First published 2019
New York Times bestselling author William D. Cohan turns his investigative lens on four of his former Andover classmates whose lives ended prematurely. Through extensive interviews with wives, colleagues, and friends, Cohan reconstructs the trajectories of these men who left the elite boarding school for vastly different paths. Jack Berman, son of Holocaust survivors, climbed from poverty to achieve the American dream before violence claimed his life. Will Daniel, grandson of Harry Truman and son of a New York Times managing editor, struggled to escape his family's overwhelming legacy. Harry Bull built a successful law practice in Chicago and inherited family wealth, then made a fatal decision on a summer day. John F. Kennedy Jr. lived and died in ways that differ from the public narrative. Cohan brings his financial journalism expertise to this personal investigation, revealing how privilege and promise offer no protection against tragedy.
Genres: 20th-century, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, personal-investigation
Setting: Andover, Chicago, New York
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
Audio CD · Macmillan Audio