A former White House intern -- for President John F. Kennedy -- has written a memoir that should finally put to rest the myth of a glamorous "Camelot."

That is unless Camelot was a place run by a king who ordered young wenches to service his buddies.

Mimi Alford's "Once Upon a Secret" discusses how as a 19-year-old she was hired as an intern and within days was sharing Kennedy's bed. The well-off former debutante was excited by the romance (which apparently didn't include kissing, so one knows what Kennedy's feelings were). She says that at least twice Kennedy told her to service other guys (she says she declined when it came to Teddy Kennedy).

In the New York Times, Janet Maslin says

There is much to tsk-tsk about in Ms. Alford's account of her wide-eyed innocence and the president's particular brand of cruelty toward her. But there's not a lot of news, so the fuss should soon die down. When it does, "Once Upon a Secret" can be better appreciated for what it really is: the strangest memoir about secrets and lies since "The Politician," by Andrew Young, exposed the delusional arrogance behind John Edwards's presidential campaign. Like Mr. Young, Ms. Alford seems to have little idea how badly her stories reflect on herself.

Robert Dallek, the highly respected presidential biographer, says Alford's affair has been known for about a decade. He writes an essay for The Daily Beast about whether powerful men's moral failings should be considered when voters pick presidents.

But rather than blame Alford or worry again about whether presidents can't have a little fun, what some readers are more likely to be concerned with is how truly revolting it was when powerful men used even well-educated woman as sex workers and journalists not only turned a blind eye, but even glorified myths such as a White House "Camelot."

NOTE: This story was updated to correct Robert Dallek's first name.