Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story [Hardcover]

C. David Heymann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 14, 2009

The bestselling author uses his impressive list of sources and impeccable insight to reveal the true story of the relationship between Jacqueline Kennedy and her brother-in-law, Robert F. Kennedy. Their affair has been an open secret for decades amongst Kennedy insiders. Now, C. David Heymann will share those secrets with the thousands of readers out there who still can't get enough Kennedy lore.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pulitzer-nominated biographer Heymann delivers a gawk-worthy beach read with this fascinating look at Jackie and the Kennedy clan in the aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Life for JFK and Jackie was less than perfect; one story finds him cheating on Jackie during their 1953 Acapulco honeymoon, leaving the new Mrs. Kennedy "by herself on the verandah." Still, Jackie's devastation was real; afterward, her love for his brother Bobby was equally genuine. Unable to find peace (her Georgetown home had become a stop for all D.C. tour buses), Bobby gladly volunteered to play surrogate father to her kids; before long, an affair began. According to Truman Capote, it was "perhaps the most normal relationship either one ever had." It was not necessarily simple, however; both saw a number of people while together. Promiscuity aside, the Kennedys were also notoriously "chintzy" in their personal lives-they didn't tip and employed undocumented workers at home- though Jackie fares marginally better. It's anyone's guess how the affair would have ended if Bobby hadn't been killed; just four months later, she married Aristotle Onassis. Heymann's research is top notch, with plentiful attributions, making this train-wreck love story a substantial guilty pleasure and a sizzling reminder of how the rich are different.
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Review

"Pulitzer-nominated biographer Heymann delivers a gawk-worthy beach read with this fascinating look at Jackie and the Kennedy clan in the aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination....Heymann's research is top notch, with plentiful attributions, making this train-wreck love story a substantial guilty pleasure and a sizzling reminder of how the rich are different."-- Publishers Weekly

"Full of gossipy tidbits.... This book is shocking, yearningly romantic and tons of fun." -- People --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books; 1St Edition edition (July 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416556249
• ISBN-13: 978-1416556244
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( K ) > Kennedy, Robert
  • #38 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( O ) > Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Heymann's work is simply not credible, October 10, 2009

By 

Lisa Pease "Guerrilla Informationist" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story (Hardcover)

My in-depth review of all of Heymann's work appears here: [...]. I strongly encourage you to read the whole thing. Otherwise, here's a quick summary of just this book.

Heymann's book is simply not credible. First of all - and let's clear this up before we begin - he is NOT a Pulitzer Prize "nominee." That term is reserved for people the Pulitzer Prize committee selected as finalists. Heymann was simply an entrant - meaning, his publisher submitted his book in the HOPE of getting a nomination. I verified this both by talking to his current editor and by talking to the Pulitzer Prize committee.

Suffice it to say if you believe what's in the book, stay away from real estate brokers, as you are clearly at a disadvantage. He provides footnotes for items that are not new, and doesn't footnote his more astonishing claims. Heymann relies heavily on his purported interview with a guy who died several years before Heymann started writing about the Kennedys. And some of the more sensational claims for that interview are, surprise, not in his earlier books on the Kennedys. Did he only just rediscover things you truly couldn't forget on first hearing?

All the people who he has making extraordinary claims regarding an affair between Jackie and Bobby are dead. How convenient. If that's not what they said, they are no longer alive and able to sue.

Now perhaps Heymann is being fed bad information by his researchers. He credits a number of them for this book. Maybe Heymann is the gullible dupe. But his researchers didn't list him as a three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee when he wasn't. That was Heymann's doing. I suspect most other "mistakes" are his alone, as well.

I've tried to use his other books for research before, but his footnoting wouldn't pass a History 101 course. He'll source the right book in some cases but the wrong page number, and when you finally find the relevant passage, you'll see he quoted this wrong. For that reason, I'm unable to use his books in any of my own research. It's not worth the time to try to figure out what he got right.

If you like novels and hate the Kennedys, then this may be the book for you. If you have a serious interest in history, however, this book will not help you. And woe to other authors who quote from his unsourced claims. They'll reveal themselves to be shoddy researchers in a field mined with plenty of disinformation already.

49 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tiresomely opportunistic (and somehow cheap), August 2, 2009

By 

GBM "ardent reader" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story (Hardcover)

I too was curious when I bought the book, and am ashamed of myself for giving way to my curiosity,particularly since my purchase has increased this author's income. He has made a living off this family, and has done so by purveying sleazy reading material to the greedy public, of which I now have, to my shame, become an too-willing member. The book is no more than a rehash of rumors, innuendo and cheap gossip, and I found myself grieving for Mrs. Kennedy's daughter, nearly the last surviving member of a family who has had to suffer through too much of this tabloid trash as it is. There's nothing new here, save for a titillating title and a lot of speculative gossip, some of which may or may not be true. And, my God, at this juncture, who cares? The principals are, for the most part, dead, and seemingly are still not allowed to rest in peace. Whatever comfort any of them found in one another's presence is surely a matter for gratitude, and not this cheap, tawdry speculation which adds nothing to anyone's life and can only wound the living. I am ashamed of myself for succumbing to the temptation to buy this book, and I found it to be Heymann's usual trash.

70 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jackie and Bobby: Tragedy United Them, July 21, 2009

By 

Carmella Sciarappa "Biography Nut" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story (Hardcover)

I read through this book quickly and although there've been some doubts by various Kennedy apologists and people who STILL hate to believe that celebrities and politicians are HUMAN, it seems clear that Jackie and Bobby were extremely close and loved each other. What exactly they did behind closed doors is perhaps not essential to the tragic tale of the Kennedy family but I certainly found it interesting to explore the possibility that these two, who survived the death of a man they loved dearly, came together briefly. It was a love with serious limitations since one of the lovers was married and had a large family. It was also short-lived since Bobby died not long after his brother, making this tale even sadder. But in reality, Jackie needed someone to confide in and be with and why would anyone find it so hard to believe that she might rely on her late husband's beloved brother? This has happened over and over in history and literature.

The book was well written and a quick read. I couldn't put it down. Jackie was a woman like no other, although she was human, too. What a story!