Jackie Ethel Joan : Women of Camelot (Mass Market Paperback)

by J. Randy Taraborrelli (Author) "Young Joan Bennett Kennedy gazed out upon a cold but clear Cape Cod morning from the veranda of the large three-story clapboard house owned by..." (more)
Key Phrases: other material reviewed, having utilized, presidential quarters, First Lady, New York, Hyannis Port (more...)

Editorial Reviews

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 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
The author of best-selling biographies of Sinatra, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross on being a Kennedy woman.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446609129
• ISBN-13: 978-0446609128
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,477 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Exciting Kennedy Book Yet, February 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Jackie, Ethel, Joan : Women of Camelot (Hardcover)

I really loved this book for so many reasons and I can't encourage you enough to read it. It's chock full of information on Jackie, Ethel and Joan Kennedy, but it's never dull or plodding. It actually draws you in from the opening chapter and goes on to weave a complicated tale of three famous women who you may think you know - but learn more and more about as the book goes on. Taraborrelli has achieved a perfect example of biography at it's best because it's written by an author who knows and understands his subjects. Like putting the pieces together to a complicated puzzle he carefully brings each character to life using historical facts and never before heard anecdotes. He somehow managed to get first-time interviews with reliable sources so there's quite a few shocking revelations. But even the most lurid details are presented with compassion and integrity. Believe me, there are greater ingredients here than any mini-series writer could dream up: power, sex, money, betrayal and fame - with backdrops that include the White House, Hollywood, and Europe. There's Jackie - the complicated first lady, sometimes strong, sometimes insecure. Ethel, the first of the women to marry into the Kennedy family but who was soon overshadowed when the glamorous and provocative Jackie married the first born son. And Joan, beautiful, sensitive and totally unprepared for the high pressure life of living in a fish bowl. It is fascinating to read how these three ladies - each one very different from the other - interacted when they were forced into "sisterhood" when they married into the illustrious Kennedy family. Each woman was extremely complicated with different areas of strengths and vulnerabilities. They somehow learned to get from each other whatever it was they were lacking in themselves so that, combined, the three women made up the perfect "Kennedy Wife." Taraborrelli shows that during each significant moment in their lives, the wives banded together - in triumph and tragedy, through joy and suffering. Even with all their money and fame and power Jackie, Ethel and Joan had to struggle all their lives against extraordinary odds because of the complications of being the wives of the most famous brothers of this 20th century. "Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot" is a perfect read....historic and informative while being entertaining and glitzy. By the way, the chapters about the wives' dealings Marilyn Monroe alone are worth the price of admission.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! What a great book about three great ladies!, January 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Jackie, Ethel, Joan : Women of Camelot (Hardcover)

"Jackie, Ethel, Joan -- Women of Camelot" is such a wonderful and exciting read. It is both fascinating and touching -- often having me in tears. Each character is so well defined, by the end of the book the reader feels that he or she has truly lost a "friend." The way Jackie assisted poor Joan during Joan's times of crisis in her marriage and with her alcoholism was beautifully documented by the author, who had great sources. And Ethel's eccentricities, yet the way they all loved her despite them, reminded me of so many women in my own family. I was also happy to see that the picture of Jackie painted here by author Taraborrelli is so unique. Unlike in other books about her, he doesn't dwell on silly things like her spending habits, but rather on how she related to the other people in her family, always with grace and dignity. Sometimes she could be a little bitchy ... but that was Jackie, too, and the author writes about that side too. And I loved the way Jackie handled her husband, so self-empowered in her refusal to let him believe that she was naive to his unfaithfulness. The material about Jackie and Marilyn Monroe held me spell-bound. Please buy and read this great book, "Jackie, Ethel, Joan," if you really want to laugh, cry and have a good time. I loved it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it, Cover-to-Cover, April 25, 2000

By	thomas J. Ingrassias (Norfolk, VA.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jackie, Ethel, Joan : Women of Camelot (Hardcover)

The reason I decided to buy and read this book was because of all of these reviews on Amazon by interested readers. Most are positive, a few not. But it seemed like this book really touched people, moved them in some way. So, I wanted to be in on it, see what all of the talk was about. I was glad I decided to read it. I, too, felt strong emotions. Sometimes I was annoyed with the writing; it seemed too personal and I thought some of the revelations could have gone "un-revealed." Sometimes I was amazed; the research really is in-depth ... and who could be bothered to read all of those boring source notes? Mostly, I was entertained. What a great read! Three amazing women, so different yet so much alike. They endured so much. They reminded me of women in my own family. Was I educated? Probably not. I think that's asking too much of a book like this, after all this isn't a political biography of the Kennedys. It's about personal relationships ... families, not politics. I think if you want to read about politics, you should go elsewhere. But if you want to read aboutr real people -- strong women -- this is the book for you. Yes, it does read like a miniseries, and now I hear it's going to be one in the Fall of 2000. I think it'll be as good a miniseries as it is a book ... five stars. Great job.