The Day John Died [Mass Market Paperback]

Christopher Andersen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 2001

"It's hard for me to talk about a
legacy or a mystique. It's my family --
my mother, my sister, my father.
We're a family like any other."

Where were You the day John died? Like his father's assassination and the death of Princess Diana, the tragic death of JFK Jr. on July 16, 1999, is one of those defining moments -- an event that moved us so deeply, we will never forget where we were when we heard the news.

A full year after the plane crash that took the lives of John, his wife, Carolyn, and Carolyn's sister Lauren, millions remain in shock. With good reason. No other American had lived his entire life in the spotlight -- from his rambunctious toddlerhood in the Kennedy White House and heartbreaking salute to his father's coffin to his daredevil Sexiest Man Alive bachelor days and his final years as a devoted husband and respected magazine publisher poised on the brink of fatherhood and a brilliant political career.

Now, in the manner of his headline-making #1 New York Times bestseller The Day Diana Died and his two bestselling books about John's parents, Jack and Jackie and Jackie After Jack, Christopher Andersen draws on important sources -- many talking here for the first time -- to re-create in vivid and startling detail the events leading up to that fateful night off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Among the revelations:

How false weather reports from the FAA led to the crash that killed John, Carolyn, and Lauren.

Never-before-known details about John's complex relationship with his mother, his intense bond with his sister, Caroline, and his dealings with his star-crossed Kennedy cousins.

The state of his stormy marriage to the glamorous and headstrong Carolyn Bessette and where it was headed.

The other harrowing moments when John nearly lost his life.

The truth about John's wild younger years, including his affairs with Madonna and Daryl Hannah.

How JFK Jr. came to view his father and his family's political legacy -- and his feelings about a political career of his own.

An inspiring, sympathetic, and compelling look at one of the most remarkable young men of our time, The Day John Died is more than just the definitive biography of JFK Jr. It is a bittersweet saga of triumph, love, loss, fate -- and promise unfulfilled. It is the story of America's son.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's interesting that Jackie Kennedy had premonitions of JFK Jr.'s plane-crash death, that he almost hit an American Airlines jet, and that, to prevent those last shrieking 15 seconds when G-forces distorted his face prior to impact, all he had to do was punch two buttons and the Piper Saratoga would've landed safely on autopilot.

The Day John Died is a misleading title, because it's mostly about his life: his family dynamics, romances, dreams, and achievements. Christopher Andersen, a former Time and People editor, gives a surprisingly well rounded account of John's character--along with 73 eloquent photos and lots of the dishy details inquiring minds want to know. The book is both trashy and classy. Though some of the inside stuff is tough to know for sure (was Carolyn Bessette really a manic druggie who denied John sex for a year?), Andersen knows more than most, having spent years researching Jack and Jackie and Jackie After Jack. We feel Jackie's power over her unstudious, scatterbrained, yet rather smart son, and Andersen plausibly sketches her brilliant job of shielding him from the worst influences of the Kennedy clan, her withering effect on his acting career, her revulsion over his stint as Madonna's boy toy, and much more. Andersen's expertise about the family makes us less skeptical of, say, his account of Bessette's wily seduction technique (she used an expertly timed cold shoulder and a hunky model-actor from Baywatch to make John jealous), or their spat over Sharon Stone.

There's gobs of drama besides the finale: John the child saved from death in a fiery Hawaiian luau pit (by the same father-figure Secret Service man who saved his mom from drowning), John repeatedly risking death by flying his ultralight into the ocean and power lines, John twice saving pals from drowning, once while diving for a pirate ship. Andersen omits no dirt (yes, JFK Jr. snorted coke from a JFK ashtray in college), yet he's fair (JFK Jr. had no real drug problem, while his dad was a chronic speed-needle freak). All in all, John comes off as a hell of a nice guy--almost the opposite of his Machiavellian father. He was about one-thousandth as promiscuous as he could've been, and all his exes remained his friends, even Daryl Hannah (the only girl he could've married for her money), who went down on one knee to propose, but was opposed by Jackie and Caroline.

Mostly, it's a poignant book. When told that JFK had gone to heaven, JFK Jr. asked his nanny, "Did Daddy take his big plane with him?" The nanny said, "Yes." --Tim Appelo --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A detail-packed tear-jerker." -- --Associated Press

"Compusively readable." -- --Chicago Sun-Times

"Fascinating.... Heartbreaking." -- --Newsweek

"We defy you to remain unmoved." -- --Arizona Republic

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Avon (May 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380819589
• ISBN-13: 978-0380819584
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,222,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid review of JFK Jr. and his legacy, July 11, 2000

By 

"griff44" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Day John Died (Hardcover)

This book does a great job of capturing not only who JFK Jr. was, but also the impact he had on our nation. Special focus is given to the events that led to the demise of him, his wife, and his wife's sister.

Solid writing and beautiful, relevant pictures help us to both remember and reflect on an individual who although left us too early, left a impact as a good man, son, brother, and husband.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Already Well-Known Life Examined, October 10, 2000

By 

aero-diva (Edmond, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Day John Died (Hardcover)

If you have been one of the countless JFK Jr. fans who has already poured over the details of life in newspapers, tabloids, magazines, etc., you will probably not learn any staggering new information about this charismatic young man. The journey of this read, however, is enjoyable and is in some strange way soothing to the soul. Delving into this enigmatic profile is more a antidote than a cure--The ending is the same but the reality seems a little less harsh.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Scant Account of JFK Jr.'s life, August 28, 2000

By 

AriesPA (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Day John Died (Hardcover)

As has been stated in the other reviews, "The Day John Died" is not so much about the day JFK Jr. died, though there is a whole chapter dedicated to it, as it is about his entire life. However, half the book concerns his parents' lives more so than JFK Jr.'s. I realize that is is impossible to talk about JFK Jr. without talking about his father, the President, or his mother, the glamorous first lady, because that context is needed in order to understand John Jr.'s life. Yet this book somehow feels like a retread of Andersen's other book, "Jackie After Jack." Intimate details of Jackie's marriage to Onassis are inexplicably included in "The Day John Died" and do not help shed any light on what John Jr. was like.

When Andersen finally gets around to JFK Jr.'s story in the last third of the book, the portrait of a genial, sexy, if somewhat dim man emerges. Andersen shows that because JFK Jr. was unfazed by his celebrity and sought to be ordinary like those around him, these traits made him even more popular. There is the requisite list of all the women JFK Jr. dated, including Madonna, but there is only a sketchy description of the woman he finally settled down with, Carolyn Bessette. When Carolyn was alive, she was enigmatic and she remains so after reading this book. Andersen vaguely refers to Carolyn and JFK Jr. having problems, mainly concerning starting a family and the media's effect on their marriage. But no new information is given as to exactly how these two met, what kept them together, and ultimately, would JFK Jr. and Carolyn have stayed together.

This book was a bit of a letdown after Andersen's excellent "The Day Diana Died", which gave more insight and detail into its story. However, this book gives some insight into the private life of JFK Jr. as well, although it is nothing you could not have read in People magazine.