Bobby and Jackie

Did Robert F. Kennedy have a romantic involvement with Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of his assassinated brother, John F. Kennedy? Heymann bases his theory about their alleged relationship on stories of Jackie's supposed mental collapse after the assassination and the time Bobby spent with her. Dick Hill reads Heymann's case in a tone reminiscent of Walter Winchell's, journalistic yet promising to dish the dirt. Listeners looking for an idealized view of Bobby and Jackie, or the Kennedy family in general, will be disappointed. The author also places his theory of Bobby and Jackie's alleged relationship against the backdrop of President Kennedy's alleged sexual appetites and other family scandals. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

July 13, 2009
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.