Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan

Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed Reviews

• 
  Brendan (History Nerds United)

  If JFK wasn't already dead, Maureen Callahan might have killed him with this book. Do I mean metaphorically, like he would have a heart attack? Or do I mean literally, in that she might have bludgeoned him with a copy of Ask Not to avenge all the women destroyed by the Kennedy clan? Honestly, I don't know, but if you read the book, you probably won't be troubled by either possibility.
  
  Ask Not is not a book interested in the positive aspects of the Kennedys. No, Callahan is here to document (exquisitely, I might add) every known woman who was used, discarded, and then destroyed when they became inconvenient. Sorry, I know "destroyed" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. It can mean killed, lobotomized, left to die in a car underwater, called a druggie/prostitute, driven to overdose/suicide, or just ignored. The "lucky" ones just stay in loveless marriages, and they were all loveless marriages.
  
  I know that Maureen Callahan writes for newspapers which could be considered "right-wing" and that this book may be painted as a salacious hit piece on a prominent Democratic family. (For the record, Callahan also wrote the widely praised American Predator which I highly recommend.) Callahan tells the reader what her agenda is and she then fulfills that promise. Yes, the author spends 300 pages lambasting the Kennedys, but she is not doing it for political purposes. She is doing it to give a voice to the women who were shunted aside by the Kennedys and their enablers for decades. In fact, feel free to check the extensive list of sources Callahan provides if you think she is trying to pull a fast one. Callahan doesn't need to stretch the truth to make her argument. After all, when the patriarch of the family is willing to lobotomize his own inconvenient daughter, how much do you need to make up?
  
  Something else I feel the need to highlight is that there is no discussion of politics in this book. None. Additionally, there is a well-known Republican who is lumped in as in the same class as the Kennedys. This is not a political book. It is definitely a true crime book, though.
  
  (This book was provided as a review copy by the publisher.)
• 
  *TUDOR^QUEEN*

  This was an interesting and informative offering regarding the Kennedy men and how they've mistreated their women throughout history. Some of the women who were the collateral damage in their lives were:
  
  Jackie Kennedy
  Joan Kennedy
  Rosemary Kennedy
  Mary Richardson Kennedy
  Carolyn Bessette Kennedy
  Mary Jo Kopechne
  Kick Kennedy
  Marilyn Monroe
  Martha Moxley
  Pamela Kelley
  Christina Haag
  
  There are mostly accounts of serial cheating, but other moral lapses include rape, sex with minors, murder, leaving a young woman to drown, causing a young woman to be permanently paralyzed, driving someone to suicide, putting women in reckless, dangerous situations, arranging a lobotomy, and mental cruelty. Rarely was there any serious accountability. I heard a lot of these stories before, but this author really fleshed out these cases in detail. I often see her articles in The Daily Mail Online app, and this book has been heavily serialized there prior to its imminent release. This was a sobering and well-written read.
  
  Thank you to the publisher Little, Brown and Company who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
• 
  Erin

  ARC for review. To be published July 2, 2024.
  
  To the surprise of, wait….show of hands? Hands? No one, the men of clan Kennedy physically, psychologically and emotionally destroy women. This book covers thirteen of them, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Mimi Beardsley, Diana deVegh, Marilyn Monroe, Mary Richardson Kennedy, Kick Kennedy, Mary Jo Kopechne, Joan Kennedy, , Pamela Kelley, Martha Moxley, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and Rosemary Kennedy.
  
  First off, is anyone asking RFK, Jr,, current candidate for President hard questions about his first wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy? She committed suicide after he cut her off financially and told her she would be better off dead. This delightful charmer also tried to blame two inner city youths, one Black, one brown for the killing of Martha Moxley. Great guy, that RFK, Jr.
  
  And in an effort to keep the Kennedy name clean (um, yeah. About that…) the Kennedy women have become complicit. Caroline Kennedy and Maria Shriver were instrumental in having a miniseries about the family blocked.
  
  “Kennedy men tended to treat their women as afterthoughts.” They all seem to have “that male Kennedy entitlement that their wives should be mind readers, hostesses who could throw together a dinner for twelve at the last minute, the uncomplaining Cool Girl.”
  
  The book shows, over and over again, how the women are either told explicitly or made to think that they know what they are getting with a Kennedy man, and, therefore, deserve the way in which they are treated. The mere idea of being with a Kennedy man makes up for it. It really makes you want to vomit.
  
  Oh, and you’ll come out hating Diane Sawyer, too.
• 
  Lisa Covington

  I don't know if the situations presented were true or not. I can't get past the author's comment in the preface that she took "creative license" in some situations. Which situations? It completely overshadowed my ability to take any allegation seriously and therefore felt like a poor use of my time.
• 
  Laura

  Well written and researched non-fiction that reads smoothly. Each chapter devoted to one woman, but the chapters overlapped, just as in life.
• 
  Patricija || book.duo

  5/5
  
  Man atrodo, supratau kaip dalis LT mato Landsbergių klaną, tik skirtumas tas, kad čia...tiesa. O jei rimtai, labai įdomi, įtraukianti, true crime primenanti knyga, kurioje smulkmeniškai ir su žurnalistine atida išnagrinėtos Kenedžių moterys. Nužudytos, suluošintos, užtildytos, prievartautos, išvestos iš proto, kratytos elektra ir priverstos išgyventi lobotomiją. Čia aptariamos ne tik puikiai žinomos, kaip Monroe ar Jackie, bet ir rečiau paminimos ar visai neaptarinėjamos. Ne kartą klausant ėjo šiurpas ir stojo gumulas gerklėj. Ir visai nereikia išmanyt JAV politiką ar istoriją, kad būtų įdomu. Ir aišku, prie didžiulio siaubo daugeliui prisidės ir tai, kad esmines Kenedžių moteris jie matė per mados, glamūro, grožio ir seksualumo prizmę. Nes gi Jackie mados ikona, Marilyn – sekso simbolis, o kitos, kurių čia dešimtimis, iš viso bevardės, jei apskritai esam apie jas girdėję.
  
  Bet čia išgirstam. Ne tik tai, kas mintinai žinoma, kaip apie JFK seserį, kuriai buvo atlikta lobotomija, nes ji buvo nepatogi (t.y. turėjo mokymosi sunkumų ir galimai raidos sutrikimą), todėl ji buvo suluošinta ir atskirta nuo šeimos ilgiems dešimtmečiams. Išgirstam, kad JFK užkrėtė Jackie krūva STD‘s, todėl ji vis persileidinėdavo ir tik per vėlai sužinojo to priežastis. Sužinom, kad JFK savo žmonos miegamajame išprievartavo 19-metę praktikantę, kuri jo spermą nusiplovė Jackie vonios kambary. Ir kad kol žmona slaugė jį po operacijos, virš JFK galvos kabėjo apverstas Marilyn plakatas. Kad jos tarpkojis būtų jo akių lygy. Bet čia tik gėlytės. Jei norit tikro siaubo, skaitykit visą knygą. Nes visos šios moterys nusipelnė, kad žinotume, kas joms buvo padaryta.
  
• 
  Sheila McCarthy

  In desperate need of an editor. For example, Callahan asserts that RFK Jr., born in 1954, was 9 when his father was murdered in 1968. Joe II paralyzed Pamela Kelly in 1973 but 1980 was two years after the accident. Jackie O. remarried in 1968 but her fourth wedding anniversary was in 1973. Rose Kennedy outlived four children not three as the author writes at the end of the book. Callahan makes a lot of wild claims none of which are footnoted. She retells interior monologues of which she could have no knowledge. The writing is not engaging, and the reporting seems to be just an amalgamation of secondary sources.
• 
  Christina

  #AskNot by Maureen Callahan is the most scandalous read of the year! The Kennedy family has been on top for so long and stepped on many women along the way and this book shares just a fraction of what they endured and how they succumbed or rose above it!
  A CAPTIVATING EXPOSE that I haven’t been able to stop talking about. At times while reading I was in tears and others filled with anger at what and how these women were used, objectified, and discarded.
  
  I want to think little, brown and company and NetGalley for the chance to read an advanced readers copy. This read was phenomenal and i greatly enjoyed it. This will be on my bookshelf come July 2nd!
• 
  Michelle

  Maureen Callahan's "Ask Not" is a piercing exposé of the infamous Kennedy family, peeling back the layers of their public image to reveal a dark legacy of misogyny and abuse. In “Ask Not” Callahan meticulously documents a Kennedy history rife with violence and exploitation against women, challenging the myth of American Royalty. Recounting the tragic tales of Jacqueline Onassis, Marilyn Monroe, Martha Moxley and Mary Jo Kopechne, among others, Callahan brings their injustices to light. The narrative doesn't just recount the horrors, and there are many, but also pays tribute to the resilience of the women who managed to break free and honours the lives of those who could not. With incisive prose and thorough research, "Ask Not" restores the voices of the women who were for so long overshadowed, reclaims their narratives, and presents a stark, necessary reappraisal of the Kennedy legacy.
  
  Many thanks to Edelweiss and Little, Brown and Company for the opportunity to read and review “Ask Not” prior to its publication date.
• 
  Kristine Payant

  I always knew the Kennedy men were monsters but never knew the depths of their depravities. And the complicity of the media and others to keep all of it quiet - I am so glad the dark truth is finally coming out about this falsely lionized family who did their very worst to anyone who came into their circle.
  
  Some of these stories made me nauseous. Others made me hopping mad, ready to spit nails. I am so glad, for all these women and the countless we'll never know about, that their stories are finally being told. No one is presented as all good or all bad - we all have our scars & flaws. But the overarching theme here - that all these women (and yes, girls) somehow deserved what they got, that they were somehow asking to be raped, abused, humiliated, and castigated in public - is so monstrous. That even innocent Rosemary deserved to be lobotomized by her father.
  
  I grew up in MA and had to endure the Kennedy Camelot myth all my life. I never thought they deserved the adulation they received. And now we know - they didn't. In fact, they deserved so much worse. JFK should never have been president. RFK should never have been Attorney General. And Teddy - well he belonged in jail. And their sons are just like them. And so are their sons. This is a genetic line that should be stopped.
  
• 
  Melia

  Warning: I'm going to use some foul language in this review
  I cannot remember the last time a book made me this viscerally angry. The Kennedy men are vile, disgusting, lecherous, careless monsters. What's worse than them acting out of malice or hatred, they seem to simply not care in the slightest who gets hurt in their pursuit of power, fame, and endless sex with women who don't want them. Their wives suicidal over their affairs? Not their problem. Their female staffers living in fear of their moods? Who cares. Women lobotomized, murdered, left for dead to suffocate in her own air for an hour? Why should a Kennedy man worry his pretty little head about it.
  I couldn't get past the image of Ted Kennedy after Mary Jo Kopechne was left to die a horrible death. He didn't call the police, didn't call for help, and despite all his claims about being shocked and distraught, the next morning he was clean shaven and showered, and he had complained about noisy neighbors disturbing his sleep. Mary Jo Kopechne, suffocating in the car he crashed, wasn't keeping him awake it seemed.
  
  The ongoing motif of this book is how every woman in the Kennedy's path of destruction was bright, beautiful, unique, and full of potential. These were women with dreams, and they all saw them squashed under the Kennedy machine. And they were destroyed by more than just the individual men and their decisions, but also by a willing crowd of bought-and-paid-for men of standing in their social set who ensured that the world these women lived in wouldn't have them unless they implicitly obey. All of the teenage girls that JFK passed around like bottles of beer were witnessed by scores of men, none of whom cared enough about the indignity of it to even turn down their sexual favors, much less mention them and possibly besmirch the picture perfect name of Kennedy. The American public has been just as willing. Many readers might have wrinkled their nose at the crude way Aristotle Onassis described himself: "people know three things about me: I'm fucking Jacqueline Kennedy, I'm fucking Maria Callas, and I'm fucking rich." How vulgar, we think, but was JFK much different? Ask anybody in America, and we know he was having an affair with Marilyn Monroe. Did anyone care? Did anyone think of Jackie? He continues to be listed among the greatest of American presidents, and it's not even a secret that his mistresses numbered in dozens, and dozens.
  But the depravity goes beyond the mistresses. The beatings, the rapes, the belittling, the MURDERS, and the culture created by the Kennedy's has one job: to control their women. Throughout so many of these stories, one wonders, WHY do these women marry them? But the answer is there; what else were they supposed to do with all that ambition? These were women who wanted to be important, prominent, seen, and they couldn't run for office themselves. Instead, they could marry well. And see their lives ruined.
  
  The only optimistic story out of all this is Jacqueline Bouvier Onassis herself. She's the silhouette of the modern age, and the REAL legacy of this family. She lived to see the dawn of a more modern age, in which she, unlike the others, got to find her own career, have her own home, live her own life. She finally got the time away from this devilish clan to admit that, in a modern world, she would have left Jack Kennedy. The image of her walking through a New York City crowd on her way to work, no husband, full of dignity, walking past a museum that enshrined her misery as American history, gave me a vindication I'm going to hold on to.
  
  Everyone should read this book then spit on their graves.
• 
  Danielle

  Good grief! This family is an absolute dumpster fire. Like many people, I saw them as a glamorous dynasty, despite knowing they had many shortcomings, but trying to judge them based on their time.
  
  No no no. They're way worse than I gave them credit for. Chappaquiddick is just the tip of the iceberg. These men made women suffer their entire lives like it was their job, and I suppose in some ways it was.
  
  Many women in this don't come out smelling like roses either and that's okay. I found myself feeling particularly sad for Joan. I never even knew she existed but her suffering was immeasurable. I guess she at least survived though.
  
  Another surprise was RFK Jr. I had forgotten how awful he was so I definitely reconsidered some things politically.
  
  This was a wonderful nonfiction book. I got the audio because I had a credit and I had surgery so I had some time to listen. I normally don't like nonfiction on audio because it just doesn't flow well for me but this was wonderfully structured, even though it isn't all in chronological order, it still is easy to follow and obviously we are going to revisit some women more than others featured in this book. The ones who were lucky enough to survive have longer stories.
  
  Basically, I learned a lot and none of it was good news.
• 
  Evelyn

  I have long had a fascination with the Kennedys, but I hold no illusions about them. I can recognize that they did great things, suffered great tragedies and also engaged in reprehensible behavior. So when I saw that Maureen Callahan, author of American Predator, had a new book coming out about them, I rushed to procure a copy. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to finish it and here are my complicated feelings.
  
  I know the Kennedy men have a toxic streak that started with the patriarch Joe Kennedy and has carried down through the generations. Add to that money and power and it becomes a lethal weapon and many, if not most, of the women in their orbit have been damaged. This book doesn’t tread new ground, I have heard all of this before. The womanizing and never ending affairs. Joe Kennedy’s secret lobotomy of his eldest daughter that left her severely brain damaged. Jack and Bobby’s possible involvement in Marilyn Monroe’s death. Chappaquiddick. JFK Jr’s reckless behavior that caused his plane to crash killing not only himself but his wife and sister-in-law. RFK’s Jr’s womanizing, drug addiction and cruel treatment of his second wife, which ultimately ended in her suicide. I knew all of this, but when combined and read all at once it became overwhelming, infuriating and saddening.
  
  And as I continued reading this book last night, I realized I had a few problems with it. First, it had a meanness about it. The author almost seemed to relish and delight in telling about these events. And I was under the assumption that the book was supposed to be about liberating the women from their abuse by exposing it. Yet, the author seemed to be intent on painting many of the women (victims)in as poor a light as possible. Yes, people are complicated and multi-faceted, but this felt cruel and unnecessary. It all ended up coming across a bit gossipy and I felt a little dirty after reading it. Something about this one rubbed me the wrong way. Still, if you want to read about hubris, entitlement and selfishness taken to the maximum extreme, give this one a read.
  Thank you to @netgalley and @littlebrown for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Ashleigh

  I am an agnostic, but if there is a hell, I would like to believe that there is a special place in it for the men mentioned in this book as well as all the others like them. Your money may have shielded you from the consequences on your actions in life, but it cannot protect you in death. None of these women deserved the pain the Kennedy men inflicted upon them.
• 
  Emma Tiedemann

  Did not know much going in to this, was astounded at so much of what is in here. Read like fiction— such amazing investigative journalism
• 
  Mark Matheson

  A Kennedy man who isn’t a cad is an exception: in separating the Kennedy persona from the persons, Callahan’s exploration of their victims is dramatic without ever being sensationalized—it’s that shocking. There’s also compelling subtext on the differences of how the legal system treats the 1% versus the working class. This is stellar nonfiction.
• 
  Linda

  I'll read almost any book about the Kennedy family and have a special interest in the women in the family. This book rang all my bells. Bravo.
  4.5 big stars
• 
  Drake

  This is nothing more than a right-wing feeble attempt to discredit an American dynasty. Were the Kennedy men always great? No. However, things are taken out of context, sources cited equate to a drunkard 4 martinis in writing down a story on cocktail napkin. And the author is hardly part of the “sisterhood” with her constant attacks of women in the Daily Mail. Unless you stormed the Capitol, or watch Newsmax religiously, don’t engage.
• 
  Wendi Manning

  This was a book I wished was a series of books on each woman and their lives. I grew up with a “Camelot” loving mom and so I’ve been reading about the male Kennedys for years.
  
  As usual, it’s the women who are the most interesting people. I loved that the author made sure to mention the flaws of the women, it made them more real and oddly more tragic. The details in here are amazing!
  
  The men in the family finally get the calling out they desperately needed. This is a book full of red flags for every woman, in any kind of a power heavy relationship. I knew going in that they’d done a lot of bad things, but the extent surprised me. These men were horrible.
  
  Really well researched and written! Couldn’t recommend more!
  
  Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC. All of my opinions are my own.
• 
  Lynda Kelly

  I am pretty bloody irritated by this book. It flashed up in my Amazon stuff, probably cos' I'm a mad-keen Kennedy buff. Now, I would usually wait for a considerable pricedrop but I was desperate to read it and paid £12.99 for it, against my better judgement. Wish I'd waited till it dropped to 99p !! Some crashing errors that made my jaw hit the floor with the shock they'd not been picked up by ANY of the editors and advanced readers she merrily extols in her acknowledgements leaves me absolutely staggered !!
  Don't get me wrong, it is one fascinating and very well-researched book and brings to the fore the real unpalatable truth behind the Camelot myth. It's not offended me as much as she probably hopes, however, in this era of #metoo and all the woke nonsense in our midst these days. I'm in my late 50s and really don't find men's behaviour that shocking !! I've lived through a great deal of it myself and it is what it is. Little point bleating about stuff 2 or 3 decades later, I think. I'm breathing, so it didn't do me in so I just suck it up (and no pun intended there) !! Same goes for Trump's pussy locker-room remark. I would imagine every man you've known has said something along the very same lines and it didn't kill anyone, did it ? I even find some men's talk quite amusing and when I've been among other girls/women I'd say we're also more than a little "bawdy" ourselves. It does nobody any harm and it's time we lightened up a bit. That opinion is clearly not the one this author is hankering for, methinks. I expect she'd prefer we were all pearl-clutchingly aghast. Well, she's going to be sorely disappointed in me, then !!
  I knew almost all of the women's stories aside from Mimi and Diana-I don't recall them getting a mention in any of the Kennedy books in my library. They possibly get glossed over, as many of this author's sources are books I have, but weren't covered in any great detail. In fact, there being only 2 of JFK's secretaries being featured is quite shocking, really, as I bet there were hundreds he was boffing on the side !! Mimi refers to an incident where JFK asked her to take care of Dave Powers and we're led to believe she was horrified at this, etc.....but she right away knew what he wanted her to do, which to my way of thinking means it wasn't the first time as she'd have us think.
  What I found quite fascinating in these pages is that all the Kennedy men seemed to pick women who were far brighter and way more intelligent than they were/are !
  Now those mistakes that properly cost stars from me.....even in the index the chapter entitled Joan Bennett Kennedy125 is clearly a cock-up. It is on page 125 but other chapter headings in the index don't have page numbers ascribed so it smacks one in the face, or it ought to !! Also, in Joan's chapter, we're told she has 3 small children at home after having given birth to Teddy Jr in 1961......by my count that makes 2, since Patrick was born in '67 !! She then refers to Teddy Jr as Joan's youngest son when he wasn't !! Later on, referring to an incident post-Joe Jr's accident in 1980, she says it was 2 years on. That accident we're told was in 1973.....and my maths is really not that bad !!
  This line clearly misgendered Bobby, "What Marilyn could not see was that Bobby, like Jack before her...." and she also writes about Arthur Miller saying, "...fourteen months after she filed for divorce from Arthur Miller, he remarried the set photographer.....". He didn't. He married her. The most unpardonable error for me, which pretty much meant I lopped another star off this review was near the end, when writing of Rose Kennedy, the author informs us she outlived 3 of her 9 children !! She outlived Joe Jr, Kathleen, Jack and Bobby......count them !! The fact that these mistakes were not spotted by all the editors she refers to I find bloody astounding, actually. They should hang their heads. Though I s'pose they're getting the last laugh since I shelled out £13 for the privilege of reading it and coming across them !!
  The actual book ends at 77% as well, just shy of yet another 100 pages remaining. Then we have the bibliography and chapter notes, etc....and even in both of these she refers to the author Christopher Andersen as Christopher Anderson AND puts Mimi Alford's name against HIS book The Good Son, adding insult to injury !!
  So yes, an interesting compendium of tales in this book but an appalling few mistakes ruined it for me. Plus I'd be less offended if it hadn't cost so much in the first place. Feel free to charge this price when it's professionally polished and presented but NOT in this current incarnation.
  
  
• 
  Kendall

  The author starts off, in the prologue, saying she was taking “creative license”…um, honey, that does not qualify as nonfiction!? So, that had me questioning the entire accuracy of the book. Next: I was taught in, like, 3rd grade that sentences should not begin with “and” or “but”. The author repeats that crime numerous times. Missing commas, too many informal conjunctions as well. Not my style preference. Another, and the biggest, reason why this author needed fiftyleven more editors? There is far too much straight up wrong information. I shall be kind and just name 2: RFK Jr was 14 when his father died, not 9 like the author states. She states that Ted Kennedy was at Mary Kennedy’s funeral. She died in 2012, he in 2009?! Idk…I find it ironic that this author repeatedly calls the Kennedys ignorant, yet she cannot fact check easily Google-able info or use a semicolon. What this book does well: gets my blood boiling about some of the egregious things that this family has done for over half of a century! Also, I was not aware of each of these women or stories. So, shedding light on that is very important. This book still disappointed me. I wanted retribution for these women! Yet, I barely feel that from this book. This author is mediocre and lowkey gots a mean streak. Both toward this family (fair) and even worse—toward these victims of abuse!
• 
  Carmen

  However…
  
  While the Kennedy’s are criminals, the women who became involved with them must bear a little responsibility. Wealth, fame and power may corrupt a man…but so can it corrupt a woman. With the exception of a few innocents, the “Kennedy Women” must realize that they were complicit. Every one KNEW what the Kennedys were about before marrying them. That being said, I have to believe there’s a special Hell for the Kennedy men. And karma seems to be doing a great job on the scum (and the women who choose to consort with them). Excellent book.
• 
  Marisa Keilman

  An eye opener. As an avid reader of all books Kennedy related, I wasn’t sure how I’d like this one, but I couldn’t put it down! It really puts into perspective how powerful the Kennedy Dynasty was and how it silenced many women from many horrific experiences. I will say it tarnished Camelot for me a bit, but I am so glad I gave this one a read. Great research to support the claims as well. I also really liked that the author made a point to call out RFK JR. and the nonsense he is peddling this upcoming election. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this perspective!
• 
  Elizabeth

  If I could give this book 10 stars I would. Maureen Callahan did an amazing job collecting so much information and putting it together in quite possibly one of the most interesting books on the dark side of the Kennedy family that I’ve ever read. Huge trigger warning though. This book is DARK. The Kennedy men are ruthless and no detail is spared. Parts of it made me sick. I had no idea about half of the facts presented in this book. Unbelievable and shocking details.
• 
  Bonnie

  Lies lies and more lies
  
  Good! Finally, a telling of all the lies these men give to keep woman on their knees to them.
  
  I was a teen at JFK time.
  I NEVER KNEW THIS STUFF. I'm 77. Ty Maureen.
  
  
  And now we have lies still being told by Joe Biden. His life is a lie upon lie. Compounded by the horrible woman Jill who loves power.
  
  May all the lies come out about all these trashy people ..So that average
  americans.... Can be free. Free to live our lives !
• 
  Toni

  Wow. If we had only known what was going on back then, we sure would have been shocked.
• 
  Jill Crosby

  I haven’t read a disgusting-kennedy-patriarchical assholes piece in years, but this book based on THE WOMEN the kennedy men used like tissues during flu season REALLY fit the bill. Much of it is already known, but there are still some unmined “gems” revealed.
  Most surprisingly, though, I found much contempt for the book’s touchstone, Jackie B Onassis; after surviving the most brutal and deadly assassination of her husband while seated next to him, she went on to create the Camelot myth from the ground up. For years she had been the cheated-on, lied-to precious little woman keeping hearth and home while her men galloped through sexual romps with movie stars, teenaged interns, wives of friends, strangers. When she was finally free to be her own person and fulfill her own goals & dreams, she takes up with a married man who never leaves his wife in order to be with Jackie O. I could muster up very little sympathy or admiration for this woman who, instead of recognizing the crushing expectations and rule-breaking hypocrisy of the patriarchy ADOPTS THE PRACTICE HERSELF, cementing her legacy (to me, at least) as being just another Kennedy without a thought for the feelings of a woman.
  
  Pretty juicy stuff—appreciated the coverage of lesser-known victims, and analysis of why they were “important” to the kennedy men
• 
  Kate Cedras

  Rating: 3 stars
  
  Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for my arc copy of Ask Not.
  
  This book obviously proved to be an interesting read - super scandalous and not lacking details. I found myself completely disgusted by the supposed actions of the Kennedy men and so absolutely devastated for the women who suffered by being involved with them. Lies, deceit, womanizing… some of these women even died alongside their Kennedy men or because of them.
  
  So much of what is written I am sure could be debated as most of these stories were shielded from the public during times where the press had a major respect for the Kennedy family and/or an agreement of sorts. I also find that with what we know of the past and how these types of scandals would have been handled that there is also likely a lot true written.
  
  I found the book to be very interesting, well written and an exciting read. I absolutely would/will recommend it to any history lovers or readers interested in knowing more in depth stories about the Kennedy family or their interactions with women & how they played out.
• 
  Andi Ahlers

  Maureen Callahan writes the most riveting book shining a light on parts of history that were kept in the darkest of shadows. The way she gives snippets of different stories allows you, as the reader, to truly unpack how womanizing was embedded deep within the Kennedy family for ages. I cried during chapters, was uncomfortable and disturbed during others. There is no such thing as the “Kennedy Curse”. The only thing that is clear after reading this book is that many of the Kennedys were narcissistic and had little care for anyone that they hurt. People were disposable, including their own children, wives, and sisters. The control they had over the narrative in the media is also mind blowing, yet for the time period, understood. History can’t be rewritten; however, people no longer need to view it only through the rose colored glasses that the Kennedys and their henchmen provided for America and the media. I’m saddened for those women whose lives were destroyed because of the Kennedys.
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  Golden Hat Mick

  I can't remember the last time I pre-ordered a book, if I ever have at all. Ordinarily, I just open my Kindle app and find whatever discounted titles sound the most interesting, or in the pre-digital days, I browsed the aisles at Barnes & Noble while breathing in the aroma of coffee and waiting for the right spine to catch my eye. But I couldn't resist pre-ordering this, and I'm glad I did. Despite the tabloid appeal of the subject matter, there is some genuinely great storytelling here, and it's clear Maureen Callahan is a legitimate journalist who put in the work and has the talent to make nonfiction reading a breeze.
  
  The content of the book itself is quite sad, but I'm not so naïve as to have expected anything less. The Kennedys are monsters, and within these pages their wrongdoings are clearly revealed to all. The author does an especially commendable job of emphasizing that while all the women covered in the book may have had their flaws and were not perfect angels, their treatment was consistently cruel, often inhumane. We're only just now getting to a point in human history where we bother telling narratives like these from other perspectives, and I'm just glad to get a chance to read about it.