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)

I'm glad Caroline decided to release this.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I already have recommended it to friends. Being so close to the time of the assassination I was surprised she did it, and she doesn't talk about the assassination. She talks about the 10 years she was with Jack, and it's quite interesting.

What did you like best about this story?

This really isn't a story per se. Jackie seemed relaxed in the interviews, and I was surpirsed at her comments about the French and Charles DeGaulle. She couldn't stand either one.

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

The interviewer knew Jack and Jackie personally, and so he knew what to ask her. Hearing Jackie's voice is something that would be very lacking in a book.

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

Yes, and I almost did too.

Any additional comments?

Jackie shines a whole different light on the happenings in the White House, and it's well worth a listen.

Excellent

I love it because it told you about JFK Routine
at Hyannis Port And Palm beach Jackie love arts and I love arts and Jackie is the most stylish and hottest first lady of United States

Thank you Caroline Kennedy!

What an amazing treasure to hear Jackie tell the story about the White House and JFK and the leaders he chose to run the country. It is amazing to hear about all critical issues he was able to avoid in his lifetime. I learned a lot from these discussions because these brief comments about individuals and situations caused me to Google and research more because I was only a child at that time. We need more people in politics that care about national and global issues and less about partisan politics like many involved in this era, where they are able to deal with world leaders with big egos.

JFK revealed

Through these tapes, I found a JFK I never knew. His Presidency was one in a million and it was our loss that it was cut short. You can hear in the First Lady's voice or tone how she loved and missed him. These are a treasure. Thank you Caroline for releasing these and letting us in and bringing it all back to us for just a little bit.

I could listen all day.

Great book that transports the listener to another time and place in American history. Very interesting and thoroughly enjoyable listening to one of the liveliest First Ladies.

Made me cry to hear the pain in her voice.

I was voting in my first election and had spent 6 months working at the Democratic Headquarters in Hollywood the year of Kennedy's election.
It was definitely Camelot for many of us...a young couple leading the nation after growing up with older men, a man who wanted we young adults to take our lives in our hands and do better for the world.

It's hard to believe that 11 months from now will be the 50th Anniversary of Dallas and the day that that "Brief and Timeless Place called Camelot"Died.

Hearing the First Lady's voice made me cry at times as she spoke about how her place was to help her husband and raise the children and not to be involved in politics and how she changed over the next decade...and how sad she was that Jack never saw her grow as a woman from helpmate to self directing woman.

Still, the casual conversations she recorded here are a wonderful look into the family life and political life of the man who is still in presidential candidates minds...and there was just ONE Jack Kennedy! NO!he wasn't Dan Quayle either.

I recommend this book if you were part of this era, as I am, if you're interested in political machinations, and if you are looking for history of those times from the viewpoint of wealthy east coasters.

The background sounds are charming-you hear a childs voice singing, cigarettes being lit and ice cubes rattled----it must have been recorded in a room with a wood floor as shoe heels click clack quite a bit. It's all so casual and you can tell it was so very difficult for Jacqueline to do-just about 5 months after Dallas.

I encourage this especially for young women-you can get a good overviews of what it was like when your grandmother was a youngster, Jackie tells of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and of encouraging congress to not tear down the Dolly Madison House to put up an office building. She began bringing class into the white house, getting former presidents families to donate furniture so the styles could be true to the era. She designed the Oval Office as it is today--changed it from an austere cold room to a warm parlor where the President can meet with anyone. She picked the blues and golds that dominate the room and designed the rug in the oval office. She designed the decore for the first Air Force 1 "

Over those 1000+ days she says they were the happiest in her life, even though she lost a child. Then it was over.

This is a book that is meant to be listened to-the nuances are priceless and so is Jackie. I remember watching her show off the redecorating of the white house-a 90 minute CBS special that took hundreds of thousands of people of many countries thru the National House. I remember when she spoke then that her voice was very whispy and breathy but she isn't so much in this collection of 6 interviews.

Sorry-this isn't a good review--I just can't forget this book and I know it will be on my mind for days.

Please excuse....but I did love it all.

What a view into history

What an interesting view of a very private person. I appreciate that she had the prescience to know that these interviews would be very important. We see a "Jackie" that most of us didn't really know and we see her vulnerability. That she allowed that is amazing. A lot has been made of the lack of feminism that she expressed in the interviews. Not to excuse it, I think we need to remember the times and also the stratum of society to which she belonged. Her honesty is to be appreciated.

Impromptu Purchase and a Good One

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This audio demonstrates just how much America and its power players have changed in 50 years as well as how much has stayed the same. Jackie gave so much grace to the country just by being herself. This audio is quite an education for me not just simply in politics but journalism as well. It shows a different side of the mysterious Jacqueline and I find this private side much more compelling. I can't help but wonder how different this country would be today if JFK would have been able to serve two terms.

What did you like best about this story?

Consideing she is in the grieving process, I don't know how she composed herself in so little time. Is JFK really all that she claims or is she romanticizing his legacy for posterity like a good 1960s wife? Even with all of this new info, there is still so much mystery to this woman who changed the White House forever. It is interesting how she voices her role as a woman and a wife and how her life and career actuallly turned out. It is a shame she did not make more of these tapes throughout her lifetime. Maybe she did. Wouldn't that be a nice surprise!

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

I couldn't help myself.

Disappointing but still interesting

What made the experience of listening to Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy the most enjoyable?

Hearing her actual voice, intonations, inflections, and perspective.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting to me was when she talked about herself. The least interesting were the dull questions by Schlesinger. They could have been much better. "What did you think of Stevenson? What did you think of Rusk?" Over and over again. Many were people I didn't even know.

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

Obviously, listening to Mrs. Kennedy's voice brought the entire thing to life. Without it I would have given an entirely different rating to the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The times I laughed were the few times the children came in and pirated the microphone.

Any additional comments?

As brilliant as Mr. Schlesinger is/was at the time, his questions were very uninteresting and rather benign. He could have asked questions that were more specific and of interest to the public. The book is really about Jack Kennedy and when it's told by his newly-widowed spouse, he is described as a god-like figure which we all know, of course, was not the case. But it did give insight into some of his personality and life at the White House that was interesting and informative.

Although I was disappointed in the overall content of the book, I have to say it was a good listen and worth my time.

Time travel...

Really an amazing experience to step back in time and listen to these recordings. Thank you to the Kennedy Library and family for releasing...