This is the story of the friendships that defined one of America's most beloved Presidents. Chris Matthews, who has been following and studying the Kennedys most of his life, has interviewed President Kennedy's closest confidants - family, friends, and those who served with him--to create a moving portrait of a man many loved but few really understood. Matthews focuses on the relationships between Kennedy and twelve of the people who were around him the most and knew him the best, from his days at Choate (the Connecticut prep school that inspired his famous "Ask Not..." speech), through his heroism during World War II, his political career, and, always, his devotion to the Kennedy family. These friends were with Jack Kennedy as he took surprising risks, struggled with chronic illness, and repeatedly confronted "the thin membrane between life and death." As Matthews describes it, Jack Kennedy was a rebel, an adventurer, and a great enjoyer of life precisely because he understood its fragility. Being with Jack Kennedy was great fun for his friends. Now, too, readers will share in that experience.

Chris Matthews is anchor of MSNBC's Hardball as well as the NBC-syndicated The Chris Matthews Show. He is an author of American; Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think; and Kennedy and Nixon.