Customer Reviews

Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

C. David Heymann has written a very exciting book about the relationship between Jacqueline and Robert Kennedy. Frankly, I bought it because I wanted to read more about the unusual relationship between Jackie and Bobby. And I do not regret spending money on it; the book sheds light on the liaison and paints a social and historical context.

The author has gathered an engaging interview material. He has listened not only to some gossipy maids and society photographers, but also to near-standing friends of the couple. They portray a relationship which was an open secret to everyone who was in the inner circle of Jackie's and Bobby's friends and acquaintances while, at the same time, guarded from the public eyes.

It is fair in treating all the parties -- none was spared and none was favoured. Personally, I felt that the book was a bit too open about a - essentially private - love relationship. Occasionally, it felt like reading a dirty tabloid or pages from a teenager's hot, privately revealing diary. But, I suppose, that is a risk you have to take, if you want to immerse and understand a relationship between any lovers.

I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the private lives of the two of the greatest liberal politicians of the United States in 1960-ties. (Oh, yes, Jackie certainly qualifies as a politician!)It is a definite page-turner and an exciting time-killer at worst.

Shallow reporting of stuff that isn't even interesting. The words and actions may have taken place but the author's context and innuendo stretches and shapes the details into scintillating scandal without depth. The author should really be employed at the National Enquirer.

This was just a rehash of old titilating stories. I did not find anything positive written about the characters. I am sorry that I wasted my money.

I had no idea this book was going to be nothing but unsubstantiated gossip and salacious innuendo when I got it from the library. I guess I can understand why someone would write such trash, for money of course. But why in the world would anyone want to read it? After a few pages I started skipping through it to see if it was the same all the way through - and it was. I would have wall banged it but it was a library book so I just gently closed it and laid it aside before I gagged.

this book is not well written, and remarkably its gossipy mandate isn't successful. a good gossipy read can be fun as the summer comes to an end, but neither bobby nor jackie is three dimensional and there aren't really any "Wow, I didn't know that" moments.
the settings are not well visualized and there basically seems to be only one goal -- for the writer to cash in. after half way i was so bored, i moved it to kindle memory.

This book should be housed in the fiction section of the Library of Congress. The rest of the copies ought to be destroyed along with Heymann's "RFK" so future amateur historians aren't confused. In "RFK" he quotes one "anonymous source" who saw RFK making out in a public telephone booth with Rudy Nureyev! This after listing RFK's extensive philandering. RFK was apparently sleeping with everyone BUT his wife, despite this inattention she borne him 11 children. Of course that aforementioned work glosses over RFK's affair with Jackie. Apparently all of those details mentioned in this present work were too juicy for a 600 page book on RFK and had to be saved for this compendium of gossip and fantasies.

Please, people the only reason Heymann is allowed to write this trash is because the principals are dead and the public buys this schlock. Read RFK and his times for a good scholary treatment. Read Evan Thomas' book for the modern biography treatment. Read RFK MUST DIE! to find out facts about RFK's assassination. Don't read this book.

This book consists of unsubstantiated gossip. It reads like one has wandered into a fourteen year old's slumber party - full of innuendo and gossip. There are few facts and those that are have been twisted to met Mr. Heymann's thesis. Don't waste your money on this fabricated tale.