The Eloquent Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
A Portrait in Her Own Words
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4.0 • 16 Ratings
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Publisher Description
As her own words prove well, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis could be at times funny, buoyant, candid, irreverent, and of course poignant, too. This collection of quotes shares her thoughts on marriage, family, political life and ambition, publicity, privacy, and more as she confided them to intimate friends, family, and interviewers alike.
Memories of her childhood, her love for Jack, her children and grandchildren, the Kennedys, her often misunderstood marriage to Aristotle Onassis, her years as a widow, and her later companionship with Maurice Tempelsman are all represented here, as are some rather remarkable correspondences with the Johnsons, the Nixons, and the Khrushchevs.
A sampling of her wit and wisdom:
"I was a tomboy. I decided to learn to dance and I became feminine.""Well, I think my biggest achievement is that, after going through a rather difficult time, I consider myself comparatively sane.""When Harvard men say they have graduated from Radcliffe, then we've made it.""If Jack proved to be the greatest president of the century and his children turned out badly, it would be a tragedy."
Forty years ago, when the nation was coming out from under a period of mourning, Bill Adler edited The Kennedy Wit and in so doing helped the world remember a man and a president, not just a sorrowful event. To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's death, he has edited yet another book of quotes celebrating life -- this time the life of Jackie.
The accompanying DVD documentary is considered by many to be the definitive film biography of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and was produced by CBS News Productions for Arts & Entertainment Network.
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Eloquent is a strong word to apply to this collection of musings and quotes. Adler, editor of the bestselling The Kennedy Wit: The Humor and Wisdom of John F. Kennedy, has vacuumed up excerpts from Onassis's letters, speeches and interviews along with recollected verbal asides to friends, heads of state and hairdressers, and has even included a portion of her will. The results are uninspiring. Onassis reflects on politics ("We should all do something to right the wrongs that we see and not just complain about them"), the arts ("Poets are the ones who change the world"), motherhood ("The things you do with your children you never forget") and the White House ("It's like a hotel. Everywhere I look there is somebody standing around or walking down a hall"). Unsurprisingly, many of the snippets herein concern John F. Kennedy: she notes that"Jack was something special, and I know he saw something special in me too";"My life revolves around my husband";"I never told him anything or showed him anything unpleasant"; and"I would certainly not express any view that was not my husband's." To her mother, she reportedly said that JFK"didn't even have the satisfaction of being killed for civil rights. It had to be some silly little communist." Other bon mots include"The first time you marry for love, the second for money, and the third for companionship" and"I do love to live in style." The portrait that emerges is not a flattering one. But that may be a fault of the volume rather than its subject. Who among us would like to be remembered through a smattering of interview snippets and off-the-cuff remarks? Photos. One-hour DVD insert from A&E Biography not seen by PW.
