WTOP Book Report: ‘JFK: Public, Private, Secret’ explores 35th president’s conscience, flaws and legacy

This story is part of the WTOP Book Account series written by Terik King Read more of that coverage here J Randy Taraborrelli discusses 'JFK Society Private Secret with the WTOP Book Summary Author Photo credit Badford Rogne Cover Art courtesy St Martin's Press JFK wedding photo community domain JFK Library J Randy Taraborrelli discusses 'JFK Residents Private Secret with the WTOP Book Overview Author Photo credit Badford Rogne Cover Art courtesy St Martin's Press JFK wedding photo general domain JFK Library For decades John F Kennedy has remained one of America s the bulk scrutinized presidents with thousands of books chronicling his politics scandals and assassination But bestselling author J Randy Taraborrelli says his new biography seeks to move past the mythology to uncover the man himself JFK Society Private Secret published by St Martin s Press is the sixth book Taraborrelli has written about the Kennedy family and his first to focus squarely on the th president The book hurriedly became an instant New York Times bestseller and was named one of Amazon s best books of July This book is about a man s journey an imperfect man who through trial and error worked toward becoming a better person Taraborrelli recounted WTOP in an interview for The Book Review He figures out that in order to be a great leader he needed to first become a great man and he does both of those in tandem toggle audio on and off change volume download audio FULL INTERVIEW J Randy Taraborrelli discusses his book 'JFK Masses Private Secret' with WTOP's Terik King for the WTOP Book Description function ' wtop-audio-container fa-play' on 'click' function var audio filename 'div wtop-audio-file' details mp -url if typeof gtag function gtag 'event' 'post audio' 'play' audio filename 'permalink' window location href Drawing from years of research Taraborrelli weaves together oral histories taped interviews FBI and CIA files and documents from the John F Kennedy Presidential Library He reported the the bulk surprising discovery came from an interview with Janet Des Rosiers Joe Kennedy s longtime secretary who revealed she also acted as his surrogate wife with Rose Kennedy s knowledge That revelation Taraborrelli revealed sheds light on JFK s own troubled marriage Her story informs who JFK was as a husband to Jackie according to Taraborrelli If you re raised in a family like that then what do you bring to your own marriage asks Taraborrelli The biography also introduces readers to Joan Lundberg a little-known woman who carried on a three-year relationship with Kennedy during a low point in his marriage Taraborrelli commented their bond which resembled therapy more than romance helped Kennedy eventually reconnect with his wife The author emphasizes that his book is not a salacious tell-all Instead it explores the relationships that shaped Kennedy s conscience a conscience Taraborrelli stated both burdened and motivated him When you have a conscience your behavior if it s unconscionable really hits you hard he mentioned In Taraborrelli s narrative Kennedy was tormented by various of his choices and over time he learned to take accountability with Jackie and with the country More stories WTOP Book Overview Must-read books of WTOP Book Description She was Raised By A Serial Killer and she brought him to justice WTOP Book Summary Viral star Randy Rainbow talks satire social media in Low-Hanging Fruit Taraborrelli points to Kennedy s response after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion as a defining moment Rather than shift blame for the fiasco inherited from the Eisenhower administration Kennedy accepted responsibility The decision boosted his approval ratings to Accountability is what people want from their leaders Taraborrelli stated I think that s a hopeful story to tell in these really fractured times that kind of hope I think is needed right now The subtitle Masses Private Secret mirrors Taraborrelli s biography of Jackie Kennedy Onassis He revealed it reflects the three sides of Kennedy s life the residents figure the private man and the secret self only a scarce ever saw Jackie advised me face-to-face one time What s the point of a biography if it doesn t tell a person s secrets ' Taraborrelli recalled of his time working with the former first lady when she was an editor at Doubleday Publishing My job as a biographer is to invade my subjects privacy If you want to do a good book you have to be revealing and honest And I try to do that along with being empathetic It s not unfailingly an easy read Taraborrelli disclosed But if you stick with it you ll get a lot out of it You do see the full picture of a man as he grows into himself and maybe that might help someone else do the same thing Source