Jackie Ethel Joan : Women of Camelot (ISBN 0446609129)

Amazon.com Review:
What a great idea for a deep-dish tell-all! JFK's lonely, classy wife, Bobby's athletic, competitive wife, and Ted's meek, alcoholic wife, together at last between covers, soothing each other when not fighting like fishwives. Taraborrelli's breathless prose makes you a fly on the wall when formidable mother-in-law Rose Kennedy walks in on Joan commiserating with Ethel about their honeymoons: "I think Bobby was finished before I got into the room!" said Ethel. "Now what are you ladies talking about?" asked Rose. Jackie, who was present, cooed, "Oh, we were just saying how well Bobby sleeps at night." "He gets that from me," said Rose. Ethel should never have been so catty when gentle, simple Joan joined the clan: "Goodbye wine and cheese," hissed Ethel. "Hello macaroni and cheese." And she shouldn't have mocked Jackie for being unable to compete in touch football--with the Kennedys, it was more like "claw, scratch and bite" football. And what about when she rubbed it in that she and Bobby were closer than Jackie and Jack? After all, when Lee Remick phoned Ethel to say "You're on the way out," and Ethel replied that Bobby was home in bed, Bobby was in fact (says Taraborrelli) in bed with Lee Remick. You may have heard that JFK's dad, Joe Kennedy, offered Jackie $1 million not to divorce JFK, but did you hear Jackie's alleged reply? "The price goes up to $20 million if Jack brings home any venereal diseases." Did Ethel betray Jackie's discontent to Joe--and then go ballistic when Joe only gave Ethel $500,000? You'd think Joan would be the clinker in the group, like Zeppo Marx. She was a bit dim, but should Ted have put her down as dumb? He's the one who showed up soused with a prostitute for dinner with the king and queen of Belgium, whose priceless antique couch Ted's date ruined by wetting it. Who knows how historians will judge this book, but it sure does a great job of making history into a Jackie Collins novel. --Tim Appelo

Book you'll enjoy in a guilty pleasure sort of way!:
Heard the cassette version of JACKIE, ETHEL, JOAN: WOMEN OF CAMELOT by. J. Randy Taraborrelli and enjoyed it--in a guilty pleasure sort of way. It is a tell-it-all about the three Kenney wives and listening to it helped me relive some days of my younger days when John, Robert and Ted Kenney were alive and running for various political offices. For some reason, I never followed too closely the dirt behind their respective careers . . . yet this book more than made up for anything I may have missed. If everything in it is to be believed, I now know that Joe Kennedy offered Jackie $1 million not to divorce JFK and Jackie allegedly replied, "The price goes to $20 million if Jack brings home any venereal diseases." . . . also, that Bobby had an affair with actress Lee Remick who actually called Ethel to tell her that they were sleeping together--only to be told by Ethel that he was home in bed (when he was actually with Remick) . . . and that Ted once showed up for drunk with a prostitute for dinner with the king and queen of Belgium, whose priceless antique coach Ted's date ruined by wetting it. Overall, the book left me feeling sorry for the Kennedy women . . . although they appeared so glorious from afar, how they were forced to live their lives because of the constant spotlight made life anything but easy for them.

Thanks Mr Taraborrelli!:
I Loved reading this book!! I recently saw the TV movie version, so I decided to read the book. I was SO impressed! I was 10 years old when Pres Kennedy was killed, so of curse I'm familiar with Camelot and all that goes along with it. Now that I'm in my 50's I thought I'd look for a book written in recent years about the Kennedy wives. I'm so glad I found this one! What these 4 women had to endure, Especially Joan, being married to a Kennedy is incredible! The last 66 pages! are devoted to "Acknowledgments and Source Notes", which I didn't read thoroughly, but now know this isn't just another made up Kennedy story, but Facts!

Jackie Ethel Joan: Women of Camelot:
This book is well worth reading more than once! It has so much information that I could hardly put it down!! You feel so very bad for Joan and what Teddy did to her. He was a very poor specimen for a husband and it is amazing she has managed to hold onto life. I don't know what the quality of it is now, but what she endured was truly unfair. My heart really goes out to her and now that Jackie is gone I can't imagine how she is doing.

Interesting in a tabloid way:
I really enjoyed reading this book because I am fascinated by that time in our history and with Jackie Kennedy. I found this book to have an interesting point-of-view on all three Kennedy women. Ethel seemed to be easily envious or jealous but loyal and loving of her family. Jackie seemed to be snobby with a mind of her own, but again a deep loyalty for her family especially her immediate family. Joan seemed to be sad and a 'door mat' until she grew much older. She seemed to put up with the most crap and lost the most in return. I have no idea if any of what I read was accurate or not, but I liked reading it regardless. It was fun and fast in a very tabloid sort of way. If you're interested in the Kennedy women, then you'll probably like this book. The movie that was made based on this book is also pretty good, but naturally the book is by far better with more details.

An insightful look behind the scenes:
I found this to be a very intrigueing read, but the reader should have a working knowledge of the history, events and relationships that shaped the Kennedy dynasty because they are not going to be detailed in this book. In fact, some will be glossed over or entirely omitted. What you will read about is the experiences of those intimately involved in the events and tragedies: their personal thoughts, conversations and feelings, wrapped up in fierce political ambition and family loyalty. Even though I'm sure the conversations and personal information, albeit based on substantial research, has been "developed", anyone who has experienced a family death or misfortune will easily relate to the Kennedys' amazing ordeals, struggles and fortitude. I thoroughly enjoyed it.