JFK friend from his Stanford University time. Biographer Nigel Hamilton has surmised that Henry James’s company was attractive because JFK felt that he provided entree to a higher social echelon than a Boston Irish was able to access.
“I mean, sure he had a good name and everything else, and people would pay him some attention. But the people I knew, and had easy access to, were not the ones that would pay much attention to his real achievements, his book, his intelligence, his charismatic charm, everything else – even his money. They didn’t care about that! No, he didn’t come from Top Drawer. He didn’t belong to Piping Rock Club on Long Island – so why bother with him? ‘He’s not important’ “
Reckless Youth, Hamilton, p. 381