Second Best Thing Audiobook By James L. Swanson cover art

Second Best Thing

Marilyn, JFK, and a Night to Remember

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Second Best Thing

By: James L. Swanson
Narrated by: Arthur Morey
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President John F. Kennedy. Marilyn Monroe. A probing nonfiction short story that reconstructs an enchanting night in history by the New York Times bestselling author of Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer.

On the night of May 19, 1962, the marquee of the old Madison Square Garden boasted: “BEST THING TODAY...JOHN F. KENNEDY / 2ND BEST THING...MARILYN MONROE.”

Few things illustrate the magnetism of the Kennedy era like Marilyn Monroe co-headlining the President's massive birthday fundraiser, and suggestively crooning "Happy Birthday." But only a privileged few know what happened months earlier, when the two icons spent a weekend at a private summit hosted by Bing Crosby, and later, after the New York extravaganza, at the top secret, invitation-only midnight affair at a millionaire's Manhattan town house.

For more than half a century, this exclusive, no-press-allowed after-party has been shrouded in rumor and myth. Lot 6191 in the 2010 auction of White House photographer Cecil Stoughton's archive - "Marilyn Monroe at JFK Party" - included twenty-three prints. Their negatives, marked in Stoughton's hand with "Sensitive material, Do not file," were seized by the National Archives. Among the collection: the sole existing photograph of Marilyn and the president. Spellbound by the intimacy of the image and the force of public imagination, bestselling historian James Swanson masterfully reconstructs the fabled soiree, bringing alive a night that history nearly left behind.

©2020 James L. Swanson (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Americas Entertainment & Celebrities Politicians Politics & Activism Presidents & Heads of State Inspiring

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Very captivating. Was an easy listen. Able to listen while at work or with kids in the car. If you love anything that revolves around old time Hollywood era especially Marilyn Monroe then you will enjoy this.

Captivating

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The two stars of the show she died three months later him not much more.

Sad!

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This is a bad title for any book. The author is a good researcher but there is no real story here. He claims new information about a mysterious photo of the evening party after JFK's birthday bash where a nearly naked Marilyn performed in Madison Square Garden, but there is no record of anything of interest happening at the after party and the photo he mentions is a dud. It could be a M.M. -JFK discussion of the stock market for all we know. Alot fuss about nothing followed by a plea from the author for more material on this occurrence. Four cards don't make a flush and that's what we have here.

An interesting Disappointment

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it was an interesting story.
I have nothing more to say thank you
good bye

interesting tale

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Listening to this if you are over 65, you feel like a person that died in the operating pavilion, and from above you see the frantic doctor trying to pull you back to the moment, when you have no desire to do so. I am much wiser today, and can put a period at the end of a sentence, and I came to the realization that great power and virility leave a trail of victims. One feels genuine love, and the other just immediate relief. Marilyn surely loved the victor who had no good intentions, but it took 60 years to figure that out. Why did not Marilyn meet a car mechanic.

The Prey Was Late

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Second Best Thing
Marilyn, JFK, and a Night to Remember
By: James L. Swanson
This is a short story about missing photos from a secret party with JFK and Marilyn Monroe! The photos were from the only person JFK would allow to take pictures there, Cecil Stoughton. The author is a historian and describes how he was able to get some of these photos. Very interesting!
I am a Marilyn and history geek so I really enjoyed it.

Very interesting about JFK & Marilyn!

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The narrator made me feel like I was standing in the wings at Madison Square Garden just before Ms. Monroe took the stage, AND took me to an after-party as a bonus! It was a peek behind the curtain of a time when the political and entertainment worlds were more energetically linked. All that, and Mr. President JFK too, made for an intriguing story. (Would love to know if those negatives are ever found, though!)

"Happy Birthday Mr. President"!

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Not really what I expected. And not the kind of history's I normally read, but it was interesting. Not particularly impactful, but definitely titillating.

Sort of interesting and authentic, but too trashy

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Swanson's essay revisits that infamous night in history, the night an American President was serenaded by the most famous blonde in the world. Did the night end at the afterparty, or did JFK and Marilyn conclude the evening together? Swanson is currently researching details of this night. He uses his essay to reach out to anyone that may have attended the Presidential birthday party at Madison Square Garden.


"The marquee outside the Garden broadcast the evening’s stars in huge letters: BEST THING TODAY . . . JOHN F. KENNEDY / 2ND BEST THING . . . MARILYN MONROE."


Swanson is seeking possible attendees of both parties: the birthday salute and the private afterparty. Actual ticket sales (in its entirety) are lost to history, but at $10 a ticket I can only imagine the thousands of tickets sold for the BIG event. C'mon. Kennedy AND Marilyn Monroe at MSG!!! Had I been alive back then, I would have happily sold my brother to attend that gig. Swanson hopes someone will come forward with new information or personal videos. He's also trying to recreate the guest list for the private party – by invitation only. Most importantly, we all want to know about that damn picture by Cecil Stoughton — the only surviving picture in the world that captured both Marilyn and Jack. Officially, there is no other picture that exists of the two together. Does this image harbor secrets? Is there more to the story? If you were at that party, either one of them, give Swanson a shout. He's looking for YOU.😎

Birthday Salute at Madison Square Garden

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I found the story quite interesting. I was 13 when Marilyn Monroe died, and I remember watching her legendary performance of "Happy Birthday". At the time, the general public was largely unaware of the affair between Marilyn and the President, though it seemed to be known to D.C. insiders and the press. It was a glamourous era, but looking back, so hauntingly sad. We couldn't have known the tragedies that would too soon befall the subjects of the story as we watched the television coverage of JFK' s Gala birthday celebration. This was a short narrative of a very brief moment of Kennedy's Camelot, turning the spotlight on a few facts we may not have known about a doomed affair between two beautiful doomed people.

A Haunting Glimpse of Camelot

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