Rating: 
Summary: A great book on a cold winter day!
Review: My hairdresser recommended this book to me. I've read so much about the Kennedys that I almost skipped it. Am glad I didn't. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down.There are a few new things and more details about other events. I particularly liked the parts about Joan. She's always been my favorite of them all. That Ted was so cruel to her is unforgivable. The Kennedy men come across as poor husband material! It was interesting to be reminded of these times again. I would recommend this book to anyone. These are three strong women.
Rating:
Summary: Jackie, Ethel, Joan-Three women in a fishbowl?
Review: This is one of the greatest Kennedy books I have ever read. It basically gives the interactions of the three women and how they related to eachother, especially with their husbands' infidelities. The chapters are short, so you will NEVER get bored. Furthermore, I have learned MUCH more about these women and even a few tidbits about their husbands. Here's a good one [JFK had an STD]. Read this book!! It is well reseached (over 100 pages of resources).
Rating: 
Summary: JACKIE, ETHEL, JOAN: WOMEN OF CAMELOT
Review: I've read several books about the Kennedy/Fitzgerald families, Jackie and related literature. I was reluctant to buy this book as a hardcover - fearing it would disappoint. I bought the paperback edition and read it straight through - 700 pages. Interesting and insightful. Finally a book that gives a real inside look at the interpersonal relations of these three dynamic women who married into the same family but took vastly different roads to survive the clan and the troubles that came 'a visiting. From heartbreaking fondness and support to down and dirty cat fights. Read this book to really get an accurate look at the "charmed" life Camelot brought to those women who entered with high hopes and dreams - as it turned, repeatedly, to saddness, bitterness and shattered expections.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing account of three remarkable women.
Review: This book picqued my interest because, although I had read books before about Jackie, I didn't know much about Joan other than about her alcoholism and the only thing I knew really about Ethel was that she was Robert's wife and had 11 kids. So I really wanted to find out more about Joan and Ethel and how all three really meshed together as sisters-in-law. It's amazing the details I learned. The author obviously did exhaustive research. As a result, I feel I learned a lot about these three ladies, each of whom is great in her own way. I even found characteristics in myself that I was able to compare with all of them. All in all, a wonderful, fascinating read!
Rating:
Summary: A great read...even for Kennedy buffs!
Review: When I first picked up my copy of "Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot", I will admit that I was not prepared to learn anything new. Over many years, I have read a number of biographies and historical books regarding the lives of these Kennedy women. Yet, I purchased the book regardless and it turned into a very pleasant surprise. While this book does have many "private details", the difference here is that the author painstakingly documented every item written about. Instead of simply referring to anonymous sources, most tidbits here were backed up by conversations with specific friends and family members. This made the reading much more honest rather than the idle gossip which many Kennedy biographers have depended on in the past. While a number of the very public "secrets" were discussed, there were many more less-known facts and details discovered in this book. Details such as the closeness between Jackie and Joan, Ethel's loss of direction after RFK was killed, and the small feuds that occurred over the years made these Camelot women seem much more human than before. Ultimately, the reader learns about the closeness and loyalty of the Kennedy family, despite their differences. Even after Jackie remarried, her loyalties to the Kennedy family remained intact. The hardback version of this book is HUGE (and heavy!), and the thought of reading the entire book initially seemed overwhelming. Yet, once I began reading it, it was tough to put down. Again, just knowing the author's obvious concern for accuracy--cemented with documentation rather than supposition--made the reading much more enjoyable. I would, however, recommend the newer paperback version unless you just enjoy heavy items! I highly recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in the Kennedy family and/or specifically either of these three interesting ladies. No matter what you have read previously, you will discover many new things about these women, and you will have a much better understanding for how they survived their various tragedies.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun Political Wives Insight
Review: This book about the wives of Kennedy rogues Jack, Bobby and Ted reads like Valley of the Dolls goes to Washington. Booze, pills, bitchy rivalries -- it's all here in this bloated but fun read by celebrity biographer Taraborrelli. Based on interviews (though not with the wives) and previously published material on the Kennedys, the author -- dishy tone aside -- provides surprisingly three-dimensional portraits of queenly Jackie, sharp-tongued Ethel, sensitive alcoholic Joan and their complex relationships with one another. (Ethel's jealous sniping at Jackie is a hoot.) While the book upholds old rumors, such as Ethel's affair with singer Andy Williams, it leaves a question mark surrounding alleged flings between Jackie and Bobby and Bobby and Marilyn Monroe. (The book was completed, of course, well before a family imbroglio -- the Jan. 19 arrest of Ethel's nephew Michael Skakel, 39, who is charged with the 1975 murder of his 15-year-old Greenwich, Conn., neighbor Martha Moxley.) Though none of the cheating Kennedy men was any bargain as a husband, it's Joan -- if the long list of Teddy's cruelties here is to be believed -- who got the rawest deal. After she campaigned for his Senate re-election in 1964 as he recuperated from a plane crash, Teddy's way of saying thanks was to head directly from the hospital into the arms of a mistress. Ah, politicians and their wives, do indeed make for strange bedfellows and fun dishy reading.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Read
Review: This was one of the best "Kennedy" books that I have ever read. The author worked on the book for years, and the end result is evident of that. There are sources and information that have never been brought to light, and it makes for a fascinating read. Most importantly, instead of focusing on the same old thing that most Kennedy books focus on, the author intently examines the relationships and dynamics of the three women who were Kennedy's only by marriage: Jacqueline Bouvier, Joan Bennett and Ethel Skakel. A new angle on an old formula, and it makes for very interesting reading.
Rating:
Summary: Fast and fascinating...
Review: No matter how much you read about the Kennedy's, you have to admit that they continue to be fascinating and compelling-- probably because they are REAL and not fiction. Taraborrelli does an admirable job of presenting the relationships between Ethel, Jackie and Joan within the backdrop of the times in a succinct and easy to read way. There wasn't a lot of extra verbage in the book- sentences were short and digestable. Yet the reader won't be insulted by the easy to read style. In fact, one can often be critical of historical writers because they get too wordy--trying to cram in all the relevant dates and times. This book was written from an emotional/relational point of view and used history as a backdrop. I truly enjoyed the intimate glimpses of each of these women that Taraborrelli gives us and he was able to weave it altogether into a simple, yet complex, tapestry of important and strong lives. Great read for the summer.
Rating:
Summary: THREE FACES OF KENNEDYS
Review: This was an excellent book that gave a serious overview of the make up of the three most famous Kennedy wifes. The President's wife Jackie, remained true to her own convictions and fiercely independent. She radiated class, elegance, poise and style. From all accounts, Jackie was an excellent mother and the successes of her children and their loving accounts of her is proof positive of her success. One gets the feeling that Jackie felt somewhat out of place among the more boisterous members of the extended family. For all of her fierce independence, there is a poignancy about her. Jackie was a woman who commanded respect. Joan, a gentle, self effacing woman had some overwhelming challenges of her own. An alcholic mother, her own drinking problem and her oldest son Ted, Jr.'s leg amputation at age 12 appeared to hit her all at once. Demure and loving, Joan relates how she told Ted Jr. he could let his feelings out; he was a child, not a man and losing a body part at any age was traumatic. Joan insists on marching to her own drummer and her drummer plays a very poignant tune. Daughter Kara goes through a rebellious stage and youngest son Patrick (now a representative) has been treated for depression. Joan is crushed by Ted Sr.'s adulterous affairs and their combination of problems ultimately ends in divorce. For the first time in her life, Joan is forced to confront herself and decide on the tune her drummer will play. She is a very sympathetic person and one can only keep hoping and praying she will find peace. Ethel is wonderfully gregarious, funny and outgoing. She is Jackie's opposite number in that she is perfectly comfortable in expressing herself without restraint. Known for her love of spontaneous practical jokes, Ethel distinguishes herself within the large clan. An accomplished equestrienne, Ethel appears to derive equal satisfaction in aggressive touch football games and tennis matches. She has a wonderfully zany side that brings a smile to the face as her antics are recounted. She also appears to be a good counterpart to Robert Kennedy; the serious, sometimes brooding Attorney General/Senator has these characteristics balanced by the irrepressible Ethel. Ethel, too, has her share of hardships. Both of her parents are killed in a plane crash in 1955 and her brother George dies in one in 1966. The death of Robert Kennedy was a singular trauma; Ethel was there when he was assassinated. The way one ambulance attendant treated her was inexcusable. The trauma she went through during those hard years after the senator's death was revisited in the effect his loss had on their children. She has lost two children under horrific circumstances. Despite these major losses, Ethel still has maintained her core self -- her zest, her delightfully zany wit and her enormous drive. Her children are her true success story and in the opinion of this reviewer, her biggest and her best accomplishments.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing New
Review: After reading many articles on the Kennedy's throughout the years I really found nothing new in this book. It took me 3 months to get thru the book. Don't waste your money on this one!!!
| 
