Forever Young: My Friendship with John F. Kennedy, Jr. by William Sylvester Noonan, Robert Huber Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Forever Young: My Friendship with John F. Kennedy, Jr.
Book Review: A Great Tribute to JFK, Jr.
Summary: 5 Stars
After literally finishing the book in two days, I felt that the Author, William Noonan, wrote a beautiful tribute to his friend portraying JFK, Jr. as a real person with real struggles and conflicts as well as telling some very funny stories about simply growing up, going to college, finding a job, and getting married; stories anyone can relate to as well as stories that only could happen to someone like JFK, Jr. He writes about his friend in a way that I would tell stories about my friends, with respect and dignity as well as honesty and candor, never holding him up on a pedestal or glorifying who he was. He showed John to be very passionate about his place in the world and his place in his family while struggling to be his own person. Noonan writes honestly about his feelings for his friend, his friend's family members, his friend's girlfriends/wife and his friends other friends. I loved reading about the adventures they had growing up on the Cape as well as the stories surrounding John and Carolyn's very intimate wedding on an island off the coast of Georgia.
It is much more than a book about the life of JFK,Jr. it is a book about what it means to be a true friend and the trials and tribulations any good friendship will endure.
Book Review: A Penny perhaps a fortune for your thoughts
Summary: 1 Stars
I have been a lifelong Kennedy fan. I loved John Jr. I think this book is meanspirited. He has hurt so many by this book. I wonder whatever prompted him to write it....so long after John left us? We did not need much of the information, he so willingly sold.
As mentioned by others, what he did to his Mom on Caroline's wedding day was disgusting. How dare he order his own Mom off the bus? His Mom was just fine when he had cancer and needed her. Over and over in the book..he comes off as a very self-centerd individual.
I remember the quote.."What does it profit a man who gains the whole world but suffer the loss of his soul?" I would think old Billy Noonan could answer that one.
I hope he is kicked to the curb by all the Kennedys, Shrivers and all the others that seemed to mean more to him...than his own famiy.
Book Review: Awww come on...
Summary: 4 Stars
Bill Noonan (as his friend I call him Billy) has plenty o'soul! This book is a commemoration to his friend who happens to be John Kennedy, Jr. I suppose the title HAS sold more books. But I believe this is more a function of the publisher's need to sell rather than the writer's need to advertise his high fallutin relationship with John. I am bold enough to say that Billy left MANY-A-STORY out of this book that could have REALLY ruffled some feathers. But that was not his objective. His objective was to put into words a very natural friendship with someone that was quite special to him. In a way, to battle some of the bitter views this book has received, I wish that Billy would write a sequel with ALL THE DIRT! Maybe he could title it "If You're Blaming Me: You Might as Well Get the WHOLE Story" Billy has never been anything but respectful of John, and his family, from what I have seen. He probably would never publish all of the secrets he shared with John. BTW: I loved the book. It felt like I was sitting down with Billy having a chat. I could hear him laugh, cry, angry, sad, and everything in between. Write a sequel!Book Review: Forever Arrogant
Summary: 5 Stars
Even though I liked Billy Noonan's book, at times he came across as very arrogant "I was John's confident, I was John's best friend, etc. as if he was John's hero and savior. The reader also gets the impression that the Kennedy's feelings and his loyalty were more important to him than his own family, especially when it came to his mother. Almost as if he was embarrassed to have his mother meet Jackie or go to Caroline's wedding reception which he refused to let her go to. Maybe he did not want to share the limelight with his family. Given that John had alot of respect for Jackie as his mother, that is not something that I would have put in the book or brag about. Other friends have wrote about John also saying they were his best friend too. I'm sure it was a privilige to be a friend of John's and he probably had alot of them since he had that charisma and charm that made him so likeable and "real". On a lighter note, I did enjoy the book and the writer made you feel as if you were right there watching everything unfold. One other thing in this book, everyone seemed to call him Billy Noonan in the book, not just "Billy" I found that odd!Book Review: William Noonan just out for
Summary: 2 Stars
After reading this book it is apparent the William ( Billy ) Noonan is not the friend of John's that he claims to be. He was insanely jealous of John and Carolyn spending those last few months with his (John's) cousin Anthony Radizwill while he was dying of cancer. He talks down about John Barlow for "being the first one to always speak to the media"
even though he had nothing but kind things to say about John no matter what the subject. Here comes Billy Noonan saying he is going to "set the record straight" trashes John and Carolyn's relationship (which he knows nothing about) makes caddy remarks about Anthony's cancer being deadly, as if Anthony and Carole (his wife), had and control over his disease (Anthony died less than three weeks after Jonh and Carolyn). He seems to be the kind of person that cannot allow his relationships' space for what is going on in their lives and therefore feels the need to write his own book and hurt alot of people by his own hurt feelings and personal jabs. I think he is just a big fake and I feel sorry for his wife.