Taut, magnificent prose: Mercurio's premiseto chronicle Kennedy's exploits, political and sexual, through the President's own anguished but self-centered perspectiveis bold to the point of hubris, but he succeeds in spades. The writing is elegant, spare, and wry; the narrative is exquisitely paced. The book's ending is emotionally shatteringempathetic, redemptive, and shocking.
Startlingly revisionist portrait of JFK: We see Kennedy at his best, as a visionary statesman, a former soldier turned moral pacifist, a loving parent and devoted husband. And we see him at his worst, as a compulsive philanderer whose countless conquestsof movie stars, socialites, secretaries, and internsruined hundreds of lives.
Amazing cast of characters: They are all here: Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Angie Dickinson, Judith Campbell, LBJ, Fiddle and Faddle, Eisenhower, and perhaps most memorably, Jacqueline Kennedy.