While Nellie Bly was certainly a compelling character, and the biography clearly well-researched, the author presents her subject in a dull, lifeless manner. After waiting for years to read a comprehensive work about someone I have always found so fascinating, I was terribly disappointed.

Nellie Bly (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran) was a very interesting lady. I chose her for my report, and this was the most helpful book. I didn't think I'd want to read the whole book through, but I did since Bly's life was so exciting!

"Thank God for the Kennedys. Without them, a lot of bad writers would be waiting tables." I heard this line on a recent rerun of Law & Order and it immediately made me think about Nellie Bly's The Kennedy Men, one of the more superflous books claiming to give us the dirt on America's prodigal sons. Basically, what Bly has done is compiled a collection of facts culled from other, better Kennedy books and recorded them in the breathless prose of a tabloid reporter. There's nothing new within this book and, despite Bly's claims to the contrary, no valuable or new insight to be gained from what is basically a list of other people's dirty laundry.

At least "Kennedy Men: Three Generations of Sex, Scandal and Secrets" never pretends to be anything but what it is: a collection of tabloid reports and gleeful gossip. The entire book has very little point except: Kennedy men are scum who break the law and treat women like dirt. But those who have ever gotten a dirty little thrill from tabloids will enjoy this easy read.

It begins with the calculating patriarch Joseph Kennedy, whose many affairs were a source of inspiration to his sons. In this book are the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, the Good Friday rape case, Marilyn Monroe's mysterious death, drugs and alcoholism, divorce and adultery, the Mary Jo Kopechne tragedy, and dozens of other tragedies and mishaps.

Thankfully Bly doesn't buy into the sentimental goo about a family curse; in this book, it becomes evident that most of the Kennedy tragedies are, if not caused by their own actions, then nothing more than that -- accidents and tragedies. And it becomes quite evident that they did cause a lot of their own problems, such as Chappaquiddick.

With a title like "Three Generations of Sex, Scandal and Secrets," obviously as many extramarital affairs as possible are going to be gone over again. Joseph Kennedy's affairs start it off, and Bly happily retells JFK's affairs with Monroe, Inga Arvad, Angie Dickinson, Gene Tierney, and Judith Campbell Exner. While Ted Kennedy is usually a side-player in such books, he's roasted without mercy with plenty about his conquests as well -- including one humiliating anecdote where he takes a drunken prostitute to a party, where she wets an antique sofa. The next generation isn't spared as well: While most of them seem relatively okay, David Kennedy's drug addiction and Joe II's car crash and turbulent lifestyle are aired out. The most vivid of the third-generation Kennedy stories is the William Kennedy rape case. And even "John-John" doesn't get off too easily: His more flamboyant and famous girlfriends, like Madonna and Sharon Stone, are presented as well.

The entire book is written in bite-sized semi-chapters, giving the further impression of tabloid journalism. But the writing style is brisk and pleasant, never getting bogged for too long in any one area unless it's really important. There's a good array of photographs, at least half of which are onetime girlfriends of the various Kennedy men. (Look no further for one of the worst Madonna pictures I've ever seen)

Usually tabloid books are disguised with dignified covers and titles. But "Three Generations of Sex, Scandal and Secrets" is unashamed of what it is, which makes it a guilty pleasure worth the read.

This book is essentially a collection of gossip about the three generations of the Kennedy men, starting with patriarch Joe Kennedy Sr and concluding in the present day (well, 1996). If you enjoy gossipy reads (as I do) then you'll enjoy this book.

The only problem I had was the sections devoted to John Kennedy were shorter than I would have liked. But there are dozens of bios on JFK out there, and this book wasn't entirely about him.

Reading this book, it seems like Teddy & the third generation's recklessness with drugs and women are what ended Joe Kennedy, Sr's dream of a family legacy.

I was looking for an indepth personal financial planning guide with guidance on decision making -- that is not what this book is. It is more a top level look at financial planning in most areas, in depth in a few areas and totally leaving out other areas.

For example, the book describes many of the financial instruments and has a great worksheet to calculate allocations but does not let the reader know why these allocations are the best. The author goes into 529 College Savings Plans but only describes the top 12 states plan. The 70 pages of glossary and index could be better served by covering the topics in more depth or adding sections on real estate or estate planning.

This anthology of numerous race-related essays is pretty good. As a Chinese American, I found many stories and situations to which I could relate. Voices of Color is a good place to find inspiration for writing one's own personal essay regarding racial issues. I think it would also be an engaging read for anyone who is at all interested in the growing ethnic diversity of America's population. I have to admit, however, that the stories can get somewhat monotonous. It seems that most of the authors whose essays are in Voices of Color experience similar oppression and have similar opinions on everything. Voices of Color is just one of many places one can find race-related narratives. I wouldn't recommend purchasing more than one of these types.

Unfortunately, there is no negative rating available, as I would truly give this book less than a 1. This book is a cruel joke on the book-reading public. My husband and I could not believe how poorly written it was. I am scared for the others about whom this "author" has written and gotten paid good money. What a horrible excuse for a book and an incredible waste of paper and ink! If the author wants to make comments, I welcome them. I dare someone to defend this book.

I really give it a negative number, but that wasn't among the choices. This was perhaps the WORST book my husband and I have ever read. Besides various misspellings, there were exact passages repeated on other pages. I should have asked for my money back. We couldn't believe how poorly this rag was written. We cannot blame the author for using an alias. We wouldn't want to be identified as the author of this junk either. WARNING! Don't buy this book. There were a lot of other choices for Oprah books. All have to be better than this trash!

Great book! That's all I can say, great

The factual information is quite good. But don't read it for the writing style. The life of this amazing women is completely undervalued. The problem is that the author doesn't make things sound real. The story is told without ever making you believe that this is a real person and not just some embodiment of this voice for women's rights. None of the characters have much depth and all of the plot is told in the simplest language possible. There is nothing for the senses. Another thing is that this book really talks down to you. I almost didn't believe that this author had read Nellie McLung's autobiography. Because usually autobiographies give a fairly good impression of the person's style and emotional state. I'd give this book no more then two stars because of the information. But not the best book yet.

This autobiography makes sad reading -it's quite astonishing how often people in the arts are willing to do hatchet jobs on themselves. This is the tale of a north country English girl who nearly makes it big in opera [no pun intended]. Along the way she collects any amount of slights, grudges and shoulder chips, which she hugs as happily as any floral bouquet. Hunter indulges in the worse kind of inverted snobbery - she is a boiler maker's daughter, and she's never ever going to let anyone forget it. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a boiler maker's daughter - it is good honest work. It is possible in life to retain ones values and family roots at the same time as coming to terms with one's potential, and Hunter had a lot of potential, and blew it. Values and roots can inspire a certain amount of humility, Hunter appears to have none. She seems genuinely not to understand why she never had the career in Europe and America she might so easily have had. It's not hard to fathom from reading this tome that opera managements would only put up with so much. If only someone could have got close enough to say: "Rita, stop dragging the [nearly dysfunctional] family around with you, drop the [massive] attitude, check yourself into a health farm on a regular basis to shed the weight and only open your mouth to sing." Had this happened Rita Hunter would have been an operatic force to reckon with. But no one did, and, by the end of the book, she has become almost so snarlingly common as to appear downright unpleasant.