Why am I passionate about this?

My interest in the topic is both professional and personal. I spent four decades teaching about modern American history and the Kennedy presidency at Yale, Oxford, and the University of Oklahoma. A chance encounter with John F. Kennedy, Jr., at Brown University in the spring of 1981 led to a friendship that lasted until his tragic death in 1999. 


I wrote

America's Reluctant Prince: The Life of John F. Kennedy Jr.

By Steven M. Gillon,

Book cover of America's Reluctant Prince: The Life of John F. Kennedy Jr.

What is my book about?

I had the privilege of teaching John at Brown University, and we soon became friends. He once told me that…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of White House by the Sea: A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port

Steven Gillon Why did I love this book?

I love this book because it offers an intimate glimpse into the place that the Kennedys called home, where they felt most comfortable, and where they went to celebrate their triumphs and mourn their tragedies.

Storey is a terrific writer who makes the reader feel as if they are on the Cape with the family as they engage in various (and often strenuous) activities. She manages to capture the family's life away from cameras and reporters.  

By Kate Storey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked White House by the Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Impeccably researched...captivating!" -Elin Hilderbrand * "A well-paced history." -The New York Times Book Review * "Fascinating...with new details and well-sourced reporting." -Associated Press

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! The intimate, multigenerational story of the Kennedy family as seen through their Hyannis Port compound on Cape Cod-the iconic place where they've celebrated, mourned, and bonded-based on more than a hundred in-depth interviews by a Rolling Stone editor and journalist Kate Storey.

Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, is synonymous with the Kennedy family. It is where, for a hundred years, America's most storied political family has come to celebrate, bond, play, and grieve. It is…


Book cover of Mrs. Kennedy and Me

Steven Gillon Why did I love this book?

I love this book because of the unique perspective of the writer. Clint Hill was the secret service agent who jumped on the back of the presidential limousine in Dallas to protect Mrs. Kennedy in the seconds after the fatal bullets had struck the President.

His description of that moment and the following hours is as riveting as it is disturbing. Hill, assigned to protect the First Lady, spent more time with her than anyone else, and their relationship continued after she left the White House.  

By Clint Hill, Lisa McCubbin Hill,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Mrs. Kennedy and Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Clint Hill will forever be remembered as the agent who jumped onto the car after President Kennedy was shot and clung to the sides of the car as it sped toward the hospital. Now, in Mrs. Kennedy and Me, he recounts those painful memories along with his fonder recollections of the First Lady's strength, class, dignity, and beauty during the time he was assigned as her personal agent.

Hill was by Mrs. Kennedy's side for some of the happiest moments in her life as well as the darkest. He was there for the birth of John, Jr. as well as…


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Book cover of Girl of Light

Girl of Light By Elana Gomel,

A girl of Light in a world of darkness.

In Svetlana's country, it’s a felony to break a mirror. Mirrors are conduits of the Voice, the deity worshiped by all who follow Light. The Voice protects humans of MotherLand from the dangers that beset them on all sides: an invading…

Book cover of Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House

Steven Gillon Why did I love this book?

I love how Smith tells the intimate story of Jack and Jackie’s relationship in the White House. Plenty of accounts describe how JFK exercised power during his brief tenure as president. That is not what interests Smith. She highlights how the pressure of the office impacted the relationship between the First Lady and the President.

There are plenty of juicy tales about JFK’s womanizing and his abuse of prescription medication. What I found most fascinating was how Jackie coped with it all. The Kennedys in Smith’s account are complicated and complex, talented and flawed, but above all else, very human. 

By Sally Bedell Smith,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Grace and Power as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In GRACE & POWER: THE PRIVATE WORLD OF THE KENNEDY WHITE HOUSE, New York Times bestselling author Sally Bedell Smith takes us inside the Kennedy White House with unparalleled access and insight. Having interviewed scores of Kennedy intimates, including many who have never spoken before, and drawing on letters and personal papers made available for the first time, Smith paints a richly detailed picture of the personal relationships behind the high purpose and poiltical drama of the twentieth century's most storied presidency.
At the dawn of the 1960s, a forty-three-year-old president and his thirty-one-year-old first lady – the youngest couple…


Book cover of The Kennedy Men: 1901-1963

Steven Gillon Why did I love this book?

Few people know more about the Kennedy family and are as fair-minded in telling their story as Leamer. (He also wrote a companion book on The Kennedy Women.)

What I really like about Leamer’s work is that he does his homework. Not only are his books deeply researched, but he has also clearly earned the trust of family members who share personal stories not found in other published accounts. 

By Laurence Leamer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Kennedy Men as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this triumphant new work already hailed as a powerful American epic, Laurence Leamer chronicles the Kennedy men and their struggle to create the most powerful family in the United States. The Kennedy Men is the first volume in a multi-generational history that will forever change the way America views its most famous family. Beginning in 1901 with twelve-year-old Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. delivering hats to Boston's social elite and ending in 1963 with the assassination of his son, President John F. Kennedy, Leamer seamlessly unites the complex strands of their economic, political, and social rise.

This magnificent new volume…


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Book cover of The Twenty: One Woman's Trek Across Corsica on the GR20 Trail

The Twenty By Marianne C. Bohr,

Marianne Bohr and her husband, about to turn sixty, are restless for adventure. They decide on an extended, desolate trek across the French island of Corsica — the GR20, Europe’s toughest long-distance footpath — to challenge what it means to grow old. Part travelogue, part buddy story, part memoir, The…

Book cover of Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy

Steven Gillon Why did I love this book?

A few months after President Kennedy’s assassination, Mrs. Kennedy sat down for a series of interviews with the historian and family friend Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Her eight hours of tapes, which remained sealed until a few years ago, are riveting and full of intimate, powerful details.

It is most rewarding to hear her whispery voice as she offers often pointed observations about the people and events that shaped her husband’s presidency.   

By Caroline Kennedy, Michael Beschloss,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Jacqueline Kennedy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

To mark John F. Kennedy's centennial, celebrate the life and legacy of the 35th President of the United States.

In 1964, Jacqueline Kennedy recorded seven historic interviews about her life with John F. Kennedy. Now, for the first time, they can be read in this deluxe, illustrated eBook.

Shortly after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, with a nation deep in mourning and the world looking on in stunned disbelief, Jacqueline Kennedy found the strength to set aside her own personal grief for the sake of posterity and begin the task of documenting and preserving her husband's legacy. In January of…


Explore my book 😀

America's Reluctant Prince: The Life of John F. Kennedy Jr.

By Steven M. Gillon,

Book cover of America's Reluctant Prince: The Life of John F. Kennedy Jr.

What is my book about?

I had the privilege of teaching John at Brown University, and we soon became friends. He once told me that he was two people: He was “John,” a typically privileged member of his generation, but he understood that he also had to play the role of “John F. Kennedy, Jr.,” the son of both a slain American president and a cultural icon.

The book explores how John juggled both roles, managed the extraordinary expectations placed on him by his family and the public, and emerged as a normal, grounded, kindhearted adult.  

Book cover of White House by the Sea: A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port
Book cover of Mrs. Kennedy and Me
Book cover of Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House

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