Over the last few weeks, you have undoubtedly heard the publicity surrounding the newsest revealed mistress during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. 

Her name is Mimi Alford, and over the past three weeks, she has appeared on practically every news and talk program that you can access.

I read her book this weekend.   It is entitled Once Upon a Secret: My Affair with President John F. Kennedy and its Aftermath (Random House, 2012).  You can read one of many reviews of the book here, published in the Wall Street Journal on February 13, 2012.

I found the book to be very personal, reflective, and insightful.  If you are looking for a “kiss-and-tell” book, it has those elements.  You will read the details of her first sexual encounter with JFK in Jackie’s bedroom, and how months later, he pressured her to perform oral sex on his key aide, Dave Powers.  But that is not what this book is about, nor does it focus on sex.

Instead, you will find a revealing narrative about key elements and events in the Kennedy administration through a different set of eyes.   Those are the eyes of a naive, but bright 19-year old White House intern.  I have read many books about Kennedy and his thousand days in office, and can honestly tell you that I read things here that I had not known before.  This book covers 18 months, from 1962-1963, and then, shifts to the rest of her life through two marriages.

She is now 68.  Her back cover picture makes her appear more attractive than what you see on talk shows.  You can find many of those interviews on YouTube if you want to see them, including her appearance on ABC’s The View, with its illustrative panel.

Is this worth buying and reading?  I think so.  It is overpriced at $25, in that it is less than 200 pages long.  But, I read enough.  I finished satisfied that my time was well-spent.

Maybe we have finally met the last JFK mistress.  At least, there are no other remaining footnotes or cryptically identified characters such as produced Mimi Alford.   Maybe not.  That’s not the point.

Her book gives us insight into an unsettling yet exciting time.  And, this book makes it clear she found both.

What do you think?  Let’s talk about it really soon.