Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation

Adapted for children from Bill O'Reilly's best-selling historical thriller Killing Kennedy, with an unforgettable cast of characters, page-turning action, and art on every spread, Kennedy's Last Days is history that reads like a thriller.

This exciting book will captivate adults and young readers alike.

On a sunny day in Dallas, Texas, at the end of a campaign trip, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy is assassinated by an angry, lonely drifter named Lee Harvey Oswald. The former Marine Corps sharpshooter escapes briefly, but is hunted down, captured, and then shot dead while in police custody.

Kennedy's Last Days is a gripping account of the events leading up to the most notorious crime of the twentieth century. Author Bill O'Reilly vividly describes the Kennedy family's life in the public eye, the crises facing the president around the world and at home, the nation's growing fascination with their vigorous, youthful president, and finally, the shocking events leading up to his demise.

1114701905
Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation

Adapted for children from Bill O'Reilly's best-selling historical thriller Killing Kennedy, with an unforgettable cast of characters, page-turning action, and art on every spread, Kennedy's Last Days is history that reads like a thriller.

This exciting book will captivate adults and young readers alike.

On a sunny day in Dallas, Texas, at the end of a campaign trip, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy is assassinated by an angry, lonely drifter named Lee Harvey Oswald. The former Marine Corps sharpshooter escapes briefly, but is hunted down, captured, and then shot dead while in police custody.

Kennedy's Last Days is a gripping account of the events leading up to the most notorious crime of the twentieth century. Author Bill O'Reilly vividly describes the Kennedy family's life in the public eye, the crises facing the president around the world and at home, the nation's growing fascination with their vigorous, youthful president, and finally, the shocking events leading up to his demise.

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Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation

Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation

by Bill O'Reilly

Narrated by Edward Herrmann, Bill O'Reilly

Unabridged — 3 hours, 15 minutes

Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation

Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation

by Bill O'Reilly

Narrated by Edward Herrmann, Bill O'Reilly

Unabridged — 3 hours, 15 minutes

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Overview

Adapted for children from Bill O'Reilly's best-selling historical thriller Killing Kennedy, with an unforgettable cast of characters, page-turning action, and art on every spread, Kennedy's Last Days is history that reads like a thriller.

This exciting book will captivate adults and young readers alike.

On a sunny day in Dallas, Texas, at the end of a campaign trip, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy is assassinated by an angry, lonely drifter named Lee Harvey Oswald. The former Marine Corps sharpshooter escapes briefly, but is hunted down, captured, and then shot dead while in police custody.

Kennedy's Last Days is a gripping account of the events leading up to the most notorious crime of the twentieth century. Author Bill O'Reilly vividly describes the Kennedy family's life in the public eye, the crises facing the president around the world and at home, the nation's growing fascination with their vigorous, youthful president, and finally, the shocking events leading up to his demise.


Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The popularity of the adult title will drive interest, but this book is strong enough to draw its own audience. An excellent choice for middle-school libraries.” —School Library Journal

School Library Journal - Audio

09/01/2013
Gr 9 Up—President John F. Kennedy's assassination shocked and saddened the entire nation and the world. Political journalist Bill O'Reilly explores the events in both Kennedy and his assassin Lee Harvey Oswald's lives in the years leading up to that fateful day. This juvenile version (2013) of his adult title, Killing Kennedy (2012, both Holt), is told in an alternating time line that follows both men's lives in the years preceding the devastating event in Dallas. By juxtaposing the lives of both men, O'Reilly compares and contrasts their backgrounds and beliefs. While O'Reilly's admiration of Kennedy is apparent, this slight bias is well balanced with many facts that will lead listeners to develop a more well-rounded view of the 35th president. Kennedy's lack of interest in politics while growing up, the injuries he incurred while serving in the military during World War II, and the choices he made during the Cold War and Vietnam War are all detailed in an easy-to-understand manner. Narrator Edward Herrmann does a wonderful job of pacing through the audiobook, presenting the facts as if telling a story. Combined with the relative short length of the book, Herrmann's narration makes this an excellent choice for introducing young learners to Kennedy's assassination.—Jessica Miller, West Springfield Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

Gr 5–9—This adaptation of O'Reilly and Martin Dugard's Killing Kennedy (Holt, 2012) retains the adult version's brief chapters and "you are there" style. It opens with O'Reilly's memories of the day his high-school class learned of the events of November 22, 1963, and then briefly describes the backgrounds of the president and the assassin. Most of the book, however, follows the parallel paths of Kennedy and Oswald as they approach the fateful day in Dallas, describing the most important aspects of Kennedy's presidency and life, contrasting them with Oswald's radical beliefs, myriad failures, and growing isolation. O'Reilly discusses both men's personal lives but omits details of Kennedy's sexual escapades and Oswald's marriage found in the adult version. He gives an hour-by-hour account of the day and the assassination, and Oswald's capture and subsequent murder, and evaluates Kennedy's legacy. An afterword relates the post-assassination fates of major characters, and back matter provides primary-source documents, source information, and an overview of the Warren Commission's investigation. The well-captioned photos and maps that appear on almost every page are a major strength of the book. YA titles such as Wilborn Hampton's Kennedy Assassinated! (Candlewick, 1997) offer similar, detailed accounts of the assassination, but readers will find O'Reilly's readable style and juxtaposition of Kennedy's and Oswald's lives to be appealing. The popularity of the adult title will drive interest, but this book is strong enough to draw its own audience. An excellent choice for middle-school libraries.—Mary Mueller, Rolla Public Schools, MO

JUNE 2013 - AudioFile

This historical audiobook focuses on the events that culminated in President John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s assassination. Although the book is targeted for a younger audience, Edward Herrmann’s narration is magnificently suited for both adult and child listeners. He leads his audience expertly through this fact-filled account to its unforgettable end. Herrmann creates a compelling cadence that builds to a crescendo as the drama and horror unfold in the last chapters of Kennedy’s life. This will be the first time that many young listeners hear a detailed account of how one man’s anger and delusions changed the course of American history. Adult listeners who remember that fateful day will feel a strong connection to Herrmann’s presentation. E.E.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

Aiming for a young audience, the popular political pundit pares down his Killing Kennedy (2012) considerably (and leaves out the sexual exploits) while shoveling in sheaves of documentary photographs. O'Reilly writes in staccato bursts of present-tense prose chopped into short chapters and featuring quick shifts in point of view. This effectively cranks up the suspense despite tinges of purple ("The man with fewer than three years to live places his left hand on the Bible") and the foreordained outcome. The book chronicles John F. Kennedy's course from PT-109 through a challenging presidency and positively harps on Lee Harvey Oswald's determined but doomed quest to become a "great man." Though he ends with a personal anecdote that hints at the possibility of a conspiracy, the author's closely detailed account of the assassination itself and its aftermath follows the Warren Commission's version of events. News photos or snapshots on nearly every page provide views of the Kennedy and Oswald families over time, as well as important figures, places and major world events. Aside from a perfunctory list of "Fun Facts About the Early 1960s" that seems misplaced considering the somber topic, the backmatter is both extensive and helpful for further study of Kennedy's career and accomplishments. The melodrama is laid on with a trowel, but it's nevertheless a thoroughly documented, visually rich presentation of the official version. (timeline, quotes, capsule bios, sites, books, films, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 11-13)

Product Details

BN ID: 2940169110456
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication date: 06/11/2013
Edition description: Unabridged
Age Range: 8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

Chapter Six

February 1961

The White House 1:00 p.m.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is on schedule. Almost every afternoon, at precisely 1:00 p.m., he slips into the heated indoor pool located between the White House and the West Wing. John Kennedy does this to soothe his aching back. The pain is constant and so bad that he often uses crutches or a cane to get around, though rarely in public. He wears a back brace, sleeps on an extra- firm mattress, and receives regular injections of an anesthetic to ease his suffering. Aides know to look for a tightening of his jaw as a sign that the president's back is acting up. The half hour of breaststroke and the heat of the pool are part of Kennedy's physical therapy.

The White House staff is getting used to the new president and his family. Very little that was unexpected happened in the White House during the eight years the previous president, Dwight Eisenhower, lived there.

But now everything has changed. The Kennedys are much less formal than the Eisenhowers. Receiving lines are being abolished, giving formal functions a more casual feel. The first lady is readying the East Room for per for mances by some of America's most notable musicians, such as cellist and composer Pablo Casals, opera singer Grace Bumbry, jazz artist Paul Winter, and even full symphony orchestras.

Still, the White House is a serious place. The president's daily schedule revolves around periods of intense work followed by breaks for swimming and family time. He rises each morning around seven and reads the newspapers in bed, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. Kennedy is a speed- reader; he can read and understand 1,200 words per minute. He is done with the newspapers in just 15 minutes, and then moves on to a pile of briefing books, reports prepared by his staff that summarize information about events going on around the world.

The president then has his usual breakfast in bed: orange juice, bacon, toast slathered in marmalade, two softboiled eggs, and coffee with cream.

He is in the Oval Office at nine o'clock sharp. He sits back in his chair and listens as his appointments secretary, Kenny O'Donnell, maps out his schedule. Throughout the morning, as Kennedy takes calls and listens to advisers brief him on what is happening in the rest of the world, he is interrupted by his handpicked staff. In addition to Dave Powers, who is now special assistant to the president, and Kenny O'Donnell, there are men such as the former Harvard history professor Arthur Schlesinger Jr.; Ted Sorensen, the Nebraska- born special counselor and adviser; and Pierre Salinger, the former child prodigy pianist who serves as press secretary.

After swimming, Kennedy eats a quick lunch upstairs in the first family's private rooms, often referred to as "the residence." He then naps for exactly 45 minutes. Other great figures in history such as Winston

Churchill napped during the day. For Kennedy, it is a means of rejuvenation.

Then it's back to the Oval Office, most nights working as late as 8:00 p.m. After business hours, Kennedy often puts two feet up on his desk and casually tosses ideas back and forth with his staff. It is the president's favorite time of the day.

When everyone has cleared out, he makes his way back upstairs to the residence for his evening meal with his family or with friends Jackie invites.

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