5 comments about The Men We Became: My Friendship with John F. Kennedy, Jr..

1. I enjoyed the book and yes, much of what Littel writes would have been viewed as private by Mrs. Onassis, and such books, of which there are many about the Kennedys, she absolutely abhorred. Those reviewers who criticize the author for revealing certain things about JFK Jr. are hypocrits. What did they expect? What did they think the book was about? Come on, folks. It's a bit disengenuous to read this type of memoir and then take the author to task for writing it. Perhaps they feel guilty or voyeuristic and transfer those feelings to the author. Anyone interested in an intimate view of the Kennedys should read this. There are lots of stories not found in other books, which often just rehash events that are a part of the public record.



2. I bought this and am usually weary of so called friend books,but this was a good one.In some area's I had to Laugh because of some of the things they did but all in all its a memory a friend wanted to write about and Share.I Love the book.



3. It's funny how Rob had no hope upon hearing the news about John's plane missing. I can remember the sinking feeling myself and the word NO! bouncing around in my head. This story is nicely written and the author gave just enough and not too much. Although I was born in the late 60's I grew up knowing the Kennedy name immediately. In fact my father has not recovered since November of '63. We needed John whether or not he was to be President. This man, while living under the same moon as the rest of us made us feel better somehow...maybe that Camelot was not completely lost. The author speaks of John and Carolyn being "buried at sea" even though John was not a seaman...he was our first son and I think we owed that much to the Kennedy family and it seemed appropriate although like Rob said there is no visiting place to go and reflect on John. So, swim Rob.
   Thank you author for this good look inside. Get it enjoy it.



4. This is a great book written by a friend about a good friend. Easy reading, but with a lot of insight on the extended Kennedy family from an outsider's view. I highly recommend it.



5. This story made me laugh, brought back really exact memories of college life I'd forgotten and allowed me to travel to places the author and John went for fun. I think it is important the human side of John is written about and his friend did him a great honor by doing so in this book.

No comments about Riches, Class, and Power: The United States Before the Civil War.

No comments about Colonel Albert Pope and His American Dream Machines: The Life and Times of a Bicycle Tycoon Turned Automotive Pioneer.

1 comments about Microman: What Life Might Be Like If You Were Bill Gates.

1. You would be crazy to buy any other Bill Gates book. This is an insightful look at the world's richest man -- from the days of his youth, the big battles with Apple and IBM, and revealing insights into the big anti-trust case.

   It also includes a "built-in" flip book too that allows you to re-live the "pie-in-the-face" -- COOL!

No comments about Adventures of a Gentleman's Gentleman: The Queen, Noel Coward and I.

No comments about Celebrity Slimming Secrets: The World's Most Glamorous People Reveal Their Amazing Slimming Secrets.

No comments about Could Do Even Better: More School Reports of the Great and Good.

1 comments about The Man Who Tried to Buy the World: Jean-Marie Messier and Vivendi Universal.

1. "The Man who tried to buy the World..." may sound like hyperbole yet either through the writers' work or their bias we have Monsieur Messier likened to Napoleon Bonaparte. A man who achieved alot in a short time yet crossed a bridge too far. Invariably this was the single detracting element in the book, a less than complete portrayal of a complex man and his motives. Otherwise the span of the book is excellent, summarising the French psyche, education system and government as Messier's career was heavily indebted to each. Likewise is the generous rendering of the peculiarities of French business which includes shared boards, weakened corporate governance structures, cross shareholdings and the clandestine workings of senior management. Maybe a little light on Messier's time at Lazard but the only book read by this reviewer that shines a light on French business. Now how about a book on Societe Generale and its rogue trader Jerome Kerviel?

No comments about American Police Dilemma: Protectors or Enforcers?.

5 comments about Marilyn.

1. When I opened this box on Christmas morning, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. A recent convert to Marilyn-ism, this was one of the first books about her I owned, and I'm so glad, because I think it's important to know Norma Jeane before you know Marilyn. These huge, glorious photographs taken by Andre de Dienes capture her innocence and natural beauty at a time when she was an unknown model. De Dienes' memoirs are touching and reveal Norma Jeane as she was to him, a man who fell in love with her, as so many would in the future. After paging through these books, you are left to feel as though Norma Jeane Dougherty would never look quite as beautiful again (and of course she would, but not in the same way). Revealing Marilyn Monroe at her earliest beginnings, this limited edition package is definitely worth the money.



2. I've got copy 4066 of this sumptuous (and reassuringly?) expensive package and I thought this review should really detail what you'll get for your money.
   
   ONE: An oversize Kodak color film box, nineteen inches high by sixteen wide and three deep, this is a big facsimile of the box that De Dienes kept some of his Marilyn prints in. The package weighs twelve pounds and will hardly fit any bookcase. The inside has recesses for the two books and one booklet. Black silk tape allows for easy access of the contents.
   
   TWO: A large, beautifully designed and printed, 240 page book of Marilyn photos printed on thick paper. Although the printing screen is not the highest (150 dpi) the photos leap off the page, especially the full-page color ones. Many of these photos seem to be very private shots of Marilyn that De Dienes took during her career (a few show her with other people, a hairdresser and bookseller). Several at the back of the book show Marilyn's face montaged into clouds or surrounded by celestial bodies. Between the photos, printed in silver ink and in a large typewriter font, there are excepts from De Dienes memoirs. Also printed in silver are smaller photos with his hand-written captions.
   
   THREE: A booklet with twenty-four, one to a page, magazine covers featuring De Dienes photos of Marilyn. Seventeen of them are European titles. Predictably, great photos are weakened by logos, cover lines and generally poor cropping. I thought this booklet was rather disappointing in its production.
   
   FOUR: The 608 page facsimile of De Dienes manuscript and composite book. I think this is the most fascinating item in the box because of the production problems. The original pages were typed on one side of a sheet of ordinary paper and this facsimile is on similar weight stock so that the back of each page has some text showing through, as the original (There is a production problem here though, the paper rightly has text show-through but the photos do as well, on the original paper only the white back of the photo would have been visible). Although the manuscript was in black and white it has been printed in four colors to create the aged paper look and the few handwritten numbers in green and red that De Dienes wrote on the photos. You can see all of his corrections and deletions to the manuscript and read the comments he wrote about the various contact prints of Marilyn and other printed ephemera he stuck on back of each page.
   
   The original composite section has a hundred pages (it becomes two-hundred pages in this facsimile) of cut-out contact prints which De Dienes stuck on the typewriter paper, again they are reproduced in four-color black because of the occasional handwritten colored numbers, even the image of the punched file holes on each page is reproduced. Hundreds of these contacts show how he photographed Marilyn and you can see how dozens of shots were taken of which only one or two were probably published. Most of these images have never been seen before and certainly never in the form that they are presented here.
   
   Overall I think the Marilyn Box is an amazing production package. A world famous visual icon is presented in a unique way.
   
   *** FOR A LOOK INSIDE click customer images under the contents photo.



3. A truly wonderful pictorial memory of Marilyns early modelling years.The photos capture the emotion that exsisted between Marilyn and Andres and are uniquely presented in the large book.The box containing the books is truly one of a kind making the entire publication very special and authentic.



4. For the Marilyn fan, this is a great book. The photographs reproduced in the large book are magnificent. The large book is difficult to read with silver ink on white paper, but it is cleaned up excerpts from the smaller facsimile typed recollections of De Dienes. It is heavy, thus a sturdy coffee table is required.



5. This book by Andre de Dienes is the most amazing title ever assembled on Marilyn Monore. ANY fan of Marilyn's will find this book worth every dollar. The design and reproductions are amazing! The diaries are a wonderful read! ...