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Book Review: The Kennedy Detail by Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin

There is little doubt in my mind that if of you were to ask a group of fifty people to name the two biggest conspiracies of the 20th century most would cite the assassination of President John F Kennedy, and the happenings at Roswell/Area 51. Both events illicit huge amounts of heated discussion.

I am not a conspiracy theorist but I am a person with a keen interest in the JFK story, I am old enough to remember the events, although too young at the time to have grasped their true significance.

Over the years I have read many books on the events of November/22 in Dealey Plaza, some have been scholarly and well researched, others have been written by ‘wingnuts’ espousing theories that only a fellow wingnut could love!

Rarely does a Kennedy book cause any serious level of controversy. People read them and just move on. That is not true of The Kennedy Detail. Within 24 hours of posting a harmless article about the upcoming release I had messages from JFK ‘researchers’ that were mainly negative.

So what makes The Kennedy Detail such a controversial book? At face value it would seem to be the ideal companion for and collector or historian. It is not a rehash of the many books before, it is the telling of the story through the eyes of Gerald Blaine. Blaine was part of the elite secret service detail tasked with keeping the president out of harms way.

This viewpoint of the JFK assassination is not one that I had read before.

In retrospect I now understand the frustration from the researchers that contacted me, but I do feel they are completely off the mark. Gerald Blaine is not trying to rewrite history, he is telling his story, the way he remembers it. The Kennedy Detail for me was more of an autobiography than an analysis of the events.

There is an old saying about history, there are always three versions, there is mine, there is yours, and then there is the truth, which is somewhere in between. Read Don Brackens excellent book Words Of War for concrete evidence of this. Gerald Blaine is like every other author writing what I call ‘living history’, they are his recollections, they are his feelings, and they form a very important part of the mosaic surrounding the assassination of JFK and the fall out that followed.

Certainly he is very soft on criticism of the Warren Commission, but surely that should come as no surprise. And most certainly he avoids treading in the mire of JFK’s supposed womanizing world, but again, this is not surprising. Gerald Blaine as part of the presidents personal security team swore an oath of allegiance to JFK. It is clear that even after 47 years Gerald Blaine keeps that oath. I admire him for doing so.

I enjoyed The Kennedy Detail a great deal, for me it revealed a side of the story that I had never heard. It puts a face on those Trench Coated, Black Suited, White Shirted, Aviator Sunglasses wearing and generally unsmiling gentleman that protect our presidents.

Kudos to Gerald Blaine! I did notice that The Kennedy Detail is moving faster than a snipers bullet up the Amazon Bestseller list, so if you know someone that is interested in the JFK story this would make a perfect addition to their collection. You can order your copy by clicking on the Amazon link above.

Simon Barrett

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