Jackie Ethel Joan: Women of Camelot Abridged

Rating:
Summary: Tried But Couldn't Resist It!
Review: I tried, but couldn't resist this book. I've read so many books about Jackie Kennedy Onassis, I couldn't bear another, or so I thought. But you'd have to be living on another planet to not know by now that this is about Jackie in relation to her sisters-in-law, the difficult Ethel and the sympathetic Joan. I learned a lot about human nature with this book and I think the writer must have had people such as these three in his own family to be able to be so perceptive about them. I don't know if this is much of a history book -- I've never read such capsulized essays about major historical events -- but it's fascinating just the same, and I think it's not supposed to be a scholary work. It's an emotional work, though. A real page-turner, and I couldn't put it down.

Rating:
Summary: A Wild Ride Into Camelot
Review: This was one wild ride into the Camelot zone written by the guy that gave us "Sinatra" a couple of years back, which I loved. Author J. R. Taraborelli focuses here on the Kennedy women and manages to turn what could be a really dull subject about three spoiled, self-indulgent babes into something that is much bigger and more interesting than you'd imagine. The book completely explains why they stayed in marriages that didn't work, and how each went on to bigger and greater things after they were finished with their husbands (all of whom were pretty big jerks, let's face it, even if they were great politicians.) Taraborelli has one keen sense of human behavior, too. He knows how to make these women jump off the page, and if you liked the way he portrayed tough-talking-but-sensitive Frank Sinatra as much as I did then you'll appreciate this book. So I give this one five big stars for a wild ride into the Camelot zone by a writer who is completely out of control with these incredibly entertaining books every couple of years.

Rating:
Summary: Fair and Balanced
Review: I thought this was a fair and balanced look at the Kennedy women -- Jackie, Ethel and Joan. But the husbands are treated harshly, and maybe too much so. However, the author makes it clear what the wives were up against ... and when Jackie and Joan triumph by the end of the book you really feel happy for them. And sad for Ethel, too, who never gets over Bobby's death and doesn't have the great future her sisters-in-law had. Good book, though. I'd recommend it. Very revealing.

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: I married into a large Catholic family and can sort of identify with this. You don't marry just the man, you marry his whole freakin' family. I have read literally hundreds of Kennedy books and felt I knew it all. Actually I didn't. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters come off as real people, not demons or deities. I believe this book made me actually like Jackie for the first time. I've always liked Ethel and Joan.

Rating:
Summary: Jackie And The Rest Of 'Em
Review: Though Ethel and Joan Kennedy are also featured in this book, it's Jackie who really takes stage front and center. This author's picture of Jackie is a lot different than the other guy's (D. Spoto)book, mostly in that Taraborelli focuses on a Jackie who had the most human qualities: she's understanding, she's bitchy, she's a good listener, she's selfish. Full of contradictions, which is a nicely rounded picture, especially lately when all you read are sainted portraits of this woman. Enjoyed this one a lot. Five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Good Job!
Review: Saw this author on "Later Today" and liked him enough to go and buy a book about these women I really have admired. I haven't finished it yet, half way through, but can say, yes, this is a good job! I find it totally entertaining, and also historically relevant. I read the Source Notes first, as I do all bios, so that I can determine what kind of research went into what I am about to read. With this book, plenty of it... Joan Kennedy really steals your heart away in this book, and the author paints a sympathetic picture of Jackie and Ethel, too. I think there are plenty of reasons to buy this book and read it all the way through, not the least of which is that the subject of the wives has never been done before. And it's about time!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Jackie, Ethel, Joan
Review: I read Lawrence Leamner's Kennedy Women book when it came out a few years back and found it to be dry and stale. It takes the women all the way back to the old country, so many female Kennedys I couldn't care less about in the early 1900s in Ireland. Who cares? This book focuses on the three I cared about the most, Jackie, Ethel and Joan. If you skim it, then you'll be confused about the dialogue. But if you read it carefully, you'll understand that the writer paints pictures and scenes rather than just quoting people dryly and boringly, as do most authors. I loved this book. Couldn't stop reading it. Don't miss it.

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent, Fun & Provocative
Review: "Jackie, Ethel, Joan" is an unusual biography in that it's written in a way that makes the reader feel like a fly on the wall to some very major historical events. If you read it carefully enough, it's clear where the conversations came from in this book ... and the writer made these women come to life for me, which is the important thing. I thought it was also a very sexy book, and I felt the passion and drive of all of the Camelot subjects as well as its royal women. This is what is called a page-turner. I couldn't put it down. How much is true? Who knows with these kinds of books? I think it all is, but who knows? The important thing to me is that it was a good read, and I trust the source notes and the author. So, I give "Jackie, Ethel, Joan" five big stars.

Rating:
Summary: VERY INTERESTING BOOK - ? FACTUAL, I THINK NOT!
Review: I cannot say I did not enjoy reading this book. Anyone who grew up in the age of the Kennedy power has to be at least remotely interested in these three women's stories. Being privy to private conversations between them and feeling you are a part of what happened is also very seductive, however I just cannot believe that this book is accurate and factual. Private conversations were written about between people who would have absolutely no reason to discuss these conversation with an outside person. Although the topic was fascinating, I would say that your best bet would be to view this book as a Truman Capote genre book, a fiction based on some facts. You might enjoy it, but I wouldn't use it as historical reference material.

Rating:
Summary: A rehash of old, stale gossip with invented & banal dialogue
Review: This book is a tired and stale rehash of the Kennedy saga - filled with unsubstantiated gossip,trite (and ficticious) dialogue and little in the way of good writing, strong research or insight. This is cheesy fan magazine stuff. Haven't the Kennedy ladies suffered enough without this type of book popping up?

Give these gals a break...but if you can't (and it seems few can)read a good book about them, like Larry Leamers KENNEDY WOMEN.