Rating: 
Summary: Read this Book
Review: The Dark Side of Camelot rewrites the history of John F. Kennedy and his presidency-at least the public version. Thank you Mr. Hersh, for taking aim at the Kennedy mystique and helping change the popular view of the Kennedy family forever. This is a must read for all. This books exposes what Kennedy should be remembered for: Vietnam (which he viewed as a strategic piece of real estate), stolen elections, adulterous affairs, the invasion of Cuba... The Kennedy's-those paragons of reformism and concern for the people-are shown for what they truly were: communist hunters, union busters, counter-insurgency enthusiasts, torture chamber academy founders... Those under the spell of the mythic "Camelot" will not like this book, but it's a truth from the 60s we should not shy away from. Kennedy should be remembered for unleashing the military might of U.S. imperialism against the Vietnamese, Cubans and more. Those who've been fooled by the likes of Clinton's liberal image would do well to study this book. It unveils the liberal as but a sugarcoated mask, the better to eat you with, in their rule of U.S. imperialism. Thanks Seymour, You've got a winner!
Rating: 
Summary: The Dark Side, Indeed
Review: Seymour Hersh, one of America's most respected journalists, and a Pulitzer Prize winner, does his homework here in exposing the Kennedy presidency. He carefully researches and documents the exploits of JFK and the Kennedy family, from the numerous sexual conquests (JFK makes Bill Clinton look like a boy scout) to Kennedy's political errors, including the failed assassination of Fidel Castro, the Bay of Pigs, the October missle crisis, and the Kennedy family's involvement with organized crime. Kennedy lovers won't like it, but everything is carefully footnoted and documented. A well written book and highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: close but no cigar
Review: I used to think Seymour Hersh was a dedicated journalist but this book, although right on many parts about JFK and his father, seems as if it was written by an ex-lover of one of the Kenndey's who got screwed over. Granted Jack did put himself in danger by sleeping with a lot of women (which all of Washington knew) but he misses his character completely which somebody would with there simple-minded christian outlook on life. I would say 3/4ths of this book is right but this rest is fabrications and falsehoods propagated by Kennedy bashers (who exist to this day) but on many points he is dead wrong such as Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs, the mafia-CIA murder plots, and so on. If you want a one-sided book showing the dark side of Camelot than this is for you.
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Summary: The Under Side of the Sheets
Review: I was born after the Kennedy Administration so I do not have the nostalgic feelings for him that many people do. I picked this book up to get a little less fawning impression of him then some other books tend to portray and for some good old fashion dirt. I have also read some other books by this author so I new him to be a straight shooter. Well, I was not disappointed. This book covered JFK's father, grandfather, campaign and full presidency and my impression is that the author left no rock or bed sheet left unturned. Before I go further I should add that I have read any number of political books that are basically hatchet jobs and I was a little concerned this book would fall into that category. I was pleasantly surprised that the author was able to present all the unflattering bits in a very evenhanded manner. The author could have tossed in little nasty comments here and there, but did not. He stuck to a very "just the facts" type of reporting. The book covered some very interesting parts about the campaign and the unique financing that took place. The author did not pull punches, he detailed out vote buying to a rather large degree. The one area that was left unsaid was just how prevalent was this behavior. This is not an excuse, but if the Kennedy team was just doing what every politician had and was doing up to that point, the activity is not as exciting and revolting as the author stated. For me the other two most interesting parts were the detail on Cuba and Berlin. I was not upset or surprised at what the administration was doing to try and get rid of Castro. I think we all know about the Bay of Pigs and the attempt to have Castro killed. This book just filled in a lot of nice details. Again the author tried to make these activities far more scandalous then they were given the times that they took place in. Sure, if these activities were taking place today it would be a "blank gate" of some sort, but back then this was just how the game was played. The most overriding theme of the book was the extramarital affairs JFK was involved in during his term. At first this was rather interesting in a playboy sort of way. How he carried on like this was a bit of every high school boys adolescent dream come true. It was just that it got to be too much of a good thing. In almost every chapter of the book we get details about this woman or that woman. At about the mid point of the book I was thinking, "Ok, I got it - he was a playboy -lets move on". It just got to be a distraction within the book. My only other complaint would be that the author tried to make hay about the political trip to Dallas that resulted in JFK's assassination. He tried to imply that the choices JFK made resulted in his death. I thought this was a bit of a reach. Overall the book was interesting if not a bit over the top on the woman issue. If you are a big fan of JFK you will want to stay away, but if you are looking for more interesting and in depth look at the man then this would be a nice addition to your JFK reading.
Rating:
Summary: true but......
Review: yes john kennedy was not perfect ( look at all the womanizing) or as healthy as we were led to believe but he wasn't as "bad" as the book makes out. the only gripe i have with this book is that since it did what it's title implied, show the dark side of camelot, it's not a very balanced account. hersh puts the absolute worst possible spin on everything that happened in the administration. I'd recomend the book an unfinished life for a more even handed account
Rating: 
Summary: The Dark Side of Camelot
Review: Interesting book, Seymour. Quick get onto the British royal family, they would love you to write '' The Dark Side of a Wayward Princess'' If you got the girls slavering over the Kennedys exploits , just imagine how the boys would love..... the dark side of Lady Di, go get 'em Seymour!!!.All in all an interesting book , but like an early reviewer I could not get Kitty Keller out of my mind. Still we have to keep an open mind about all politicians.
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Summary: Were you alive in 1962?
Review: Were you alive in 1962? If you were be very greatful that you are alive now. John F. Kennedy was incredibly ill-suited to take over the Presidency when he did. He was terribly ill physically. He was a compulsive adulterer who could barely devote the time needed for his job. He was thoroughly ruthless, dishonest, vengeful and self-centered. And above all he was reckless. He thrived on personal and political recklessness. In 1962 I was a child. Whenvever I feel badly, I think of how easily it could all have have ended in October 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis. Count your blessings folks.
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Summary: The Dark Side of JFK revealed with all its warts.
Review: First, the disclaimer: although I am a conservative, I like and admire much of what JFK did as president, and I admire the man. Few readers will begin reading this book without a pre-existing opinion of Kennedy. That is/was mine. Hersh does a workmanlike job illustrating the apparently undeniable fact that Kennedy had medical problems, integrity issues, and personal problems that the country would probably not tolerate in a president today. This book appears to be well-researched and well-documented. It does not present a flattering portrayal of Kennedy and it does not intend to. First, the infidelity. Hersh goes into depressing detail as to his theme that JFK's marriage was a sham. According to Hersh, JFK never missed an opportunity to philander whenever Jackie Kennedy was away, and sometimes when she wasn't away. Much of JFK's inner circle conspired with him in this regards (according to Hersh) to a degree that is hard to imagine. Hersh speculates that part of Kennedy's abnormal libedo was induced by various drugs he took for his Addison's condition. Hersh develops this theme further in his discussion of the Cuban Missile Crisis and speculates that the cocktail of steroids and other drugs that Kennedy evidently needed to get through the day affected his judgment and his willingness to take risks. This in turn may have caused him to be more prone to the kind of brinksmanship that Hersh claims characterized Kennedy's handling of the Missile Crisis. Personally I'm not so sure. Despite the fact that the US had an overwhelming nuclear and overall military superiority over Soviets in 1962, Kennedy did not bomb the missiles out but instead negotiated. Here I felt Hersh was unfair to Kennedy. On the other hand, it seems clear that Kennedy's marriage was a sham and his image of youthful vigor was even more of a sham. Hersh is convincing that Kennedy could not get through the day without a battery of probably illegal drugs. Kennedy was suffering from Addison's disease, which is a very serious condition, and had many other health issues, including the famous back problem, which put him in constant pain. Personally I found this book convincing as regards the infidelity, drug, and health claims that it made about Kennedy. Hersh is on thinner ice when he theorizes that these issues caused Kennedy to endanger the country. While this book or one like it is probably needed to balance the fluff pieces about Kennedy (and all the Kennedys) that abound, it is not itself a balanced analysis of JFK. To its credit, the book more or less admits this, in its title if nowhere else.
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Summary: A Great Reporter on the Life of the Century
Review: Could there have been a man, a family, a time period more written about than John F. Kennedy and his Camelot? I doubt it. Before reading this book, I had my doubts as to whether it would teach me anything new; after all, it admittedly draws on hundreds of books previously written about the Kennedy family. But there was one crucial element I did not count on, and that's the fact that Hersh adds a credibility that elevates this scandalous life well above mere scandal and truly paints a political tragedy. I believe Hersh; I believed his research; I believe his motives. I believe his facts, from Joseph Kennedy's vehement pro-Nazi anti-semiticism to JFK's astoundingly arrogant flirtation, not merely with infidelity, and with the underworld, but with public exposure. Malcolm X was soundly criticized for his response to the JFK assassination, stating something like "The chickens have come home to roost." No other book that I have read about the Kennedys has so soundly proven the insight of Malcolm X; for, as this book proves, Joseph Kennedy spawned an attitude, a way of political life, and a son, whose privilege was distorted in a direction that assured his own destruction. Simply put, the Kennedy's used people, used their great wealth, used privilege, even their god given beauty, with little or no thought of the consequences of their actions, or the people they deceived and double-crossed, or the many more they infuriated. It's not a pretty history but it's an indispensible one for an understanding of the way power works in America.
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Summary: After I finished this book I felt like I needed a shower ...
Review: . . . I felt just plain dirty. The title gives you an obvious clue that this isn't going to be your average work about Kennedy. And, it's not. If you're looking for a book that portrays Kennedy and his supporting cast in the worst possible light in every case, then I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to you. If you "never liked the Kennedys" and believe "they always got away with everything," then, again, this is the book for you. Mr. Hersh has run into problems in the past with people questioning his sources and "facts." It seems that his sourcing is good here (and, in fact, this book is even cited in Robert Dallek's JFK work, "An Unfinished Life.") My problem with the book was more one of perspective. Every story, every anecdote, every whispered secret is clearly told to impart the most sinister and devious motives to Kennedy and his clan. Where there are conceivably other interpretations (even when they are well-known), they are not mentioned. The bottom-line is that this book is a hatchet job. I don't know whether most of it is true or not. My guess is that much of it is. I know that I couldn't put the book down once I started it - though not from a sense of satisfaction in what I was reading, but more because, as I turned each page, there was a sense of wonderment as to how the next page could be more outrageous than the one I just read. If you're a Kennedy basher, you'll love it. If you're a Kennedy can do no wrong type, you'll hate it. If you're like me, and somewhere in the middle, you'll learn a few things you probably didn't know before, but you'll find the experience a lot like taking castor oil.
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