Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy

By: Caroline Kennedy - foreword, Michael Beschloss - introduction

Narrated by: Jacqueline Kennedy, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (interviewer), Caroline Kennedy (foreword), Michael Beschloss (introduction)

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1964, Jacqueline Kennedy recorded seven historic interviews about her life with John F. Kennedy. Now, decades later, these conversations can be heard in this digitally remastered eight-and-a-half-hour audio program. This audiobook includes the foreword written and read by Caroline Kennedy; introduction written and read by historian Michael Beschloss and the photos from the hardcover book, as well as complete annotations from Michael Beschloss, both in downloadable PDF format.

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 completion, in accordance with Mrs. Kennedy’s wishes.

The resulting eight-and-a-half hours of material comprise 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.

As told by Mrs. Kennedy, 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 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s inauguration, Caroline Kennedy and the Kennedy family are now releasing these beautifully restored recordings with accompanying annotations and photos from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library as well as other sources. 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.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2011 Caroline Kennedy, John Schlossberg, Rose Schlossberg, and Tatiana Schlossberg (P)2011 Hyperion (packaging elements only)

Amazing insight to a woman in love!

Thank you, Caroline, for sharing this intimate and loving look into the heart of your incredibly amazing and courageous mom. In all the years I admired her, I never thought I would get to feel I was just sitting and listening to her just talk.. Thank you to you for sharing her with us...she, and you, amaze me still, as did Senator Ted Kennedy when I met him in 1977. Your family inspires and you have continued that legacy. Thank you Caroline.

Very facinating, but Was it my download or .....

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, the content was very interesting, and remarkable given that this women just 4 months before, sat beside her husband who was shot and killed right in front of her.
So, if you consider the symptoms of PTSD, feeling unattached, forgetting importance parts of the events, trouble concentrating, etc, I would say she was a remarkable woman.
But ,no one seems to mention that it seemed like a I heard the same stories over and over.

The end just fizzled out to something completely inaudible. It builds and builds and you wait for some memorable final statement, but just hear static, people talking way off and Jacqueline telling the same story she told in part one. It did not make sense. So, I'm hoping it was just a weird garbled download. Still about 1/3 of it was very interesting.

Which character ??? as performed by the narrators ??? was your favorite?

JacquelineArthur S was a very good interviewer

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

not sure, not if it was as disorganized as these recordings were

Welcome to the sewing circle

You feel like you are sitting down to bridge with Jackie and listening to her gab. A little gossip, a few criticisms, and a lot of entertaining anecdotes. She comments on the global as the person - it is the view of the White House from the parlor. She speaks with quite intimately, and it's great to get a peek at Jackie O as just a lady who loved and missed her husband, and had a good deal to say about their friends, his co-workers, and their lives. Events that touched the world are discussed as any housewife might comments on her husband's business dealings.

Outdated

It appeared to me that Ms. Kennedy really knew very little about politics or the work her husband was doing. She often had to ask the interviewer what had happened because she did not know. Since she knew so little about what was going on, I felt that the information that she spoke of contributed little to what we should know about those events and that period. It was nice to hear her voice, though. I just found the book boring after about an hour.

Eye Opener

Where does Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really enjoyed hearing this history as remembered by the First Lady, she had insights that no other person was privy to. Her voice was strong and her opinions of various politicians and vital americans from that time period was surprising and unedited.
The quality of the tapes reflected the technology of the era, they were at times very difficult to understand, and the proximity to an airport made parts of the tapes unintelligiblle.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to hear in her own voice, and the voice of John Jr and Caroline a part of the Kennedy history.

What did you like best about this story?

Getting to hear the trials and tribulations of the life of the first President that I remembered'
serving in the White House.

How could the performance have been better?

If todays technology would have been available in 1964.

Wow!

I was astonished by many of Mrs. Kennedy's statements. She and her husband were not even close to being political liberals! She speaks with disdain about the party's libs. Obviously, no liberal could make the same inaugural address that JFK made. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country". They'd both be conservatives today!

Somewhat disappointing

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Authenticity and real interview.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

There is nothing that can be changed. My dislikes were not due to the story as such.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

What I learned about Johns brothers was actually more interesting to me.

Do you think Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Some might finde it very interesting if there were other interviews like this available.

Any additional comments?

As a foreign listener (Danish), it was a bit hard to follow the conversation in the beginning because persons do not speak very clearly in a context like this one. However, that changed after some time as my "ears adapted to the style and vocabulary".
The interviews were interesting but I am sure they would have been more so for a native American. JFK belonged to my parents generation, and I knew him from history classes, of course, and found his precidency interesting, but I have no doubt that a native American (especially adults of his generation) would like this very much. He was "one of theirs".

Was nice to here her voice,in her own words!

Would you consider the audio edition of Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy to be better than the print version?

Yes, it was in Jacqueline's own voice

What other book might you compare Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy to and why?

?

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

The preface would have been nice to hear? Why was it not there?

Hearing from the woman herself.

Would you consider the audio edition of Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy to be better than the print version?

Yes.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy?

Her conversation on what happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I hadn't before.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Nope.

Any additional comments?

A great listen for any Kennedy fan or history buff in general.

Frank and articulate, that woman could talk.

What did you love best about Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy?

Mrs. Kennedy spoke with clarity, wit and candor about an era past. I found this inside point of view facinating. It was impossible to hear her without seeing her having the conversations in my mind. Clinking of ice in glasses and lighting of cigaretts were time marks of this period. Utterly charming.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy?

Talking about being called back to the whitehouse during the bay of pigs so the family could be with Jack and if it came to it, die together, as a family.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Mrs. Kennedy's voice adds allure, strength, humor and surprize to the events she relates.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A view of a whitehouse marriage in pivotal times for the United States.