by Clint Hill
A photographic memoir of Mr. Hill's time as a secret service agent protecting Jackie Kennedy. Lots and lots of lovely and revealing photos, plus fun stories of their time together. Although all this occurred in 1961 through 1963, a little bit before my days--I was born but knew nothing about anything--I found it a fascinating look at history, especially the part where she met the queen. They were both in their early thirties (Elizabeth II was 35 and Jackie 32) and oh, how young they looked! Such brilliant smiles!
I'd never known anything about her before, other than she eventually married the amazingly rich Aristotle Onassis, so I assumed she was just another political snob. But she wasn't at all--she was a devoted mother, a great horsewoman and horse lover (and dog lover). She was genuinely interested in history and culture; studied much during their travels so she could fully understand what was going on in the countries. And she spoke fluent Spanish.
Wow. And I grew to really like Mr. Hill. The premise of the book is that he and his daughter are going through all the old stuff stashed in his house to prepare it to sell. They're especially looking for a medal he received for bravery, but he had no interest in finding it. What they found instead, though, was a poignant trip down memory lane for a very loving and honorable man.
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