ANOTHER bad review of Blaine's book

2.0 out of 5 stars Bit of a bore, June 25, 2012

By

Feedback68 (Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence (Hardcover)

I didn't find this book to be a particularly great read and thats possibly my own fault as the previous three books I have read which involved Pres. Kennedy, Frederick Kempes "Berlin 1961", Jim Rasenbergers "The Brilliant Disaster" and Michael Dobbs "One Minute To Midnight", are, although completely different topics, brilliantly written and accurate historical accounts.

This book claims that the agents "Break Their Silence!!" in that they have not spoken since 1963, as if the Warren Commission, various interviews, and several other books never happened in the intervening years.

Some of the quotations from the agents regarding various conversations from 1963 are recorded here in an almost childish manner.
Like regarding a motorcade in Florida where Blaine asks another agent "If you've got any connection with the man upstairs we'd love to have it be pouring with rain next Monday".
To which Agent Peppers laughed saying I'll see what I can do. But remember this is Florida the sunshine state. I wouldn't count on it". In other words the Agents had their heads screwed on when it came to Kennedy's car either having or not having the hardtop raised, just to let the reader know.

Or "Hey Jer, Arnie gave me the name of a good Cuban restaurant not too far from here. Are you up for some local culture?" 'Sure that sounds super" Blaine said. "I just realized I didn't have lunch".

The chapter on Dallas doesn't really reveal any new information or revealing facts that hasn't been recorded a million times before.

The whole book is littered with bland verbal interactions between agents like how tired they were or how hot or cold the weather was. They were thinly stretched, they had to pay for their own suits and it just wasn't fair. Kenny O'Donnell and Dave Powers had them running everywhere.

If you can borrow this from your library like I did, fine but I wouldn't pay $13 bucks for it or 28 when it came out originally.