Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929–1994)

This is a fascinating work and an example of an audiobook experience that cannot be equaled by the printed word, in my opinion. After an introduction by Caroline Kennedy describing the history of the tapes and how and why she decided to publish them. The basically unedited conversations (more than a half dozen of them) between Jacqueline Kennedy (not yet Onassis) and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. come across as very intimate, as if you were in the room with them. There are the sounds of ice show more clinking in glasses, Jackie smoking, the kids at play and planes overhead let alone every pause for consideration, intonation and hesitation that only comes across in conversation.

Schlesinger, having served as special assistant and "court historian" to President Kennedy from 1961 to 1963, is hardly a disinterested party, so the converstaion is often one more of mutual recollection than a historian interviewing a subject. It is interesting to watch (listen) to Schlesinger work. He doesn't immediately leap to help recall a fact or complete a sentence, letting Jackie stumble through the halls of her own memory at times, which is itself a service to history. Also, he seems to gently redirect the conversation at times when Jackie seems very willing to put forward very negative opinions about persons (Mrs. Eisenhower, Mrs. Luce, MLK, etc.) or peoples (the French).

There is more insight here about Jackie raising children on the campaign trail, getting the White House guide done and availabe for sale and confronting the possibility of nuclear war as a wife and mother than there is in political insight. Either Jackie succeeded in staying out of the loop of policy deliberations or she just chose to not be forthcoming about such things. She is more divulging about state dinners, such as the personal mannerisms of Kruschev, Nehru and the leaders of Pakistan, Indonesia, and Sudan. show less

I really enjoyed reading the transcripts of these conversations and I'm so glad the interviews were unedited. Started to listen to the CDs but it was faster to read. It was a walk through a time capsule. I had to keep reminding myself that she was only 34 years old and her husband had been killed just four months earlier. She was remarkably composed. I found it so interesting to hear her views on JFK and the political scene and characters of the 1960s and the footnotes were wonderful in show more clarifying the people and situations she was referring to. It was funny in a shocking way to hear her views on male/female relationships and feminism. Mostly I loved the history both the good and the bad .... one item that jumped out was Ike's appointment (Lyman Lemnitzer) as Chairman of Joint Chiefs who approved a classified plan for the US government to commit acts of terrorism against Miami and other US cities and blame those acts on Castro. Thankfully JFK rejected it. JFK said he thought it a disgrace that there were less than 100 people in Washington working on disarmament ... and he was upset there was no proper award for civilian achievement while there were many for military achievements so he created the Medal of Freedom. Also interesting, he had no chief of staff so ideas didn't get filtered and each cabinet head had access to him. Lots of good stuff and makes me wonder how the world might have been different had he finished his term. Depressing to compare it all to political "leaders" of today. show less

I have read various biographies of John F. Kennedy, both for and against, whitewash and mud-raking, but could somehow never bear to have his widow submitted to the same unauthorised coverage. Instead of the usual anecdotes from so-called 'friends', this collection of interviews recorded in 1964 by Arthur Schlesinger is perhaps the closest there is to an actual autobiography of Jacqueline Kennedy, released and edited by her daughter Caroline.

Speaking less than a year after the assassination, show more Jackie is obviously still devastated and filled with bitterness, but her love for her husband really shines through. The personal details are what stand out for me, not the political opinions that Schlesinger is pressing for (Jackie's interview was part of an oral history project to record JFK's term of office for posterity). Why he keeps asking her what she thought of this man, or what she remembers of that event, I'm not sure, because while Jackie is certainly more clued up that she lets on, her standard answer is usually 'Oh, I was in hospital/home sick/don't know'. Yet when she talks about her home life with Jack and the children, she sounds much more thoughtful and animated.

While I appreciate Caroline Kennedy's decision to transcribe her mother's oral history recordings almost verbatim, the print format is hard to follow in places - perhaps listening to the audiobook would be easier. And again, Schlesinger's political questions seem like a wasted opportunity with hindsight. He hardly lets her talk about herself, and his questions about Jack mostly concern his political career. After William Manchester's book, however, and her controversial interview with Theodore White after the assassination, this remains one of the very few honest and expressive accounts that Jackie gave of that time, so every word counts. I was touched by the flashes of genuine love and grief in and amongst the politicians and presidential crises. show less

I picked this up after hearing a few excerpts on various new shows. I wasn't really sure I would make it through all of it because while I am generally interested in history, the Kennedy era has never been one of my focuses. That may change, now.

It would have been interesting to read what Jacqueline Kennedy said if this were only a book. But to hear it in her own voice, with glasses tinkling, children playing and airplanes flying overhead was fascinating. It added a depth and clarity that I show more don't recall feeling with even any docuemntary on televeision. The fact that it was uncut, unedited and probably only loosely scripted (judging by some of the side trails the conversation took) only added to my enjoyment of this set. Listening to her voice is joyous when she laughs while relating some funny story or shared moment with her husband. Other parts are eery, not in a spooky way, but more in the same way that a visit to Gettysburg makes me feel.

Everyone in my parent's generation can tell you exactly where they were when Kennedy was shot, something that those of us born in the next decade can only relate to by comparing it to the Challenger explosion or 9/11. While I'll never be able to understand the feeling of the country's feelings for the era completely, after hearing these seven session taped so shortly after her husband's death, I can certainly understand the fascination the world had with the woman.
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