Five Days in November: In Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of JFK’s Assassination
£16.70£19.00 (-12%)
On November 22, 1963, three shots were fired in Dallas, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the world stopped for four days. For an entire generation, it was the end of an age of innocence.
That evening, a photo ran on the front pages of newspapers across the world, showing a Secret Service agent jumping on the back of the presidential limousine in a desperate attempt to protect the President and Mrs. Kennedy. That agent was Clint Hill.
Now Hill commemorates the sixtieth anniversary of the tragedy with this stunning book containing more than 150 photos, each accompanied by his incomparable insider account of those terrible days. A story that has taken Hill half a century to tell, this is a “riveting, stunning narrative” (Herald & Review, Illinois) of personal and historical scope. Besides the unbearable grief of a nation and the monumental consequences of the event, the death of JFK was a personal blow to a man sworn to protect the first family, and who knew, from the moment the shots rang out in Dallas, that nothing would ever be the same.
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by Patrick Collins
Other than the occupants of the car, few were closer to JFK than Special Agent Clint Hill on November 22 1963 as the shots rang out in Dealey Plaza. Hill to this day remains haunted by the event. This book is a personal narrative – making it unusual when compared to the majority of books on the assassination.
I have read extensively on the JFK case and must say I found several interesting observations here that were new to me – which is hardly surprising as after all Clint Hill has remained fairly quiet on the details of the case over the last 50 years.
Hill claims he only heard 2 of the shots and that the first shot did hit Kennedy – making the time span very short – some 5.2 seconds. This is contrary to the now widely held theory that the first shot was fired earlier just after the turn onto Elm Street giving an 8 to 9 second time span for all the shots – a less remarkable feat.
Hill is keen to stress that being there on that day allows a much clearer understanding of what happened and he stresses that he does not believe in the conspiracy theories that populate the JFK assassination “world”. Personally I think he is probably right, but this book is not about conspiracy theories nor about alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, its about the five days in November that Clint Hill lived and indeed lived in horror on arriving in Texas and from the moment that the last shot struck JFK to the funeral in Washington on Monday 25th November 1963.
I held back from 5 stars because Hill sets up a conundrum in his final chapter. He believes Governor Connally was hit by the second shot rather than the Single Bullet Theory which states that the same bullet caused the wound of JFK and Connally – due to the simple fact that Oswald’s rifle could not be fired twice within the short space of time in the Zapruder film where we see JFK and Connally react to being shot within a second of each other – too fast for Oswald’s rifle to be fired twice.
Either one bullet went through both men or two shooters were involved and Hill believing that Oswald alone shot JFK effectively presents an impossible scenario. It would be my opinion (having interviewed people who witnessed that assassination although in 1983) that Hill did not hear an earlier missed shot and that in fact his opinion that Connally was hit by a second shot is simply wrong. But that aside you have to respect the man, he was the only Secret Service man to react to the shots in time to have a chance of making a difference and he almost did. He came very close to being hurled into the road as the limo sped off, but managed to hold on and he is here fifty years on to tell his side of the story and that is there were three shots fired from above and behind him at 1230 local time, Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas November 22 1963.
Highly recommended for those with an interest in the case. For those wanting more detail, you can do no better than “The Kennedy Assassination” by British academic Peter Knight.
by TW
I have always been interested in JFK as he died before I was born, but yet my parents generation loved him. The book isn’t a work of literary genius, but the story is simply told by the Secret Service man that was there and from the heart. If you are interested in this peace of US history – it’s a good easy read.
by RogerWG
A work very much of its time, and the product of a ghost writer, here is SA Clint Hill reassuring us that all was well, except that the President got shot dead. Mrs Kennedy liked Hill and we should too. But the Secret Service apparently did its best (I don’t think) and were all dedicated men (I don’t think).
Fine, but while I find myself liking Hill he was either naïve (which I doubt) or not in the Secret Service loop (which I suspect was true). You have to read this if you are an assassination historian/nerd (whichever fits) but make sure you read everything else. Like ‘The Kennedy Detail’ this is not revealing truth, just a personal story which has to be taken with the proverbial pinch of salt. It is a revealing smokescreen and why am I not surprised?
by Mr. S. Kent
From the man who really was right there at the time, hanging off the back of the car that was carrying the remains of JFK. A book of real power and great sadness. A would recomend to anyone who has an interest in JFK.
by BigAl
Although there is understandably a repeat of some of the material in ‘Mrs. Kennedy & me’ by the same author, this book is a very good read. So absorbing, I found it difficult to put down! Highly recommended.
by snow 666
great thanks. before stated. as described good condition. much thanks..
good book about the president and jackie. clint hill climbed on back of limo after he was shot..
by Amazon Customer
Its a facinating book but makes you wonder wether he had to stick to official line’s “no conspiracy” to get the book printed
by Tom1967
When John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, Secret Service Agent Clint Hill saw it happen, and this is his story. Agent Hill was assigned to guard the First Lady, Jackie Kennedy, and he made a desperate effort to protect her and JFK from the assassin’s bullets. This is a book well worth reading if you are interested in what happened on that tragic day in Dallas.