The Kennedy Detail

JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence

By: Gerald Blaine, Lisa McCubbin

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

Even today, almost five decades after John F. Kennedy was slain, the public continues to be captivated by the "Kennedy Curse" and new theories about what really happened on that fateful day in 1963. For nearly 50 years, former Secret Service agent Clint Hill has lived with the unimaginable guilt of losing a president on his watch and has obeyed an honor code of silence, refusing to contribute to any books about the assassination. Until now.

Hill was just eight feet from President Kennedy when bullets pierced the president's head right before his eyes. Covered with blood, Agent Hill pushed Jackie Kennedy into the back seat. Clinging to the trunk of the open-top limousine as it sped away from Dealey Plaza to Parkland Hospital, he slammed his fist in anger, as he looked back to the agents in the follow-up car. His eyes, filled with despair, told them what they already knew.

Including contributions from over 40 agents who were on the Kennedy detail from November 1960 to November 1963 and those who knew them, never-before-published letters written by Jackie Kennedy in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the bizarre unpublished story about a film Jackie made in September 1963 with the on-duty Secret Service agents about an assassination of the president, and the original November 18, 1963, Tampa security report from the author's personal files, which conspiracy theorists have long claimed was destroyed by the Secret Service, The Kennedy Detail provides an unfiltered look at the events surrounding this pivotal moment in American history.

©2010 Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An important contribution to Kennedy assassination literature because it presents in riveting detail the assassination from the agents' perspective and describes the lifelong emotional burden the agents endured when their best efforts were not enough." ( Library Journal)

Fasinating Account by the Kennedy Secret Service

This was so interesting--actually getting a behind-the-scenes viewpoint of 11/22/63! While I do not agree with a few of the conclusions of the author I am still glad I listened to the book. Likely in the next year I will re-listen to it. I was a child in school, in Texas, on that day. My observations were from a younger viewpoint, so this was especially enlightening. Most of all, though, it caused my already high respect for the men and women in the Secret Service to grow by leaps and bounds. These people sacrifice so much to protect our nation's leadership, and often are little rewarded for the high price they pay. I was saddened to see how some of those who were charged with the protection of the JFK and his family suffered, mostly through self-damnation, in the subsequent years. Be at peace, PLEASE, and thank you for your service to America!!!

Emotionally draining and powerful

I was 4 when the President was shot and yet I can still remember where I was and what I was doing. The men in this story are remarkable and dedicated. Their emotional pain over what they perceived as a failure to protect the President is so carefully detailed and thus you can not help but empathize with their experiences.
It is a true rendering of the life of those who protect the President then and now, and how the men (and now) women who provide for the President's safety givie up their commitment to their own families. In times like, where we are always on the brink of conflict, I can not help but implore audible readers to read this book and applaud the dedication of the Secret Service of today.

Unique insight...chilling and uplifting

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you're intrigued by Camelot and the Kennedy administration, you'll love this close-up but separate perspective of the Kennedy days. True admiration, along with a heavy dose responsibility, make the perspective of the secret service, not just Gerald Blaine, uplifting and patriotic.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Kennedy Detail?

The descriptions of the secret service agents' acts tear at your soul. The grief and weight Clint Hill carries - indescribable !!

Which scene was your favorite?

The descriptions of JFK Jr were revealing

Very interesting, if not self serving.

This book was written by a member of the secret service who was with the service at the time of Kennedy's death but was not there in Dallas. It is self-serving in some ways in that he becomes defensive. For example, discussing how the Ford Motor company designed the limo without input from the Secret Service, as if that may have changed outcomes. Also, when he discusses how the president himself didn't take his own security seriously, which may have caused a few problems. I came away with the feeling the Secret Service did not have as much power as I thought they did. Maybe that was all then and this is now. I will say that this book did pique my interest in other Kennedy books and I am now reading Case Closed by Gerald Posner and find it very interesting indeed. I also read Stephen King's 11.23.63 and loved it. I know it's fiction, but much of the historical details are exactly as described in Posner's book.

very interesting look at Kennedy presidency

this was a very interesting look at the Kennedy administration from those closest to it.

Really Awesome

This book took me back to that day in history. Like others, I can remember those days clearly and exactly what I was doing. I listened and the tears flowed. It was so interesting to hear the Secret Service side at long last. There were so many stories and rumors. I was glued to the story from start to finish.

CAROLINE not "Carolyn"

Very informative and well-written account of one of our country's most tragic events from a unique perspective. Very unfortunate that the reader continually mispronounced President and Mrs. Kennedy's daughter's name throughout the story. He says "Carolyn" rather than "Caroline" and I found this error to be most distracting. This is American history and I feel that pronouncing names correctly, especially those of the Presidential family is imperative.

Great Behind The Scenes Look At The Secret Service

What made the experience of listening to The Kennedy Detail the most enjoyable?

Learning about all of the work that the Secret Service goes through to protect the President (60s style).

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Kennedy Detail?

Listening to the moment by moment experience of Kennedy's assassination.

What does Alan Sklar bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His rich baritone kind of voice could lull you to sleep if you were listening at just the right time of day but overall his presentation was pretty good.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not exactly.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed getting to know how President Kennedy interacted with his Secret Service Detail and how personable he was with them and the impact his death had on the men closest to him. What surprised me was the lack of any mention of the various martial affairs that supposedly JFK had. There was no hint of that at all in the text. Whether the book was sanitized or not I do not know. The absence of those salacious details though doesn't take anything away from the power of this book.

Great book!

Teaches you how much you owe to sacrifice of these men, Thanks from the bottom of my heart!

A full-circle closing on the tragedy in Dallas

Having read many books and visited Dallas, Dealey Plaza and the School Book Depository several times over three decades, I find the information contained in The Kennedy Detail what has been missing the past forty years. What did those closest to the incident have to contribute to this global conversation that might shed light on the circumstances leading to and following Kennedy's assassination. This book does it all - and in a captivating way that it is not only a must read but a great one.