The Eloquent Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Portrait in Her Own Words (With a One-Hour DVD Insert from A&E Biography) [Hardcover]

Bill Adler (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 2004

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Bill Adler is the editor of four New York Times bestselling books, including The Kennedy Wit, and is also the president of Bill Adler Books, Inc., a New York literary agency whose clients have included Mike Wallace, Dan Rather, President George W. Bush, Bob Dole, Larry King, and Nancy Reagan.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; Har/DVD edition (April 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060732822
• ISBN-13: 978-0060732820
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #530,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( O ) > Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A charming book about a grand lady, May 28, 2004

By 

Diana Kirby (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eloquent Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Portrait in Her Own Words (With a One-Hour DVD Insert from A&E Biography) (Hardcover)

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was without a doubt one of America?s most admired first ladies and that is the major theme of this book. Although the book - a collection of quotes taken from a variety of sources, mostly interviews given by Mrs. Kennedy - spans her lifetime, a good portion is devoted to Jackie?s roles as the young wife of Senator John F. Kennedy and as the Nation?s First Lady.
In order to fully appreciate some of the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis?s comments about her roles as a woman/wife/mother and widow, it is important to bring up the historical context. The Kennedy Administration, ?Camelot,? took place amid turbulent times: widespread civil and racial unrest, the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, and escalating involvement in the Vietnamese conflict. The women?s movement was then in its infancy and it is against this backdrop that the Kennedy?s acquired mythical, almost magical qualities.
?Jack and Jackie were America?s royal couple,? writes Bill Adler in his introduction to The Eloquent Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; A Portrait in Her Own Words. The quotes provide a window into her childhood, life with JFK and her role as First Lady, then widowhood, followed by her marriage to Aristotle Onassis, her work as book editor for both Viking Publishers and Doubleday, and final years. One section deals with the assassination, ?Jack was the love of my life. No one will ever know a big part of me died with him.?
A common thread that runs throughout is her great love of, and reliance on, the family. Jackie?s life revolved around those she loved the most, her husband and her children, Caroline and John Jr. ?Raising children is the best thing I?ve ever done,? she declared.
For those of us who lived through the sixties and are old enough to remember where we were when we heard that the President of the United States had been mortally wounded by an assassin?s bullet, this tiny giant of a book will help to fan the flames of remembrance by highlighting the ?beauty, grace and intelligence Jacqueline Kennedy brought to the White House,? the country, and the world.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply love Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy..., December 30, 2010

By 

Kaci - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Eloquent Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Portrait in Her Own Words (Kindle Edition)

Just finished the Kindle version. I really enjoyed reading things directly from her instead of leaving the book wondering what was gossip, or actual history. Kindle version does not include the pictures that are displayed in the actual book but I wouldn't even have noticed if the text didn't inform be that the pictures had been removed. It's a great read.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars very disappointing, March 10, 2008

By 

Stacy L (CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eloquent Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis : A Portrait in Her Own Words (With a One-Hour DVD Insert from A&E Biography) (Hardcover)

It says very clearly in the ad that this book includes a one-hour DVD with it, but my order arrived without the DVD. After sending 3 emails
to the vendor's customer servce, none of them are replied. But the vendor
is still selling the same items at Amazon. I think that with their poor service quality, this vendor should be removed from the Amazon immediately.