Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed
Price: $32.50 - $28.99
(as of May 18, 2025 19:18:36 UTC – Details)
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | #1 SUNDAY TIMES (UK) BESTSELLER
“The must-read book of the summer” (Megyn Kelly) from New York Times bestseller Maureen Callahan: a “harrowing, incendiary” exposé of the real Kennedy Curse—the family’s generations-long legacy of misogyny, murder, and mayhem (Karen Abbott).
The Kennedy name has long been synonymous with wealth, power, glamor, and—above all else—integrity. But this carefully constructed veneer hides a dark truth: the pattern of Kennedy men physically and psychologically abusing women and girls, leaving a trail of ruin and death in each generation’s wake. Through decades of scandal after scandal—from sexual assaults to reputational slander, suicides to manslaughter—the family and their defenders have kept the Kennedy brand intact. Now, in Ask Not, bestselling author and journalist Maureen Callahan reveals the Kennedys’ hidden history of violence and exploitation, laying bare their unrepentant sexism and rampant depravity while also restoring these women and girls to their rightful place at the center of the dynasty’s story: from Jacqueline Onassis and Marilyn Monroe to Carolyn Bessette, Martha Moxley, Mary Jo Kopechne, Rosemary Kennedy, and many others whose names aren’t nearly as well known but should be.
Drawing on years of explosive reportage and written in electric prose, Ask Not is a long-overdue reckoning with this fabled family and a consequential part of American history that is still very much with us. At long last, Callahan redirects the spotlight to the women in the Kennedys’ orbit, paying homage to those who freed themselves and giving voice to those who, through no fault of their own, could not.
One of Town & Country’s Must-Read Books of Summer 2024
From the Publisher
Publisher : Little, Brown and Company
Publication date : July 2, 2024
Language : English
Print length : 400 pages
ISBN-10 : 0316276170
ISBN-13 : 978-0316276177
Item Weight : 1.4 pounds
Dimensions : 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
Customers say
Customers find the book well-written and eye-opening, praising its meticulous research and detailed information about the Kennedy family. The storytelling is engaging, with each chapter focusing on one woman’s story, and customers find it hard to put down. However, the book receives mixed reactions regarding its portrayal of women, with several customers noting a lack of respect for them. Moreover, customers disagree on the emotional impact, with some finding it deeply disturbing. Additionally, the author’s bias is criticized by several customers.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews