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JFK LIVES AGAIN
"THE PLEASURE OF HIS COMPANY" is a fine tribute to a martyred, well-loved President of the U.S. by one of his closest friends, recounting many of their shared experiences.
Paul B. "Red" Fay, Jr. first crossed paths with John F. Kennedy in the autumn of 1942 when both men were junior naval officers at a PT boat training school in Rhode Island. They met at a touch football game in which both participated. It was at first an inauspicious meeting that later grew into a strong bond forged between both men, subsequently strengthened during their combat service together (albeit on different PT boats) in the South Pacific the following year.
Fay shares with the reader a wealth of fascinating vignettes and anecdotes attesting to the uniqueness of the man and President that was John F. Kennedy. Fay helped his friend throughout his political career from his first run for Congress in 1946, to his race for the Senate in 1952 against a powerful incumbent (whom most pundits felt would handily defeat Kennedy), to his successful quest for the Presidency in 1960.
At 220 pages (with a generous scattering of photos), this book was a joy to read. It made real to me in a way few other books have that I've read about President Kennedy the singular uniqueness of a man who valued his family, friends, acquaintances, and the country that he so faithfully served.
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