were not told by others by this sad story. This book kept me so interested I had a hard time putting it down. Someone asked if I believed Treveor Rees-Jones more so than all the other books. I must tell you, yes. What courage & pain this man went through.
Everything happens for a reason but the hell this man went through, I'm not sure why. I would love to meet him.
This book makes you feel as if you were there.