Seeds of Destruction

``A day without a lay,'' Joseph P. Kennedy once said, ``is a day wasted.'' Apparently his sons took him literally, as Martin (Jennie: The Life of Lady Randolph Churchill) points out repeatedly in this gossipy, well-documented anecdotal biography of Kennedy and his sons, Joe Jr., Jack, Bobby and Ted. We see the dynamic senior Kennedy as the mythical moneymaker, as SEC chairman, as the seducer of Gloria Swanson and as the anti-Semitic, Nazi-appeasing ambassador to England. His wife, Rose, is portrayed as a frigid, self-absorbed religious fanatic who would rather attend a Paris fashion show than look after her family. The rivalry between Joe Jr. and Jack is detailed, with the contention that Joe died trying to emulate Jack's heroism on PT 109. Much of the book centers on the President and his humongous sex drive--which prompted actress Angie Dickinson to comment that it was ``the most memorable 15 seconds of my life''--and his affair with Marilyn (``What an ass!'') Monroe. The President's illnesses, amphetamine addiction and pot smoking in the White House are also related. Ted is pictured as a ne'er-do-well and Bobby as the moralistic ``sexual policeman'' of the administration. Love the Kennedys or hate them, readers will be captivated by this juicy read. Photos not seen by PW. (Aug.)