Inga: Kennedy's Great Love, Hitler's Perfect Beauty, and J. Edgar Hoover's Prime Suspect

by Scott Farris New York Times bestsellin

Inga Arvad was the great love of President John F. Kennedy’s life, and also Adolf Hitler’s special guest at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. She was an actress, a foreign correspondent, a popular Washington columnist, an explorer who lived among a tribe of headhunters, one of Hollywood’s most influential gossip columnists, and a suspected Nazi spy. The latter nearly got Kennedy cashiered out of the Navy, but instead set in motion the chain of events that led to him becoming a war hero.

Inga lived where gossip intersects with history, and her story, as told by author Scott Farris in Inga, is a rollicking story that demonstrates how private lives influence public events. It is also a Hitchcockian tale of how difficult it can be to prove innocence when unjustly accused, and how, as Inga phrased it, what was once a halo can slip down and become a hangman’s noose.

In addition to her romance with Kennedy and the attention of Hitler, Arvad married three times — to an Egyptian diplomat who insisted they never had divorced, the brilliant filmmaker Paul Fejos whom Charlie Chaplin considered a genius, and the famed cowboy movie star Tim McCoy. She also had affairs with noted surgeon Dr. William Cahan, the prolific writer John Gunther, and Winston’s Churchill’s right hand man, Baron Robert Boothby. She was pursued by Wall Street financier Bernard Baruch, and Swedish industrialist Axel Wenner-Gren, reputedly the richest man in the world at the time, offered her $1 million to have his child.

Inga was Miss Denmark of 1931, but by all accounts her admirers among the European and American elite loved Inga not for her physical beauty alone, but for her joie de vivre. She was a genius with people, she was daring and adventurous, and she was their equal in intellect. Like Isak Dinesen and Clare Boothe Luce, Inga Arvad led a life that both sheds light on and defies the stereotypes of women of her time.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

488 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2016

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent addition to the Kennedy canon; the ultimately tragic love story of the woman who probably had more to do with JFK becoming President than anyone else.

[Olena Yuriichuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Коли у 1959 році Інга разом зі старшим сином Роном вирушила у подорож Європою, у неї, колишньої журналістки, виникло бажання взяти інтерв'ю у Хрущова. Друзі та знайомі в одну мить назвали Арвад навіженою і запитали, як вона взагалі зібралася дійти до лідера СРСР? На це Інга відповіла так, як відповідала й тоді, коли вирішила взяти інтерв'ю у Гітлера: "просто зробить це і все".

От ця впертість і відсутність "шор" (за винятком тих моментів, коли Інга звертала увагу на чоловіків, тим паче на одружених) спричинили привабливій данці чимало проблем у її житті, які неможливо відкинути, аргументуючи це тим, що інакше б вона не стала такою популярною, а її історію не називали б готовим сценарієм для чергового голлівудського проекту.

Інтерв'ю з Гітлером вона взяла у 1936 році, здійснюючи свою мрію стати блискучою журналісткою.

Після цієї події у Інги залишиться підписана Гітлером світлина, пропозиція стати шпигункою (перед вродливою білявкою з нордичними рисами важко було встояти будь-яким чоловікам) і зіпсуте подальше життя: важко було б уявити, щоб протестантка, причому вже двічі розлучена (Інга все життя металася між бажанням "стати кимось" і нарешті стати дружиною і матір'ю) та ще й, власне, з "нацистським минулим" була дружиною можливого прем'єр-міністра Британії. Чи - майбутнього президента Джека Кеннеді.

До речі, про Джека. Якщо відкрити банальну Вікіпедію, у довгому переліку фактів та сухій біографії ви не знайдете ані слова про Інгу.

Затяжний роман зі нею спершу міг добряче вплинути на його кар'єру (що чудово розумів батько, Джо Кеннеді-старший). Потім, коли Джек загинув, а прибиральниці Білого Дому писали кількасот сторінкові романи про нібито позбавлення їх цноти наймолодшим президентом США, Інга мовчала, дозволивши лише перед синами хвилинну слабкість, коли зачинилася в день вбивства Кеннеді у своїй спальні "і гірко плакала".

Тільки після її смерті, а потім й після смерті Едгара Гувера, громадськості відкрилися таємні плівки ФБР, на яких були записані і розмови, і бурхливий секс Інги та Джека. Знайшлися листи таємно закоханих та амбіційних, телеграми та записи дзвінків. В особистих речах Джека не було й шматка паперу зі словами його дружини (ох, ці шлюби з розрахунку: "Роман Джека й Джекі був про них, а не між ними"), зате були, поруч з листами від батьків та сестри Кік, послання від його "Інги-Бінги".

Власне, саме ці стосунки, про які Скотт Ферріс написав: "Кохання, як і політика, може призвести до дивних союзів", не дали мені вкінець розчаруватися в головній героїні цього історичного пласту подій.

Перебільшено наївна (спеціально набута риса, як і любов до образу "femme fatale"), відверта антисемітка з максималістським виправданням Гітлера (на основі одного клятого інтерв'ю, яке, схоже, не стало для неї уроком), перелякана можливістю залишитися "старою дівою" і, зрештою, прагнення за будь-яку ціну вискочити заміж (навіть після всього лише трьох днів залицянь в "апельсинових кущах" - але у мені говорить ХХІ століття і феміністичні віяння), словом, було відчуття, що Інга все-таки стала акторкою, але не на сцені, а впродовж усього свого життя і те, що вона, "набивши гулі", так і не отримала досвіду, викликало і жаль, і відразу. З одного боку.

З іншого ж - "їй багато що буде вибачено, адже вона багато любила".

Скотт Ферріс вважає, що написав своєрідний некролог для Інги, на чиїх похоронах не було сказано й слова. Для мене його книжка - досконале дослідження, максимально об'єктивне та відверте, а ще грандіозне відродження жінки та одного кохання, яке могло б бути найкрасивішою історією ХХ століття, а стало, власне, лише історією.
_

P.S.
Вибачте, але не можу без "фе".

Yakaboo Publishing, в набутку якого не так вже й багато книг, дозволило собі байдуже поставитися до роботи над перекладом та редагуванням, зате ціну на книгу поставити ой яку високу (давайте відверто, навіть суперобкладинка і кілька аркушів з ч/б світлинами не можуть виправдати вартість). Крапки замість ком. Коми замість крапок. Чоловічий рід замість жіночого і навпаки. "Інга Бергман". Інга, Карл! Розумію, що на чотирьохсотій сторінці редактор міг вже й здатися і не бути уважним при вичитуванні, а коли ще й книга про Інгу, то яка вже там Інгрід... Втім, чи має це значення для мене, читача? Чи повинна я вигадувати виправдання видавцю замість насолоджуватися текстом та історією? (І вже зайвий офтоп, але пригадую, як А-Ба-Ба... зробили одну-однісіньку "очепяточку" у "ГП і Прокляте дитя" і вибачалися на весь ФБ та Інстаграм.)

Словом, книга на полиці, я ще неодноразово до неї повертатимусь, бо історія того варта (незважаючи на моє часткове несприйняття), але тихенько мрію, щоб ВСІ українські видавництва дійшли до усвідомлення "ціна=якість" і виробили поважне ставлення до свого читача.

[Khrystja Kovtsun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Захоплива та цікава історія про життя жінки, яка була за словами Гітлера "ідеалом нордичної краси" та коханням всього життя Дж.Кеннеді.
Вона перша повірила в майбутнього президента, але програла в боях з іншим найбільшим захопленням всіх часів - політикою.
В книзі є багато цитат з листів і самого Кеннеді. Цікаво, що він зберігав її листи разом з листами батьків та сестри.
Сміливі вчинки юної Інги, одруження з єгиптянином та життя в Єгипті, мандрівки екзотичними країнами з другим чоловіком настільки не сходяться з її баченням щастя у вигляді ранчо, дітей та сім'ї, що в мене виникав дисонанс протягом всього часу прочитання книги.
Загалом, тут є все, що я люблю в історіях з жінками-героїнями: розум, сміливість, знання декількох мов, неймовірна краса, харизма.
Так само, цікаво прочитати про ФБР та їхні заходи по виявленню шпигунів і жахливі втручання в приватне життя у передвоєнний та воєнний час.
Рекомендую) насправді цікава книга.

[Яна · Rating 4 out of 5]

Я закохалась у Інґу Арвад. А автор закохався у чоловіків, яких вона у себе закохала. Реально, мені здається, він розглядав це як її найбільші досягнення.

[Maja - BibliophiliaDK ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

INTERESTING SUBJECT, BUT JUST NOT FOR ME

Inga was a truly fascinating woman, who met many fascinating people. I was excited to get into her story, but I was quickly annoyed with the way Farris chose to tell that story. It just didn't work for me.

What I didn't like

👎 Denmark: Before picking up this book, I didn't know that Inga and I share a home country, namely Denmark. It is always exciting to read about your home country, but I was quickly disappointed. It seemed like Farris hadn't really done his Danish homework all too well. There were several instances, where I found factual mistakes about Denmark, like Fyn being a town outside Odense. It's not, Fyn is the ISLAND, that Odense is situated on. So that instantly made me vary about trusting the rest of the information in this book.

👎 Chronologically: This book is not written chronologically. And I wouldn't have any issue with that, if only it served a clear purpose. But it doesn't. It just felt incoherent and made it harder to get into. When you don't have Inga's childhood up front, it becomes hard to understand why she acts like she does later on. It just felt gimmicky and didn't work for me.

👎 Repetition: As a further consequence of the above issue, there were so many repetitions throughout this story. Often a piece of background information had to be given early in the story, which was then repeated again later on, as we jumped back in Inga's life. It happened enough for me to get truly annoyed. This book could have been quite a bit shorter.

[Iana Polianska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Прекрасна, просто шикарна книжка про стосунки довжиною в життя Інґи Арвад, яку все життя підозрювали в роботі на нацистів, і молодого Джека Кеннеді, який так рано загине, але стане улюбленцем американців

[Oleksandra Orlova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Інґа Арвад була напрочуд вродливою жінкою. В цьому було її щастя і горе, бо її краса здатна була відкрити будь-які двері і серця, але іноді заводила надто далеко, викликала заздрощі і ревнощі, зрощувала плітки і підозри. Розповідь Скотта Ферріса про Інґу - це, радше навіть, розповідь про Інґу і Джека (Кеннеді), адже їхній роман був особливим для обох, і досі залишив кілька таємниць, хоч мав чимало свідків. Гітлер і Гувер - лише епізодичні постаті в житті Інґи, втім, дійсно знакові: зустріч із першим Інзі далася так легко, але виправдовуватись за неї довелося все життя, в той час, як зустрічі з другим (для того самого виправдання) вона так і не домоглася. Інша річ, Пол Фейош і Тім МакКой, з якими Інґу зв'язували найтриваліші, а головне, подружні стосунки. Символічно, що саме цих обох Інґа навряд кохала, але безмірно поважала.
Все життя Інґа прагнула довести, що чогось варта, воліла стати "кимось" (у балеті, кіно, журналістиці), але, за словами Ферріса справжнім її талантом було своєріде зрощення лідерів, підняття самооцінки, мотивування коханих чоловіків. Та навряд сама Інґа зраділа б своєму статусу "талісмана для сильних світу сього".
"Інґа" - це історія жінки на тлі епохи, на тлі війни і полювання на шпигунів, на тлі газетних сенсацій і голівудських пліток, жінки, яка вміла зачаровувати, але так, здається, і не знайшла справжнього щастя. І хоча автор, з рештою, називає свою книжку "некрологом Інґи", все ж йому вдалося вдихнути у неї життя, а це, погодьтеся, чималий плюс для біографії.
P.S.: Я читала український переклад Ферріса (вид-во Yakaboo Publishing), який незабаром з'явиться у продажу. Видання, на мою думку, вийшло дуже вдалим.

[Ezra Gold · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating woman! I feel like I went from never having heard of Inga Arvad in my life to being her biggest fan. A brave, romantic, well-spoken beauty queen that went on expeditions for ancient pyramids and (temporarily) tamed the beast that was JFK’s crazy libido.

Reading this was a delight. The book was well researched and never felt particularly biased, as it shone a light on some of Inga’s less than amazing moments along with her triumphs. I loved the photos in the center of the book. I loved the last line of the book being Inga’s eulogy. I knew how her and Jack’s love story had to end, but I still felt a little crushed when it did.

How heartbreaking to think that she had regrets at the end of her life. After everything she saw and wrote and did. I can only hope she’s found peace now in all that she managed to accomplish.

[D. Thrush · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inga’s mother encouraged her to have a life of adventure and importance. With this encouragement, Inga traveled the world, spoke four languages, and found herself in the company of some interesting men. As a young journalist, she interviewed Hitler twice who was quite taken with her and, due to this, she was long suspected of being a spy. She married an Egyptian ambassador’s son after being crowned Miss Denmark and her second husband was an anthropologist with whom she lived among headhunters. She became friends with Kathleen Kennedy while working as a journalist in America who introduced her to her brother, Jack. They fell hard for each other, but it would’ve damaged his political aspirations to marry a twice divorced Protestant though she believed in him and urged him to fulfill his potential thereby changing both their destinies. Because she was suspected of being a spy, the FBI bugged her phone and apartment during much of the time of her relationship with Kennedy. Inga loved love and pursued it relentlessly as she lived a life filled with admirers and adventure. I’m surprised that there are numerous minor typos such as “their” instead of “there” and “close door” instead of “closed door.” This always detracts from the story for me. But I still highly recommend this fascinating story of someone you never heard of who affected history.

[Susann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent bio

I had never heard of Inga Arvad before even though I have read many books about the Kennedys. The book was a bit slow starting but then picked up and was fascinating. Her life was well worthy of a biography and even if she had not had a relationship with JFK, it would still have been of note. Her interviews and meetings with Hitler and top staff, her column writing in DC during the beginning of WWII as well as in Hollywood as Sheilah Graham's successor, and her fascinating friendships and love affairs were all of interest. A good read for all Kennedy fans, showing a younger JFK when he was still unsure of his political future and special gifts.

[Kristi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well I made it through this 450 page hardcover, but it left me with two questions. Why did I finish reading it and why was the book written in the first place. Inga Arvad was born in Denmark and happened to end up in Berlin via beauty prize money. While there she interviewed Hitler and other prominent Nazis. This peaked the interest of J. Edgar Hoover when she arrived in the U.S. He bugged her home and phone, had her followed, and stumbled across the fact that Jack Kennedy was her lover. If a book were written about everyone who had an FBI file to to J. Edgar, there would be thousands and thousands of boring tomes. I even had an FBI file because for a middle school project I subscribed to a Soviet magazine. It did not help that I lived in Thailand during the Vietnam War and protested against the same. That said, if there was a book written about every woman who slept with JFK there would be another thousand or more pointless tomes. She may have been the "only woman he truly loved", but he was not exclusive even when with Inga, so..... Inga was a minor newpapers reporter and gossip column writer. The hype says: Like Isak Dinesen, Beryl Markham, and Clare Boothe Luce, Inga Arvad led a life that both sheds light on and defies the stereotypes of women of her time. Excuse me, these women were independent and actually wrote literary works. The statement is an insult to these women. Inga slept around. She really accomplished nothing of note. If that breaks the stereotype of women in the early / middle of the 20th century, there are millions of women who would beg to differ. I still can't figure out why I kept reading.... I guess it is like gawking at a car accident - you're ashamed of looking, but can't turn away. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[False · Rating 4 out of 5]

The biography of Inga Arvad, the lover of John F. Kennedy for a period of less than a year in the 1940's prior to and during his military service. The infamous Inga Binga or as Kennedy called her "Inger Binger." Danish born, wed young to a Egyptian diplomat, gossipy journalist who interviewed Goebbels and Hitler and got stuck with Hitler's moniker of the "perfect Aryan beauty"--a compliment that haunted her the rest of her life and set J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI on her trail and tail bugging and taping her all over the place. Friend to Kennedy's sister Kathleen, Kick, the author contends that Kick was the only Kennedy child to ever break free and stand up to her father, not beholden by his money to keep her freedom. I disagree with that. He continued to fund her when she fled back to London and married outside the Catholic church. She wasn't living a comfortable lifestyle in a good neighborhood with her good deeds at the Red Cross. The author feels Inga insisted on love with sex, and that despite one or two passionate loves in her life (Kennedy being one of them,) she never really had a man who provided her with the mutual respect and support she needed. I would concur. I called Mata Hari a butterfly in the sun in another review (as Mata Hari referred to herself.) Inga was another who used that metaphor and it's apt for burning brightly in youth with all spent for the rest of your life. Sad to say.

[Neil Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

AN interesting, though somewhat exhaustive, account of Inga Arvad. She was one of those people who was around an incredible number of notable people and events. Thanks to years of FBI surveillance, the author was able to include a surprising level of detail. I have to wonder if the relationship with JFK wasn't perhaps emphasized past its place but there is no doubt that Ms. Arvid's life was interesting and provided some additional insight into the pre and post WW-II periods. I listened to the Audible version and the narration was well done and interesting to listen to while commuting.

[Cecilia Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting just to long

I would have loved to see more photographs of her and the men she loved as well as of her mother. Her life is an interesting one, sad in the end that she questioned her role in their lives or that she had left a legacy, she obviously did.

[Vira Manzyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Довго вагалася щодо оцінки між 2 і 3 балами. Книжка частково розчарувала, але проблема може бути і в костурбатому перекладі. Вкотре переконуюсь, що, купуючи перекладну літературу, довіряти можна тільки деяким видавництвам(

[Heather G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fair and Interesting

This book doesn't "dish dirt" on anyone and it doesn't make it any less interesting. She deserved to have her story told so well.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful character, Inga lived a unique life.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am torn between giving a 3 or a 4 star rating here. I didn't think it quite lived up to its title and there were sections that got somewhat repetitive, but it was a very good read overall in spite of that.

This was a 'BookBub' offering and I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise, but I'm glad that I did. This was a great look at the years leading up to and through WWII. Inga Arvad was right there in the middle of many fascinating situations as history unfolded through the 1930's and 40's. Part of the way that I judge historical non-fiction and biographies like this one, is by how many "googles" it prompts me to do to learn more about people and events. This one caused quite a lot of them.

The reason that I probably would not have picked it up other than BookBub is that I feel overloaded with speculation about the love life of JFK. I definitely do not think that this book proved its premise that Inga was the "love of his life". It annoyed me in it's marginalization of JFK's marriage to Jackie and of Inga's long marriage to Tim McCoy. Inga and JFK had a fling when he was very young and they sometimes remained in touch through the years. I didn't see this as a great romance. At some points in the book that annoyed me, but the story didn't really need "Romeo and Juliette" to make it well worth a read.

[Du · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and researched expose. It felt at times a little salacious, but really kept the tabloid aspects to a minimum. Instead there are real people acting in real ways, and they just happen to be famous. Not something I would have picked, but I'm glad it was given to me.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very average biography and it was advertised as being more about her relationship with Hitler when she really didn't have one.

[Kyra Hahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biography talks about her life, filled with ups and downs, including her relationship with JFK, and the lasting impact of a few journalistic interviews with Hitler.

[Mike Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

She spoke 4 languages, travelled the world and was the only woman JFK ever loved and commanded the respect of, Inga Arvard met him before World War 2 when JFK had been dismissed by his own family as being too reckless to be President. He hadn't been very serious in life, but Inga saw in him a man who could charm the birds out of the trees and recognized in him a charismatic blossoming politician.
Their love affair was electric. This was not the quick, casual sex he had with other women in his race to go on to the next one, these were monumental evenings of sex all caught on tape as her entire apartment had been wired by the FBI.
For the only time in his life, JFK stopped seeing other women. She however was a divorcee who was married and going through a second divorce- JFK's Catholic family would have had a heart attack, and further proof he was too reckless to be President. JFK went to the Catholic Church and asked permission to have her past marriages annulled if she converted to Catholicism, but the church said no.
Inga taught him to dine, how to act in public, how to dress. Only the war separated them. She became a war correspondent, and saved JFK's military career and launched his White House bid. The PT 109 had been sunk due to JFK's reckless leadership, and he feared he would face a court martial. Guess who was the first reporter to interview him? Inga.
Her account would be used by the press worldwide and JFK became a hero.
JFK once said, "No man would ever love love more than politics", and until he died he would ask about Inga. The woman who made him presentable to the public, hid his reckless behavior and launched his political career.
JFK was happy when Jackie would leave for weeks at a time to go shopping and to fashion events, allowing him to indulge in the pool of women who wanted to have sex with him, satisfactory or not. Inga however was always on his mind.
After Martin Luther King's taped conversations were sent by the FBI to his wife and him John and Robert Kennedy were furious. They decided they would fire J. Edger Hoover.
They marched into his office agitated, and he told them to relax. The recordings he had of Bobby and Marilyn Monroe and the recordings he had of Inga and Kennedy would never fall into the hands of Republicans. John did not have to worry, Hoover told him before Kennedy could say a word about King, no one would know he spent World War 2 in love with a nazi spy.
Hoover kept his job.
This is only a fraction of the true story of a very remarkable woman.

[Pinkpigg33 · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy history and especially WWII or JFK, this nonfiction book is a must read! Inga is a fascinating woman that had a life that touched many. She was beautiful and had a great personality and the combination of those two things opened many doors for her.
This book has nice short chapters, so you can read a little and set down and pick right back up again. I loved taking my time reading this book and enjoying the twists of her life.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a biography of a famous beauty who may have been JFK's great love. But his family made sure he could never marry her because she was a divorcee and a protestant. She was terribly innocent of the political arena before WWII and she was accused of being Hitler's lover even though they shared only a picture together. Inga was a fascinating, charismatic woman. I loved reading about her life.