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31 reviews for:
Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
3.81 AVERAGE
31 reviews for:
Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
3.81 AVERAGE
saralynnreads1962's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to these audio tapes. Highly recommended!
lalliw's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the CDs that came with this book - mostly what I loved was listening to her voice and capturing the sense of history - thinking about her thoughts on the politics of today, when she thought the politics of the 60s were horrible. SO odd to think these conversations happened before MLK or Bobby Kennedy were assassinated.
I thought Schlessinger's questions got repetitive and boring after awhile, but I was glad that I listened to the later CDs because her comments on MLK were quite interesting.
pheash9's review against another edition
5.0
The book really good. I would recommend this book if anyone like history and want to read about Jacqueline Kennedy life with John F. Kennedy.
mystery_jem's review against another edition
4.0
I Liked listening to Jackie talk about her life- not so much all the politics, though. Just liked the history and her life with Jack.
queenbethie's review against another edition
4.0
The Kennedy era was before my time, and I think that might be why I enjoyed listening to this book so much. Hearing Jackie's experiences and thoughts in her own voice was fascinating for me. The background noises--ice clinking in glasses, road noise, planes flying overhead and John Jr interrupting the interviews--added to the experience and the casualness with which the interviews took place.
Frustrating, though, was how often Schlesinger needed to prompt Jackie's memories, which made me question if the memories were, in fact, hers or not. Knowing these interviews began about 4 months after JFK's assassination, it is quite possible Jackie was still living in shock of her sudden change of life, so I offered her some grace.
Jackie's thoughts, views and words were shocking at times, and I can only hope that as she grew older and matured that, if she could have, she would have gone back in time and ammended some of her comments or views. She is exceptionally harsh about some people and used strong words to describe these folks. She also shared very traditional views of the marriage relationship and of a woman's role in the world. Certainly her daughter has not lived her mother's view.
I still recommend the book, particularly listening to it, to others. Oral histories are fascinating and the Kennedy era, whether you lived through it or not, is important to understand better.
Interestingly, while I was listening to this book in my car I also had "love interrupted," written by JFK Jr's assistant, on my nightstand. I enjoyed listening/reading to both during the same few days and seeing the world through different Kennedy eyes.
Frustrating, though, was how often Schlesinger needed to prompt Jackie's memories, which made me question if the memories were, in fact, hers or not. Knowing these interviews began about 4 months after JFK's assassination, it is quite possible Jackie was still living in shock of her sudden change of life, so I offered her some grace.
Jackie's thoughts, views and words were shocking at times, and I can only hope that as she grew older and matured that, if she could have, she would have gone back in time and ammended some of her comments or views. She is exceptionally harsh about some people and used strong words to describe these folks. She also shared very traditional views of the marriage relationship and of a woman's role in the world. Certainly her daughter has not lived her mother's view.
I still recommend the book, particularly listening to it, to others. Oral histories are fascinating and the Kennedy era, whether you lived through it or not, is important to understand better.
Interestingly, while I was listening to this book in my car I also had "love interrupted," written by JFK Jr's assistant, on my nightstand. I enjoyed listening/reading to both during the same few days and seeing the world through different Kennedy eyes.
janel1994's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating. I listened to the interviews in my car and then would scan through the book to read the footnotes. To anyone who is history buff especially of the 50's and 50's, it is very interesting to hear this perspective. Very shrewd of Mrs. Kennedy to do these interviews and have them sealed for almost 50 years. Everyone else wrote her history of her life with JFK and now she gets to have the last word. She doesn't hold back her opinions similar to any friend you might sit down to talk. Rather intimate conversation. The Manchester interviews are sealed another 25 years, I believe. I'd like to listen to those, too. I read his book when I was in the 9th grade and started my Kennedy family fascination--warts and all.
runsonespresso's review against another edition
4.0
I struggled with giving this 3 or 4 stars. I think it lands somewhere in between. 4 because of historical significance but 3 because of how it's presented. I think it may have been to soon and Jackie doesn't come across well at times. It also didn't really add much if you know anything about JFK or the time period.
kmj98's review against another edition
5.0
I am actually listening to the oral histories. Listening to her voice is so amazing. Hearing everything around her, like car horns, planes, the lighting of a cigarette, John-John running sbout in the background. It is very nice. She has great insight into people in the administration and cabinet appointees. I think some books, like these, should be listened to, this one especially because it was originally recorded on tape. and transcribed into oral histories. A job well done. I still am on the fence as to whether she would have wanted these to be made public, but if Caroline believes so i must trust in her. Jackie was such a private person that also wanted people to know the importance and truth about government and the presidency, It is truly a tightrope walk. In this case, it was well executed by the Foundation and Caroline.
sonia_reppe's review against another edition
I read this for work; I am not the audience for this so I cannot rate it. I will say that the footnotes are so small, as footnotes tend to be; but there were so many footnotes, it was like a third of the book. I couldn't read all those tiny footnotes.
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
In January 1964, Jacqueline Kennedy and Robert Kennedy approved an oral history project which would preserve memories of the assassinated President and his administration for the Kennedy Library. As part of that project, Jacqueline Kennedy recorded eight and a half hours of conversations with Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. during the first six months of 1964 about her life with John K. Kennedy. Obviously, she was interested in presenting a particular view of John F. Kennedy and their life together and her intention was also that the tapes would not be made public for a hundred years. Caroline Kennedy and her children decided to release the tapes early bcause of their historic significance. While discussing Kennedy's opinions of world leaders, political events, politics, and his family, friends and advisers, these tapes also are an interesting insight into Jacqueline Kennedy herself. I was surprised by how much she seemed to admire Joseph P. Kennedy and how dismissive she was of Rose Kennedy. And her opinions of Charles de Gaulle and the French were interesting since she was so closely identified with French fashion and culture. And, in light of what we now know about John Kennedy's marital infidelities, her dislike of Martin Luther King because of the charges of womanizing are totally understandable. I listened to these tapes and, no doubt, I found them even more interesting because I can clearly remember the Kennedy administration and the horror of those days in November 1963.