Based on hundreds of interviews and years of research, an intimate and revealing portrait of the Ethel Skakel Kennedy, the widow of Robert Kennedy, reveals a driven woman with a tragic family history and with great political influence. 100,000 first printing. $150,000 ad/promo.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Oppenheimer relentlessly chips away at the veneer of the Kennedy mystique in this gossipy, sometimes shocking biography of Ethel Skakel Kennedy (born in 1928), widow of Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Daughter of a driven, alcoholic coal magnate and a borderline-alcoholic mother, Ethel Kennedy is portrayed as an arrogant, abusive, highly erratic woman who spent her married life trying to prove herself as competitive and shrewd as the Kennedys. At the same time, she devoted considerable energy to covering up the scandals of some of her 11 children and relatives that included arson, drug addiction, even two murders. A Skakel relative allegedly killed somebody in 1958; another Skakel was one of two suspects in a 1975 murder case. Oppenheimer ( Barbara Walters: An Unauthorized Biography ) pries loose a raft of such family secrets, also drawing heavily on published accounts. With all his cataloguing of dirt, this ultimately depressing biography proves to be biased and mean-spirited. Photos not seen by PW. $150,000 ad/promo; first serial to New York magazine; Literary Guild featured alternate.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Yet another Kennedy bio from the school of journalism that mistakes an avalanche of minutiae for the thoughtful examination of a life. No irrelevant detail--from the length of her skirts to the thank-you notes she sent her dressmaker--escapes examination in this account of Ethel Kennedy's life. If Oppenheimer (Barbara Walters, 1990, etc.) has a point of view, it seems to be that being rich and famous is hell, and it is hell squared if you're both a Skakel and a Kennedy. A brief review of Ethel's ancestors takes the reader back to Yazoo County, Miss., and her great-grandfather, who was one of 11 children. Ethel herself was one of seven in an unruly tribe, wealthy and privileged but undisciplined. Her brothers terrorized Greenwich, Conn., with their antics, as some of Ethel's 11 children would later terrorize Hyannis Port, Mass., and Hickory Hill, Va. The young Ethel was nevertheless a good fit for the Kennedy family. Athletic, schooled by the nuns of the Sacred Heart (as were Rose and her daughters) to give husband and children priority in life, she was an exuberant, extroverted complement to the sometimes melancholy Robert F. Kennedy. She also bravely faced tragic loss--her parents, her brother, her brother-in-law, her husband, a son. But she was a notorious penny-pincher, could be vindictive and unreasonably demanding, and was given to rages after Bobby's assassination. That her flaws and her family scandals overshadow her virtues and accomplishments make this unrewarding reading. Arranging index cards in the right order does not make for enlightening biography. With her children leading relatively useful lives and with a personal history of philanthropic activism, Ethel deserves better. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen) ($150,000 ad/promo) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eye opener!!!!!!,
By
This review is from: The Other Mrs. Kennedy: Ethel Skakel Kennedy : An American Drama of Power, Privilege, and Politics (Hardcover)
Slapping maids? Calling them niggers? Spending thousands on the same belt in different colors? Driving cars into pools? I've always wondered about Ethel Kennedy and now I think I know all there is to know. Including the fact that she was a spoiled, uninterested, racist who was obsessed with her husband, and turned a blind eye towards his affairs. Any glamour I had attached to her is now gone and I'm utterly disappointed. Of all the Kennedy brothers I held Bobby in highest esteem because he was a tenacious man who fought hard to rid this country of many injustices. Now in light of his having married Ethel I question that. How could he love and marry a woman like that? She was reckless and had no respect for personal boundaries erected by others. She was a poor mother and left the day-to-day raising of her children to nannies, dogs, horses, friends, and whoever else happened to be hanging around Hickory Hill on a given day. I could appreciate to a certain extent, her love and devotion to Bobby. However, she was on the brink of being obsessed. She was horribly jealous of both Jackie and Joan and would make rude comments at their expense. In short she could dish it out, but was hard pressed to take it. It seemed as though she believed everyone was put here on earth to serve her. In light of her "I'm a princess" attitude and her strong religious beliefs, I cannot fully understand WHY she tolerated Bobby's infidelities. All in all, this book was disappointing as it revealed a side of Ethel I would have preferred not to see.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A princess in her own mind...,
By L Goodman-Malamuth "Leslie Goodman-Malamuth" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Other Mrs. Kennedy: Ethel Skakel Kennedy : An American Drama of Power, Privilege, and Politics (Hardcover)
Today's newspaper carried the news that Hickory Hill, the McLean, Virginia, home of Bobby and Ethel Kennedy, has just been placed on the market for $25 million. I hope to heaven that the prospective buyers read this book before putting down a contract...Jerry Oppenheimer does a masterful job at detailing the life of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, daughter of a shrewd, self-made millionaire father and a mother who was both a compulsive spender and an extremely devout Catholic, a faith she passed on to her daughter Ethel. Neither Skakel parent expressed any boundaries and limits over the children's out-of-control behavior, which led to tragic results later in life. A number of family insiders trusted Oppenheimer enough sufficiently to open up to him for some startlingly frank interviews. Ethel comes across as a mass of contradictions: devout and rowdy, self-congratulatory about her parenting skills as well as blind to her children's unmet needs, arrogant and surprisingly insecure. According to Oppenheimer, Ethel Kennedy was forced to curtail her spending severely after her husband's death, and yet she did not. At one point, her sister-in-law Jackie Onassis bought a new roof for Hickory Hill--again, I hope whoever buys this famous American home has deep, deep pockets! A fascinating story of a woman who essentially isn't all that interesting herself.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Highly Entertaining Story of Ethel's Life,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Other Mrs. Kennedy: Ethel Skakel Kennedy : An American Drama of Power, Privilege, and Politics (Hardcover)
Ethel is my favorite Kennedy along with her husband, Bobby. I was very excited to read this since most of the books about the Kennedy family have been focused on JFK and Jackie. The chapters were pretty short, so it didn't take me long at all to finish the book. I loved reading about her experiences in the 60's when Bobby became a public figure and her lavish parties she threw at Hickory Hill. After Bobby's assassination, the author details some of Ethel's strange behavior and her strong temper, which is a side of her that I hadn't read about before. I won't go into details about it, but it makes for some very interesting reading. The book ends in the mid-1990's right after Jackie Kennedy's death. I hope the author publishes an updated edition talking about Ethel's relationships with her children and grandchildren as she gets older. I would also be interested to hear more about her involvement in Obama's campaign and the effect that Ted Kennedy's death has had on her as she is one of the oldest living members of the Kennedy family next to Jean Kennedy and Sarge Shriver.
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