The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
by Sarah Bradford
"All men are rats," John "Black Jack" Bouvier repeatedly told his older daughter, Jackie. He proved his point at her prep school parents' day when, as she indicated one friend's mother after another, he'd say, "Yes, I've had her," or "No, but I think that's pretty imminent." Bradford (who has written bios of Queen Elizabeth II and Grace Kelly) offers a gossipy, albeit credible, portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, with plenty of tabloid-worthy assertions: As First Lady she had a flinglet with movie actor William Holden; she and Bobby Kennedy were lovers after Jack's death. Bradford quotes family, friends and Camelot insiders, several of whom delineate an intense, ongoing competition between Jackie and sister Lee over men. The author cites evidence that JFK slept with Lee at least once after he and Jackie were wed. But Jackie got even by marrying Aristotle Onassis—Lee had her eye on him first. One old beau said of Jackie, "She had all the wrong standards, and yet she became something very special in spite of this." (Viking, $29.95)
Bottom Line: Well-covered dish
Your Reaction
