FOUR FRIENDS: PROMISING LIVES CUT SHORT by William D, Cohan

✯✯✯✯✯                                                                                              Review by Astrid Galactic


The latest book by William D. Cohan, Four Friends: Promising Lives Cut Short chronicles the lives of four of Mr. Cohan's classmates at the very elite Phillips Academy Andover who had grown to prove to the world that they had something special to offer, yet fate intervened and took them away from us all too soon. We meet and get to know Jack Berman, Will Daniel, Harry Bull and John Kennedy Jr. in ways we may not have known them before. 

The book has a wonderful fluidity that grabs onto you so you never want to put it down making for easy reading yet rich with detail. While all four gentlemen made some sort of impact on society, we aren't bogged down with pages of what feels like excerpts extracted from a history book. Instead, we are treated with lots of anecdotal stories that make us realize that they were all just regular guys; albeit, from money and privilege. 

Somewhat early on in the book, it smells a little pretentious with its Andover banner waving but most of us have some of that regarding our alma mater, especially when it's one with an elite reputation. At one point, Cohan does try to balance that out with stating that he then comes to realize that the education itself really wasn't much better than what some receive in regular schools. The others just aren't given the privilege and networking that Andover provides. A very minor point within the book though. 

All four men are presented in a manner that allows us to see them grow and mature at Andover leading to college and then off to adulthood. We also meet their families and other loved ones and are provided with a little about their backgrounds which affects who these boys become as human beings. It's not just their successes that we see but also their struggles, foibles and sorrows. There's a certain honesty presented that shows us that along with all of their privilege also came a few rejections. None of them had a perfectly easy life as many might assume. We are treated with pieces of their lives that has us laughing with them, cheering them on, hurting when they fail and feeling absolute sorrow when their lives are cut all too short. 


Despite their obvious sad endings, it was a delight reading about these men. A great read from the beach to the bedroom.

(ARC)

Nonfiction
Hardcover 384 pages
125007052x (ISBN13 9781250070524)
Expected Publication: July 9th, 2019 Flatiron Books

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