Editorial Reviews
In 1964, Jacqueline Kennedy recorded seven historic interviews about her life with John F. Kennedy. Now, for the first time, they can be heard and read in this deluxe, illustrated book and 8-CD set.
Shortly after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, with a nation deep in mourning and the world looking on in stunned disbelief, Jacqueline Kennedy found the strength to set aside her own personal grief for the sake of posterity and begin the task of documenting and preserving her husband's legacy. In January of 1964, she and Robert F. Kennedy approved a planned oral-history project that would capture their first-hand accounts of the late President as well as the recollections of those closest to him throughout his extraordinary political career. For the rest of her life, the famously private Jacqueline Kennedy steadfastly refused to discuss her memories of those years, but beginning that March, she fulfilled her obligation to future generations of Americans by sitting down with historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and recording an astonishingly detailed and unvarnished account of her experiences and impressions as the wife and confidante of John F. Kennedy. The tapes of those sessions were then sealed and later deposited in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum upon its completion, in accordance with Mrs. Kennedy's wishes.
The resulting eight and a half hours of material comprises a unique and compelling record of a tumultuous era, providing fresh insights on the many significant people and events that shaped JFK's presidency but also shedding new light on the man behind the momentous decisions. Here are JFK's unscripted opinions on a host of revealing subjects, including his thoughts and feelings about his brothers Robert and Ted, and his take on world leaders past and present, giving us perhaps the most informed, genuine, and immediate portrait of John Fitzgerald Kennedy we shall ever have. Mrs. Kennedy's urbane perspective, her candor, and her flashes of wit also give us our clearest glimpse into the active mind of a remarkable First Lady.
In conjunction with the fiftieth anniversary of President Kennedy's Inauguration, Caroline Kennedy and the Kennedy family are now releasing these beautifully restored recordings on CDs with accompanying transcripts. Introduced and annotated by renowned presidential historian Michael Beschloss, these interviews will add an exciting new dimension to our understanding and appreciation of President Kennedy and his time and make the past come alive through the words and voice of an eloquent eyewitness to history.
Shortly after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, with a nation deep in mourning and the world looking on in stunned disbelief, Jacqueline Kennedy found the strength to set aside her own personal grief for the sake of posterity and begin the task of documenting and preserving her husband's legacy. In January of 1964, she and Robert F. Kennedy approved a planned oral-history project that would capture their first-hand accounts of the late President as well as the recollections of those closest to him throughout his extraordinary political career. For the rest of her life, the famously private Jacqueline Kennedy steadfastly refused to discuss her memories of those years, but beginning that March, she fulfilled her obligation to future generations of Americans by sitting down with historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and recording an astonishingly detailed and unvarnished account of her experiences and impressions as the wife and confidante of John F. Kennedy. The tapes of those sessions were then sealed and later deposited in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum upon its completion, in accordance with Mrs. Kennedy's wishes.
The resulting eight and a half hours of material comprises a unique and compelling record of a tumultuous era, providing fresh insights on the many significant people and events that shaped JFK's presidency but also shedding new light on the man behind the momentous decisions. Here are JFK's unscripted opinions on a host of revealing subjects, including his thoughts and feelings about his brothers Robert and Ted, and his take on world leaders past and present, giving us perhaps the most informed, genuine, and immediate portrait of John Fitzgerald Kennedy we shall ever have. Mrs. Kennedy's urbane perspective, her candor, and her flashes of wit also give us our clearest glimpse into the active mind of a remarkable First Lady.
In conjunction with the fiftieth anniversary of President Kennedy's Inauguration, Caroline Kennedy and the Kennedy family are now releasing these beautifully restored recordings on CDs with accompanying transcripts. Introduced and annotated by renowned presidential historian Michael Beschloss, these interviews will add an exciting new dimension to our understanding and appreciation of President Kennedy and his time and make the past come alive through the words and voice of an eloquent eyewitness to history.
About the Author
Caroline Kennedy is the author/editor of eight bestselling books on constitutional law, American history, politics, and poetry. A graduate of Harvard University and Columbia Law School, Kennedy is the Vice Chair of the New York City Fund for Public Schools. She is the President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., the most distinguished historian of his times, was also renowned as a Public Intellectual and a political activist. Author of more than twenty-five books, he was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The eloquence, insight, and power that characterized his style continue to influence the generations of historians who follow him. Arthur Schlesinger was the author of major biographies of Andrew Jackson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as well as John and Robert Kennedy, books that significantly defined the modern presidency. He served as Special Assistant to the President during the Administration of John F. Kennedy.
Michael Beschloss has been called "the nation's leading Presidential historian" by Newsweek. He is the author of nine books, including, most recently, The Conquerors and Presidential Courage and two volumes on Lyndon Johnson's presidential tapes. He is a graduate of Williams College and the Harvard Business School and holds five honorary degrees, as well as an Emmy award. He is a regular commentator on the PBS NewsHour. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two sons.
Product Details
- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Hyperion; Har/Com edition (September 14, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1401324258
- ISBN-13: 978-1401324254
- Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.6 x 1.7 inches
Customer Reviews
Fabulous, intimate portrait of a First Lady through her own words: a treasure!, September 14, 2011
By
Vince Palamara "SECRET SERVICE/JFK/STEELERS/M... (South Park/Bethel Park, PA)
This review is from: Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy (Hardcover)
A preliminary review: this book is an outstanding contribution to our understanding of one of the greatest First Ladies in our nation's history (in my opinion, only Eleanor Roosevelt and Betty Ford are her rivals). Jacqueline Kennedy comes to life in these pages, brilliantly edited and commented by renowned presidential historian Michael Beschloss. After reading so many "tell all" Jackie books that claim to have the "inside word", it is refreshing to have Jackie herself provide the first person account, not some journalist with 'sources'. There are many treasures and insights to be found in these pages, told in an intimate, straightforward fashion. As someone who has read countless books pertaining to President and Mrs. Kennedy, I thought nothing could surprise me at this late juncture. I was wrong. Caroline Kennedy has done us all a great service in providing the actual audio recordings from her mother's conversations with JFK aide Arthur Schlesinger, nobly transcribed and commentated by Beschloss.
"Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy" is required reading for all Kennedy fanatics and students of the First Lady. Again, this is merely a humble preliminary review, but, from what I have read and seen so far, I am greatly impressed. Highly recommended.
"Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy" is required reading for all Kennedy fanatics and students of the First Lady. Again, this is merely a humble preliminary review, but, from what I have read and seen so far, I am greatly impressed. Highly recommended.
A Day Well Spent, September 15, 2011
By
homeice "Elizabeth S. Brinton" (Coeur d' Alene, Idaho)
After spending the day listening to the tapes, mesmerized and unable to do little else, I have come away stunned and in awe. We have always had a somewhat packaged view of the duties of First Lady. That Mrs. Kennedy was able to speak at all so soon after the tragedy, and so succinctly in regards to her grasp on history, is a testament to her strength of character. Having read many books written about those years, some brilliant and some terrible, they are all given to surmising what the President must have felt, or how he came to certain conclusions. We now have a much clearer picture of the man. He accepted challenges and expected those around him to respond in kind. He was not petty, or small, not self conscious, or self aggrandizing. He was given to tremendous curiosity, loved journalism, would have written great books and would have steered the ship of state to a safer harbor. Much is voiced about power, what it does to people, who is attracted by the trappings and neglects the work, who becomes better for it and who loses their way. Jacqueline Kennedy did not deserve to be maligned. She should be remembered for living by three simple tenets: courage, loyalty and duty. These tapes are a great gift to the world.
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