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The Other Man: A Love Story

The Other Man: A Love Story

List Price: $25.95
Your Price: $17.13
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An entertaining read if you are a John & Carolyn buff
Review: Before reading this book I'd always had the impression that Carolyn B-K was a shallow, status-conscious golddigger. After all, the only guys she dated seemed to be models, tycoons, football-team captains, etc. Well, this book not only confirms all of the above, but also tells you that she was incredibly hard-hearted, cruel, dishonest and manipulative in her dealings with men! (Besides which, she didn't seem to understand the concept of contraception. I mean, THREE abortions in five years?)

I am absolutely shocked by the reviewer from NY who defended CBK by saying that she was "just like any other woman" -- GOD! *I* am certainly not like this shallow bitch, nor are any of my friends. She treated Michael Bergin like shit, using him as a sex toy when it was convenient for her and then dumping him when better prospects came along. But then, after she'd dumped him, she'd throw tantrums and trash his apartment if she discovered he was seeing other women. What's really sad is how long Bergin put up with this shit and believed her lies. It amazes me how many men find psycho-bitches attractive, and get bored with those of us who are reasonable, sane and nice. Bergin comes across as sweet, but a bit dim and naive. (I practically laughed out loud when he kept repeating how "classy" he thought CBK was -- after her incredibly slutty and obnoxious behavior, and let's not forget about wearing a thong in Hyannisport!) And apparently JFK Jr. was just as dumb as Bergin.

At least Bergin (or his editors) had the sense to stick to the interesting stuff and not try to pad the book with a lot of extraneous stuff about his childhood, his grandparents' childhood, etc. The book moves along at a very good clip, and the stuff he tells about life as a male model was interesting, too (though depressing).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: an honest recount
Review: The author came across as a genuine yet simple small town boy as he described. Though this book is not for intellectual curiosity, it's a book about feeling ,dream, desire, lust... we have to deal with everyday in our life no matter we are famous or not.
I found it baffling that some people criticized him so harshly.
Even he is less famous than the other people involved in the relationship, he is an equal human being with equal feeling.
Some people might find it hard to accept that Camelot has flaws.
I can understand that Carolyn was longing for the life JFK Jr. could have provided her. I don't blame her. Don¡¯t we all dream of feeling like a princess at one point? Yet she loved or needed Michel's adoration. Kennedy men are not famous of being perfect husbands. I am not blaming JFK Jr. He seemed like a very decent, down to earth guy if you think of the environment he was brought up. It might be hard for him to attend to the details of other people¡¯s every needs, especially a needy one, since he was so used to the other way around. Didn¡¯t we see that in the relationship between Princess Di and her Prince? And Carolyn seemed to be a very emotional sensitive person. And she tried to get all she wanted; yet it¡¯s all most impossible from one person.
Why did we applause her honesty when Princess Di told her true story, yet told Michel to keep his mouth shut otherwise he is a money digger?
The other day I happened to watch Paula Zahn¡¯s interview with Michel on CNN. I always liked Paula and her program, but I felt hard to accept Paula ¡®s very unfriendly demeanor toward Michel. At one point, she asked why he couldn¡¯t just keep everything to himself and keep his mouth shut. (I forgot the exact words she used.).
When Princess Di wanted to tell her story which I believe she had every right to do so, (obeying royal duty is not an excuse for the some royals to seek irresponsible pleasure in their lives, yet the wives should suffer silently.), did anyone in media tell her to keep it to herself? Perhaps only the royal family did, since they are the only ones who have the status to do so.
I thought we are living in a democratic society, yet subconsciously we still judge people by money and power, etc.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a little chilly love story
Review: This book was interesting and almost unbelievable. But honestly I felt chilly reading this book, that man will do whatsoever in the end when he secretly held some kinds of grudge against the woman that he claims to love.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Michael Should Have Listened to his Father!
Review: I watched the A&E interview of Michael Bergin with great interest. He seemed genuine in his need to tell his story. The whole time I watched the interview I kept thinking, why is he putting himself, his family, and Carolyn's family through this? Then I read the book and I felt great empathy for him. His writing style reminds me of a letter that you would receive from a friend. He comes across as rather corny, but sincere. However well meaning his efforts are to clear Carolyn's name in the media after reading the Edward Klein book, he didn't do himself any favors. After it is all said and done, Michael has revealed himself to be Carolyn's "backburner" guy, the one that she is never seen in public with. I guess he didn't realize that Carolyn had an agenda which did not include him in her future. Carolyn chose John Kennedy, Jr. not Michael Bergin. Is there really any more to say?

During the course of the interview, the interviewer said to Michael, "Your father didn't want you to write this book." Michael nodded and acknowledged that indeed his father did not think it was a good idea. Michael, you should have listened to your father. No one is interested in the truth, no matter how well intended it is. This book does nothing to disspell the myth of Camelot and John and Carolyn's place in it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Sad commentary of a fractured relationship.
Review: I believe Michael Bergin really told his story the way it was as to his relationship with Caroline Bissett. I believe she was very insecure and married John Kennedy, Jr. for one reason but had to go back to Michael, who seems like a person that might not be too difficult to go back to. I think they bonded their relationship long before she married John, and with her total insecurity about her marriage, supposed drug use, etc. it was very hard for her to stay away from Michael, since she looked to him for the things she loved in him that she did not have with John. Michael should have walked away from her, but I can understand how he felt about her and I do believe he wanted to help her. I think it probably is a book Michael felt he had to do since there were so many stories out saying another man was in Caroline's life even after she and John married. It is a love tragedy which ended up very sadly. I hope Michael's now married life is better than his past trying to deal with a very insecure person. The book was refreshing in that it did not trash Caroline, like most of these kiss and tell books do. Michael in the book and in reviews seems like a very nice person. I also saw the Paula Zahn interview which another reviewer referenced and I too thought Ms. Zahn was rude and a terrible interviewer. I also saw the A&E interview which really let Michael tell his story with very little interruption.

Louise
Camp Hill, PA

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Other Loser
Review: All three of these people lost at love and it is sad to know all the details.

I read this book and found it compelling..........in that you wanted to know what happened next with Carolyn and Michael. So, it was a page turner.

However............Michael is severely lacking in self understanding. To reveal Carolyn's behavior is NOT to glorifly her memory, honor her memory, or correct misunderstandings. Frankly, he has revealed her to be extremely screwed up.

And if he thinks what they had is a love story, he has a misguided idea of what happens between people who love each other.

I'm glad he wrote the book, because it helps confirm to me that people whom the media glorify.......like Carolyn Bessette can actually be in much worse shape than simple nobodies like myself.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Incredible Tragic Love Story!!
Review: I am an avid biography reader. I first assumed that this would by a shallow book about a jaded lover. However, was I wrong. This is truly a love story with such warmth and heartbreak I could not put it down. It also shows you the inside to this girl, Carolyn, who was extremely mentally ill. Incredible!! Who would have known her marriage to Kennedy was such a sham. The girl was VERY confused and married the wrong guy!! WOW!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: She loves Me, She Loves me Not . . . .
Review: Reading Bergin's account of his love affair with Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy made me realize that Carolyn was not nearly as torn between two lovers as she was torn from within. Beneath all the poise and elegance was a fragmented woman whose lack of both emotional resilience and strength of character unfortunately drove her to seek comfort in the arms of a former lover when her marriage was threatening to fall apart.

I believe Carolyn loved John and that she married him because she craved the stability and security he seemed to offer. At his best, John was grounded and had a sense of calmness about him. However, he like everybody else had demons which, when combined with Carolyn's, turned their marriage into a battleground.

In his book "American Son," Richard Blow relates a conversation he had with Carolyn that reveals the depth of her love for John. Now, unless she had a multiple personality disorder, Bergin was not the great big love of her life as he so insists on believing. Instead, he was her one weakness, their relationship a form of codependency. They never shared anything beyond physical intimacy and though she seemed rather fixated with him, she also regarded him as a dear friend; her various gifts to him appeared to be from the heart.

"The Other Man" is not a testament to the enduring power of love. Rather, it's the private journal of a man infatuated with a woman whose love had always eluded him. A woman who turned to him in desperation rather than dedication. If Bergen insists on calling this love, then I guess it simply was a love never meant to be....

Oh, how I wish Michael Bergin had shown his worthiness of love by keeping the most intimate details of their relationship to himself as a sign of his loyalty and in honor of the power of enduring love.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: karma bites
Review: Chapter after chapter, Michael pines for a woman who obviously needs mental help. She's ashamed to be seen in public with him, cheats on him, and gets pregnant with another man's baby and claims it's Michael's. In the end, Mike finally gets a good woman. As for Carolyn, "What goes around, comes around". Karma bites, doesn't it?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good romantic book
Review: Whether most of this book is true and accurate I enjoy reading it because I think this is a great romantic book to read. Very interesting. I do feel sorry for his wife because of how he describes his love for Caroyln.


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