Overview
āWhatās the point of being Irish anyway if you donāt think the world will break your heart?ā asks Jack Kennedy. He is spellbound by a song about Irelandās neverland of dreams: āHow Are Things in Glocca Morra?ā
No one better knew the real JFKās dreams and passions than Lem Billings, a prep-school roommate who made himself āsidekick everlasting.ā The late Peter Collier had the great fortune to obtain oral histories from Billings himself, and they became the basis for a vivid biographical novel in Lemās voice.
On assignment with the Hearst newspapers, Jack goes with Lem to Hollywood, that neverland of dreams he loves for āthe feeling that something might happen.ā Things do. Communists and gangsters vie for control of the film industry. There are labor strikes, blackmail, assassinations. And there are glamorous actresses. Joseph Kennedy Sr. hovers oppressively over his son and aims to derail his romance with Valentina, survivor of an Italian prison camp and daughter of a mobster.
The world breaks Jackās heart, and he dives into politics with steely purpose. But the interlude in Hollywood sends ripples through the Kennedysā lives. When Lem gets the news of JFKās assassination, he instantly thinks of Valās fatherāa man whose middle name is vendetta.
Billings never got the answers he sought about Jackās death. As for his intimate knowledge of the Kennedys, he remained ever discreet, but left a trove of recollections to be opened by a later generation. Channeled through Collierās lively and imaginative prose, they illuminate shadowy corners of an extraordinary American saga.
This book title, Things in Glocca Morra, ISBN: 9781641771344, by Peter Collier, published by Encounter Books (February 9, 2021) is available in hardcover. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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