"What's the point of being Irish anyway if you don't think the
world will break your heart?" asks Jack Kennedy. He is spellbound
by a song about Ireland's neverland of dreams: "How Are Things in
Glocca Morra?" No one better knew the real JFK's dreams and
passions than Lem Billings, a prep-school roommate who made himself
"sidekick everlasting." The late Peter Collier had the great
fortune to obtain oral histories from Billings himself, and they
became the basis for a vivid biographical novel in Lem's voice. On
assignment with the Hearst newspapers, Jack goes with Lem to
Hollywood, that neverland of dreams he loves for "the feeling that
something might happen." Things do. Communists and gangsters vie
for control of the film industry. There are labor strikes,
blackmail, assassinations. And there are glamorous actresses.
Joseph Kennedy Sr. hovers oppressively over his son and aims to
derail his romance with Valentina, survivor of an Italian prison
camp and daughter of a mobster. The world breaks Jack's heart, and
he dives into politics with steely purpose. But the interlude in
Hollywood sends ripples through the Kennedys' lives. When Lem gets
the news of JFK's assassination, he instantly thinks of Val's
father-a man whose middle name is vendetta. Billings never got the
answers he sought about Jack's death. As for his intimate knowledge
of the Kennedys, he remained ever discreet, but left a trove of
recollections to be opened by a later generation. Channeled through
Collier's lively and imaginative prose, they illuminate shadowy
corners of an extraordinary American saga.
General
| Imprint: |
Encounter Books,USA
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Release date: |
March 2021 |
| Authors: |
Peter Collier
|
| Dimensions: |
228 x 152 x 28mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth over boards
|
| Pages: |
240 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-1-64177-134-4 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
Genre fiction >
Historical fiction
|
| LSN: |
1-64177-134-8 |
| Barcode: |
9781641771344 |
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