The Good Son: JFK Jr. and the Mother He Loved

by Christopher Andersen

Overview

The #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers another dramatic look into 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, new and untold details of the life and death of JFK Jr. come to light.

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 plane crash the took his life; and the aftermath of shock, loss, grief, and confusion.

Offering new insights into the intense, tender, often stormy relationship between this iconic mother and son, The Good Son is a riveting, bittersweet biography for lovers of all things Kennedy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476775579
Publisher:	Gallery Books
Publication date:	06/09/2015
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	288,064
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 6.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Christopher Andersen is the critically acclaimed author of eighteen New York Times bestsellers which have been translated into more than twenty-five languages worldwide. Two of his books—The Day Diana Died and The Day John Died (about JFK Jr.)—reached #1. A former contributing editor of Time magazine and longtime senior editor of People magazine, Andersen has also written hundreds of articles for a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, Life, and Vanity Fair. Andersen has appeared frequently on such programs as Today, Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, CBS This Morning, 20/20, Anderson Cooper 360, Dateline NBC, Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, 48 Hours, and more.

Table of Contents

Preface: "A Certain Gallantry" xiii

Part 1 His Mother's Son

1 "Please Don't Do It" 3

2 The Son He Had Longed For 15

3 "John, You Can Salute Daddy Now" 41

4 "A Kennedy Never Gives Up" 67

5 "I Want to Help Him Go Back and Find His Father" 91

6 A Shoe Box Full of Diamonds 125

7 The Crown Prince 181

Part 2 John on his Own

8 Just One of the Guys 197

9 "My Mother Will Be Frantic" 213

10 "I'm Not My Father" 243

11 "The Luckiest Man Alive" 291

Acknowledgments 327

Sources and Chapter Notes 331

Bibliography 339

Index 345

Editorial Reviews

"Andersen has an ear for the telling anecdote and writes in a lively, gossipy style...Andersen cuts to the quick, vividly...the book really, truly, focuses on what the jacket calls "the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child" both of whom led lives "tested by history and tragedy."

The Chicago Tribune

10/15/2014
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

Library Journal

2014-09-28
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 affairs—of which his mother wholeheartedly disapproved—with 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."

Kirkus Reviews

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