David Marshall > Recent Status Updates

The premise of this book is collegial and hopeful. It promises to provide conversation points and evidence for conservative ideas for the purposes of engaging in respectful and meaningful conversation and debate with those whose ideals are opposing; as our Founding Fathers intended. The first chapter “God is real” is very compelling and eye-opening. Extremely thought provoking.

What a page turner! Providence is truly kind to General Washington! The flood of Loyalists and disaffected engaged in a plot to attack Washington and the Colonial Army rides all the way up to Washington’s inner circle. How this information gets to him reads like an intense spy novel. I can’t believe this really happened and I had no idea about it. Who is making this movie? This would be an amazing film!

Great page turner! From Dr. Benjamin Church’s betrayal, to Knox’s Fort Ticonderoga plan that leads to the British retreat from Boston, we are on to NYC and Tyron’s plot begins to take form. They make history seem like an enticing spy novel. I can’t wait for more!

Another great start to a Meltzer and Mensch collaboration. They have such an innate ability to create such intrigue in their subject matter and the start of this book is no different. I had never heard of New York’s Governor William Tryon before, but his creation of an intelligence group to spy on the actions of the Continental Army and its leader in order to win back loyalty toward the crown is very intriguing!

It is truly amazing how close Pavlick got to killing JFK in Palm Beach, the completely random act that stopped the assassination attempt and the great investigative work by multiple agencies to identify the threat and stop it. This is a true law enforcement success story that was obviously overshadowed by 6 seconds in Dallas.

I am enjoying the short chapters or vignettes and the pivoting vantage points that Meltzer and Mensch take us through as we switch from JFK to Jackie to Clint Hill to Pavlick as we see the events of earl November 1960 from their experiences and perspectives. It’s a great storytelling device that creates great intrigue as the tapestry of puzzle pieces come together.

Great start! Meltzer & Memsch paint the perfect picture for the turmoil that captured a nation in electing the 35th POTUS. From guiding us through JFK’s PT-109 ordeal, to Protestant rejection of the idea of a Catholic President, to the KKK’s fight against civil rights, to the rise of the youth movement…they give us an understanding why Pavlick was ready to take matters into his own hands. Can’t wait for more!

Again, Clint provides a much more detailed account in his book “Five Days in November” but with one major difference…the bullet. I was not aware that Landis found the bullet where Jackie was sitting and later put it on the gurney in Trauma Room #1. That is tampering with evidence. I understand the pace of things & the confusion, but a secret service agent is trained and should know how to handle a crime scene.

This has been more of an autobiographical account of Paul’s years in the SS. The problem is that I have read Clint Hill’s books & his writing is more eloquent & detailed. Paul’s recollection of same events that Clint writes about in “Mrs. Kennedy and Me” & “Five Presidents” reads like Cliff notes. I was really hoping to get the events of 11/22/63 from another agent’s perspective. I hope we get there!

I am hopeful that things improve. The first two chapters filled with Paul’s hitchhiking adventures was not what I was hoping for from “A Kennedy Secret Service Agent breaks his silence after 60 Years” subtitle.

I’m really enjoying reading how Clint and Jacqueline developed a caring work relationship and a genuine trust. I did read “Five Presidents” first and then “Five Days in November”, so I read Clint’s books in reverse order but I am pleased to see there is more here that was not in the following two books.