Customer Reviews

Forever Young: My Friendship with John F. Kennedy, Jr.

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I was anticipating loving this book. I am an Irish Catholic, from Boston, and a fan of the Kennedy legacy. Forever Young does not tell you anything new. The author is a megalomaniac and it comes through loud and clear in his writing. He credits his father and himself for many things that occur in JFK's and JFK Jr.'s lives. Another reviewer wrote how they were appalled about the way William Noonan treated his mother. I could not agree more. This review seems to be more about the author than the book about JFK Jr. That seems fitting, since the book is really more about Billy Noonan than the person you are interested in learning more about, JFK Jr.

I've never been a JFK detractor or big fan but have always admired the way JFK, Jr. carried himself. This book confirms that what the public saw in the brief moments was really exactly what he appeared to be, a well grounded, bright, loyal, compassionate man who valued his privacy but could live with the attention maybe better than anyone thus far.

Written by one of John's longest friend, Billy Noonan describes how they met on the Cape and how they lived their lives. Billy spent a great deal of time with Jackie also and gives a great perspective of her life and his respect for her. In addition, Billy lost a father at 13 and had this in common with Jr.

This book is nothing more than a tale of two Baby Boomers living in a glorious period in America. But when one of the "normal" individuals is JFK, Jr., it takes on an entirely different perspective. The incidents that happened due to this fame are interesting to read as he relays his fascination and JFK, Jr.'s frustration dealing with the problem. Unfortunately, Carolyn Bessette was not equipped to deal with this intrusion into a normal life. I remember the incident where JFK poured water on a paparazzi on the Cape intruding on Carolyn and how he later came out and talked with the photographer attempting to apologize or at least ask for space. This is what is conveyed in this book. A compassionate individual who understood much more than the world will ever know. Always willing to help others in the world and as relayed by Noonan, a deeper understanding of the world problems brought out in their debates where Noonan took on a more conservative approach.

I haven't voted Democratic and encourage you to not let your politics influence your decision to read this book. JFK Jr. is as close as this country will ever have to royalty and this book confirms what I've always felt, he wears the crown well.

I bought this book with some trepidation since Billy clearly sold his soul to write it. But, I could not resist. I was always a great admirer of JFK, Jr. - he was such a classy guy - and such an immense force to try to harness for friendship. The book lays out in vivid detail their amazing friendship and the many happy and horrifying times they shared. This book basically makes you a "fly on the wall" witnessing one of the most profound and beautiful friendships ever put to print. I could not put it down - JFK, Jr. and I are exactly the same age and passed through some of life's milestones at the same time. I found myself comparing where I was in my life as the book unfolded. I am writing this review having just now finished the book and feel an overwhelming sense of sadness - I cried so many times - the great highs and thrills always seemed to be overshadowed by the immense burden of sadness, tradgedy, disease and death that surrounds The Kennedys and those close to them. I can only hope that during my life I will share such a stong, loving, and enduring friendship with another person. Maybe John is looking down on us now laughing at all this debate - I find myself missing him during this season of politics. The world should still have John in it - he lived well, richly and fully - never squandering what he had been given. Make sure you are in the right frame of mind to read this - it may impact you more deeply than you can know.

I loved this book. I have purchased books written by Richard Blow and Michael Bergin, friends of JFK Jnr and his wife Caroline, after their deaths. This one was superior to both, in that Noonan subtly and proudly tells of his long friendship with JFK Jnr. The way they came to be friends is told realistically and numerous photos are supplied as proof. As a big Jackie O fan, I was surprised to read of the author's telling of encounters with her, and there were many. It makes Jackie more real and writes of her in her role solely as a mother to John and puts a first hand perspective on her fame in NY after the death of the President. The books by Blow and Bergin lack this as they never met Jackie. The test for me was how Noonan would tell of the drug use by Carolyn and the marital troubles at the time of their deaths. I was pleased to see Noonan dealt with the matter with as much sensitivity as he could, while being truthful about the fact that Carolyn Bessette could not deal with the overwhelming celebrity and all that came with it, of being married to John. As we all know their wedding was a huge secret and the only time I have read about the whole affair from the engagement to the honeymoon was in this book. Only a handful of people were invited to the wedding or even knew about it and the author was one. It leaves potential purchasers of this book in no doubt that they will have a first hand insight into John's life. The author lost his father young, as did John, so there was a bond there for life. The author is also realistic about JFK's foibles, ie being late etc. Caroline Kennedy is barely touched on in this book, the author did not have a lot of dealings with John's sister from the content of the book. Buy this book if you are a Jackie O fan or just admired JFK Jnr. The only negative about this book was the constant references to the shared Irishness of the families, but it is only an irritation. I thank Noonan for writing the book, I could not put it down. The negative reviews on this site show that those reviewers didnt "get it".

During his lifetime, John Kennedy would have been welcome with open arms on any talk show. His memoirs would have been welcome in any magazine or by any publisher. Yet that is not the way he chose to live his life. He valued what little privacy he had. William Noonan has taken it upon himself to strip that privacy away from John, Carolyn and others who inhabited their world.

This book contains a lot of information that is really none of our business. The list of people who would be hurt by reading it is long: Caroline Kennedy and Ed Schlossberg, members of the Kennedy family (especially the family of Robert Kennedy), member of the Bessette family, ex-girlfriends (especially Christina Haag). I could go on and on.

I had the exact same reaction as another reviewer about John Perry Barlow. I fail to see how Noonan differs from Barlow, other than that Barlow's stories at the time of John's death were much more benign and that Noonan will see a fatter paycheck. I find it very sad that someone so close would trade on a friendship in the guise of making sure people know the "real" story. If John wanted us to know the "real" story, which only he was qualified to tell, he would have told us. The interesting thing is that a lot of the stories in the book would be quite ordinary if the mother weren't Jacqueline Onassis and the son weren't John Kennedy. One can only imagine that these stories were not juicy enough for a publisher. In the end, Noonan made a publisher's dream come true and betrayed his "best friend" in the process.

After literally finishing the book in two days, I felt that the Author, William Noonan, wrote a beautiful tribute to his friend portraying JFK, Jr. as a real person with real struggles and conflicts as well as telling some very funny stories about simply growing up, going to college, finding a job, and getting married; stories anyone can relate to as well as stories that only could happen to someone like JFK, Jr. He writes about his friend in a way that I would tell stories about my friends, with respect and dignity as well as honesty and candor, never holding him up on a pedestal or glorifying who he was. He showed John to be very passionate about his place in the world and his place in his family while struggling to be his own person. Noonan writes honestly about his feelings for his friend, his friend's family members, his friend's girlfriends/wife and his friends other friends. I loved reading about the adventures they had growing up on the Cape as well as the stories surrounding John and Carolyn's very intimate wedding on an island off the coast of Georgia.

It is much more than a book about the life of JFK,Jr. it is a book about what it means to be a true friend and the trials and tribulations any good friendship will endure.

I listened to this book as an audio tape. When I first heard about the book, I thought that it was just another so-called Kennedy friend cashing in. But Billy Noonan was a real friend. John Kennedy and his family were wise to "hangers-on" and would have booted Mr. Noonan long before if they thought his intentions were anything but true friendship. I thought the most interesting part of the book, was the depiction of the friendship of the two men as they went from boys to manhood. Sometimes, I forgot exactly who the book was about and became more interested in what guys think about when they are together talking, throwing frisbees, etc. It was interesting to hear some behind the scenes Kennedy stories, but not because they were sensational but because they humanized the family to me. Billy Noonan survived cancer once, and he has it again. I think he wants his stories told, before it is too late. And he wants John's story told correctly, not through speculation, gossip and inuendo. I would imagine I'd feel the same way about a good friend.

Forever Young is a desperate attempt to attach oneself to the Kennedys. I don't think Noonan was nearly as close to JFK-JR as he maintains. They were almost completely estranged at the time of John's death. Noonan threw a classic tantrum because John had once left him "all alone" to seek a little much needed time for himself. Though he says differently, Noonan never forgave this so-called horrible betrayal. Also--if we are to believe what Noonan has written about his own relationship with John, Noonan treated him horribly. He describes such events as telling John how he could finally be himself on the eve of his Jackie's death and how he had done so when his own father died. Is that the epitome of selfishness and insensitivity? He also nearly calls Ted Kennedy an alcoholic. Caroline is repeatedly described as an ethnocentric snob. Noonan also cruelly describes Carolyn as a drug addicted paranoid neurotic who had "toes like fingers." I'm not sure what his intent is to be so insulting and treacherous to a family who took him and his brood in so many times. Noonan describes how he stole photos and even a comb from John's room before the man's body had even been located. (Did he have permission to do so?) He creepily describes showering and sleeping in John's bed even whilst he and Carolyn were being searched for. Noonan arrogantly assumes his readers are idiots who cannot recognize his arrogance and self-serving grandiose for exactly what it is. His mannish and plain looking wife Kathleen is referred to over and again as beautiful, and having extraordinary social skills. The only overt social skills William and Kathleen Noonan bear is that of being extremely skilled grifters, who leeched off the Kennedy fame and money for decades.

Noonan name drops on nearly every page of the book, being careful to claim that it was he who decided who would be allowed amongst those who gathered to wait for final word of John's demise. Noonan says he ordered police to "arrest" a man who wanted to visit the grieving. Noonan is quite clear that he feels he is an extremely powerful and influential man, akin with the immediate members of the Kennedy family. Strangely, he later describes having to provide "documentation" that he was indeed one of the invited to John's memorial services. Odd? As the supposed brother John never had, why did he require an invivitation to the service? His book is filled with strange incongruous statements, such as Caroline executing immediate decisions while John was missing. Yet on the same page he describes how Caroline and her family were not available for an extended period as she was on a whitewater trip with her family and they could not notify her of John's missing status.

The book is a most unflattering and cruel portrayal of a beloved son of a slain president, and a treacherous betrayal of the Kennedy family. I feel heartbroken that this individual was one who John called friend in his all too short life. I hope William and Kathleen Noonan heartily enjoy the money they made from their scathing betrayal of John Kennedy Jr.

This book is a complete bore. It is also very pathetic in that the author's desperation to convince the reader that he is JFK Jr.'s "best friend" is splashed across every page. According to the author, all but a few of John's other friends were "pilot fish" who were only interested in him because of the Kennedy name. Billy Noonan, though, was above all that. Give me a break! This guy comes across as a complete Kennedy sycophant (desperately trying to prove otherwise). If there was a category for zero stars, this book would qualify. If you must read this book, wait a month and buy it in the remainder bin for $2.

Poor John Jr must be turning in his grave with all these "best friends"
making a buck off him! What really distrubed me about BillyNoonan is the cruel way he refused to let his mother go to Caroline Kennedy's wedding!
It was the dream of his mother's life to hang out with Jackie but even though BillyNoonan had an extra ticket he refused to let her go! What a jerk!If I ever did anything that hateful to my mother believe me I would never write about it!
And what purpose does it serve to tell about John Jr bragging about bedding Madonna? Enough already! Hopefully this will be the last of the John Jr tell all we'll have to endure! Let him rest in peace!