Forever Young: My Friendship With John F. Kennedy Jr.
By William Sylvester Noonan (Plume/Penguin, $15)
REVIEWED BY CINDY ELAVSKY Special to Florida Weekly
Like many Americans, I get a little wistful when I think about "the days of Camelot." No, I don't mean the times of Lancelot and King Arthur, but rather, the time of the Kennedys, when this political family seemed to rule the world. And of course, we will always associate John F. Kennedy Jr. with the image of a little boy in an overcoat and short pants saluting his father's casket as it rode past him.
Like his father, John Jr. had a short life, but unlike his father, the public never got to see "what could have been." Rumors swirled that near the end of his life at the young age of 38, John was finally considering taking a stab at politics -- a route he had purposely avoided for much of his adult life.
However, a plane crash in stormy weather ended all hopes and aspirations for young John. William Noonan, who was one of John's best friends since they both spent summers as kids playing at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, Mass., gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the man who would be king.
As adults, they grew even closer -- they were in one another's weddings and were there for the births of many children. They were supposed to be together the night that John's private plane when down, with John, his wife and wife's sister on board.
Noonan's book is a wonderful biography of the young and dashing man we only thought we all knew. From their days of swimming and boating all summer long, through adulthood when wives, children and jobs took up most of their time, Noonan provides a deeply personal, first-hand account of America's favorite son.
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(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.
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