Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot

The author of this book J. Randy Taraborrelli is an outstanding celebrity journalist and author. He has written books on Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and several other stars. He is also a person who is enamored of the Kennedys. He has written several books on them including After Camelot. This long but easy to read, anecdotal and gossipy look at the Kennedy wives is fascinating for those who are interested in the fascinating Kennedy family. The three wives chronicled are:1. Jacqueline Kennedy-JFK's beautiful, polyglot, strong and stoic well educated wife! She dazzled society with her wit and brains. Jackie renovated the White House eschewing the dreariness of the old home and made Americans proud of their first family. Jackie was the youngest First Lady in history. She raised two wonderful and accomplished children Caroline and John Jr.who died early in a tragic aviation accident. Jackie was also widowed when Aristotle Onassis died. She loved jewelry, expensive clothes and travel abroad. Jackie did not always get along with her sister-in-law Ethel and adored Joan the wife of Ted Kennedy. She died young in 1994 and her memory will always be a bright beacon in our nation's history.2. Ethel Kennedy was the wife of attorney general and later Senator from New York Bobby Kennedy. Bobby was assassinated in 1968 and was the one love of Ethel's life. The devout Catholic Ethel is the mother of eleven children. She is still alive and is the matriarch of the Kennedy clan having celebrated her ninetieth birthday. Ethel is noted for her spunk and tomboyish nature and letting her children run wild at her Hickory Hill Estate.A woman of deep spirituality and faith in Jesus.3. Joan Kennedy-The New York born Joan was a beauty and appeared as a model for a short time on tv commericals and in magazines. Joan is the most vulnerable of the three women and is probably the nicest person to know. She plays the piano and has conquered her alochol addiction. Joan has written a book on classical music and is the mother of three children. She was often cruelly treated by Senator Ted Kennedy her husband. She survived the shame of the Chappaquiddick scandal which ruined Ted's hopes for the White House. A kind and sweet beauty!The three Kennedy women profiled in this book all:1. They all had to put up with cheating womanizing husbands. JFK had a dalliance with Marilyn Monroe and countless other mistresses while Bobby had an affair with actress Lee Remick and others.2. All three women are members of the Roman Catholic Church and take solace in their faith.3. All three women loved the Kennedy men they married.4. All three women were good mothers to children who had their share of problems These famous women did their best to be good wives and mothers to the Kennedy husbands. The book is focused on the personal lives of Jackie, Ethel and Joan.and is not focused on politics and world affairs. The book is gossip backed up by long years of research making it one of the most enjoyable of the countless books on the Kennedy family. Well done! Enjoyable reading on a family that has suffered both great triumphs and epic tragedies.

This narrative on the three wives is interesting and insightful, especially in the early years of their respective lives and marriages to the big three. Some of the details researched and shared were news to me and I have been a Kennedy follower nearly all my life. I was ten when JFK was assassinated and I have been an avid reader of nearly anything written on this family. Most readers will enjoy the majority of the information in this book. However, when I encountered the information on Marilyn Monroe and the eventual assassination, I felt the text was naive and dated. True, the book was published in 2000, but even then most people were aware of the capers of the CIA, the FBI and the Deep State, all of which have gradually seized control of this country. Taraborelli’s account of Jacqueline Kennedy’s stating that she, her husband and the Johnsons were close friends is sadly inaccurate. There is another source showing the well-known assassination picture—the one we have all seen with Mrs. Kennedy, stricken and in shock, standing next to LBJ while he is taking the oath of office on Air Force One. Then another shot shows LBJ turned looking at Lady Bird Johnson, and the smirk on her face says it all. It is obvious she is less compassionate toward Mrs. Kennedy and far more satisfied to step into the role of new First Lady. Too many other higher powered sources more recently written also indicate Johnson’s amoral makeup. Most people now know, too, that Monroe was murdered to prevent her from revealing information she knew through her affair with JFK. Certainly worth a look, but keep in mind that other sources about key players’ dynamics are more convincing.

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.

Very interesting. Learned a lot about them that you would never know

I absolutely loved this book - I felt like I was a fly on the wall, watching all the shenanigans going on behind the scenes. It was an eye-opener into how things were done in the 1960s, the mood of the country, how women were treated by powerful men, the fashions of the day...it was just great for that. My ONLY criticism is that the writer seems very, very biased toward all of the Kennedy's, and especially Ted. He (the writer) seems to "play down" the faux pas of the Kennedy family (especially Chappaquiddick, which, let's face it, was somewhat more than a mere "faux pas") but I overlooked that bias to get to the facts. You don't have to be a fan of the Kennedy's to enjoy this book, you've just got to be interested in knowing what made them tick, good, bad or indifferent. I would recommend this book to anyone!

I enjoyed this book - it was an easy read, and although probably a bit "off the wall" at times the insight into the Kennedy set up was interesting and intriguing.The Kennedy men certainly don't cover themselves in glory - Ted in particular treated Joan appallingly throughout their marriage - whilst they were all philanderers Ted comes across as being cruel and heartless. His attitude to the Chipaquadick incident is horrific! I would recommend this to anyone who is fascinated by the Kennedy enigma as it is a very easy book to dip in and out of without being too immersed in references and heavy factual details

A brilliant read. So much I didn't know. What an amazing number of tragedies for on family who seemed as if they had everything going for them

A wonderful and enlightening read. My views of Jacqueline Kennedy were completely dispelled - through reading this book, i now see jackie as a special person who despite her own tragedy and the travesties against her was loyal, thoughtful, sympathetic and supportive of others. I knew little about Ethel - I now know more . I knew less about Joan and through the book now understand what a difficult life she had and the disappointments she suffered in her marriage.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It explained the relationships of the three women who married into the Kennedy family, their feelings, emotions and struggles. The journey this book takes you on helps you to understand the personalities of these fabulous women.