Customer Reviews

A Woman Named Jackie: An Intimate Biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis

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2 star:		(1)
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Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis is as fixed as an American landmark, as the beautiful and refined wife of one of the most inexplicably popular presidents of all time. But how much of "Jackie" did the public see, and how much was real?

We travel from the beginning of Jackie's life to near its end (though the biography stops short of her death, or that of her son): a girl raised between the ultra-womanizer Black Jack Bouvier, and ruthless social-climber Janet Lee Bouvier Auchincloss. Jackie became accomplished, admired, beautiful, and eventually married into the politically ambitious Kennedy family, a now legendary marriage. It chronicles her time in the White House, the death of her husband, her loyal campaigning for Robert Kennedy, her marriage to the wealthy Greek businessman Aristotle Onassis, her second widowhood, her career as a publishing editor, and the early adult lives of her two children.

Heymann avoids some of the pitfalls of many Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis biographies, such as excessive fawning on Jackie herself, and excessive speculation on her inner state. He doesn't avoid all of them; there is a great deal of information on not only Jack's raunchy extramarital affairs, but those of Jackie's father, Joe Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Ari Onassis. He does, however, provide equal information about relevent "supporting players," such as Jackie's sister Lee Radziwell and Onassis's tragic daughter Christina.

Fans of Jackie might not like this book; Heymann does not gloss over Jackie's many flaws, and utilizes many testimonies to back himself up. Jackie is revealed as a shopaholic who spent money without restraint, was quite manipulative, and often acted in a very cold, unfeeling manner. Yet he also emphasized her very real sorrow when Jack died, and how it affected her for a long time after. Readers will find themselves unable to sympathize at all with Jack, given the behavior chronicled in here. In fact, Heymann seems to be either showing the harsh, brutal truth about both of them, or is slanted away in sympathy. However, he uses the same treatment for every person, ranging from Marilyn Monroe to Frank Sinatra. Readers will have to judge for themselves what is the correct portrayal.

Heymann does a very good job chronicling other people's opinions of Jackie in this book, from prominent people such as Gore Vidal down to Grecian store clerks. Rather than painting a picture, he puts together a mosaic of very small pieces, interview snippets, sightings, and so forth. His writing style is pleasant and well-ordered, not stiff or difficult at all.

Heymann's biography is a nice gossipy read, if you don't mind reading a few very long chapters on Jack's extramarital activities. Pleasantly written, well-researched, with either a dislike of the subject or a very impartial eye. You be the judge.

...that JFK's Presidency and marriage to Jackie were not romantic fairytales. Heymann has done an impressive amount of interviews with people who knew Jack and Jackie well, and while some may argue with his interpretation of certain events, there's no doubt that he's done his homework. This book follows Jackie from her surprisingly unhappy childhood, which was marked by an ugly divorce between her dashing yet womanizing and big-spending father and her uptight, social-climbing and rather cold mother. Jackie was a definite daddy's girl - she adored her father and never seemed to care too much for her mother or the second man she married, wealthy stockbroker Hugh Auchincloss. Thereafter comes the now-familiar story - she grows into a beautiful and sophisticated young woman (who emphasizes her father's French ancestry and all but ignores her mother's Irish heritage), attends the best women's private schools in America and France, becomes engaged to a nice yet boring young stockbroker; but then suddenly breaks off the engagement when she begins dating a sexy and exciting US Congressman who just happens to come from a VERY wealthy family - John F. Kennedy. Then comes the high-society wedding, the rocky marriage (made so by Jack's constant cheating and Jackie's expensive shopping sprees and snobbery towards her Kennedy in-laws), her glamorous tour as First Lady in the early sixties, the horror of JFK's assassination, and finally her controversial marriage to the ultra-wealthy yet crude Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Although Heymann tries to be fair and objective to Jackie, his book does seem to emphasize the dark sides of Jack and Jackie, and those people who still have a romantic view of the couple will find this book to be disturbing. Yet while she had her flaws, there's no denying her now-legendary poise during her husband's funeral or her admirable role in raising her two children to be the decent and well-mannered people they turned out to be. Overall, this is an engrossing "warts-and-all" biography of one of the most famous women of the 20th Century. Recommended!

I picked up this book as part of a research project. I did not realize just how rounded a person Jackie really was. Prior to this point, I thought she comformed to all of the ideal notions about the pre-feminist woman. Boy was I mistaken

Amist all of the controvery about Hillary Rodham Clinton and her role in thbe adminstration, it is important to remember that Jackie also played an important policy role. Unlike several of her sisters in law, she was more insistent about getting to the all male sanctum of policy making. The whitehouse renovation was only ythe most public of Jackie's involvement.

I personally think she would have been happier and had less contradictions if she were of a later generation and did not have to "look" the part of the fawning wife (then prefered by the media) She seemed bored by the press conferences that soley wanted to focus on family and fashion and really would have been a dyamo in the office today.

It is difficult to say what JFK might have done had the limosune been domed, but it appears as if they might have settled down together and enjoyed life. For the first time, we really understood why she was so upset that November. She and her husband were actually falling in love with each other when tragedy tore them appart. This chapters is written so well, I cried reading it.

I was also impressed with how she raised her children. The tabloids are littered with the stories of famous children, to Jackie's credit, she insistilled an unbreakable moral compass that kept them from intentionally self destructing. Not many parents, public or private can claim that accheivement.

This author may be the male version of Kitty Kelly. Basically the book is a history of Jackie Kennedy that has a good amount of scandalous details about her married life to both of the famous men she caught and a few bits after she is widowed the second time. We also get some bits about her family and JFK's family thrown in for good measure. Of course we get to learn a lot about her relationships with JFK and Onassis, but I also liked the details about her relationships with RFK and LBJ. The reason I read this book was I wanted a better understanding of her White House years, her relationship with JFK. The book does touch on these two topics, but not in the kind of depth I was looking for. To be fair I should have really found a book that just dealt with these topics solely so I can not mark this book down too far on this issue.

The book did cover the Onassis relationship, which I found very interesting. They really seamed to have a marriage of convenience. It looked like an interesting game they played with each other. The other interesting relationship detailed was between her and LBJ. Overall the book was interesting if not a little on the gossipy side. It is a good overview of her life and some added info on the family's she was married into. It is easy to get through and the author does a good job with some of the less exciting topics.

...that JFK's Presidency and marriage to Jackie were not romantic fairytales. Heymann has done an impressive amount of interviews and research, and while some readers may argue with his interpretation of certain events, there's no doubt that he's done his homework. This book follows Jackie from her surprisingly unhappy childhood, which was marked by an ugly divorce between her dashing yet womanizing and big-spending father and her uptight, social-climbing and rather cold mother. Jackie was a definite daddy's girl - she adored her father and never seemed to care too much for her mother or the second man she married, wealthy stockbroker Hugh Auchincloss. Thereafter comes the familiar story - she grows into a beautiful and sophisticated young woman (who emphasizes her father's French ancestry and ignores her mother's Irish heritage), attends the best women's private schools in the US and France, becomes engaged to a nice yet boring young stockbroker; but then breaks off the engagement when she begins dating a sexy and exciting US Senator who just happens to come from a wealthy family - John F. Kennedy. Then comes the high-society wedding, the rocky marriage (made so by Jack's constant cheating and Jackie's aloofness from her in-laws), her glamorous tour as First Lady, the assassination, and finally her controversial marriage to the crude yet wealthy Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Although Heymann tries to be objective and fair to his subject, the book does seem to emphasize the flaws and dark sides of Jack and Jackie. Some readers who have a romantic view of Jackie may not want to read this book, as it will definitely destroy your romantic view of her. Yet while she had her flaws, there's no denying her now-legendary poise during her husband's funeral or her outstanding role in raising her two children to be good citizens and good people. Overall, this is an engrossing warts-and-all biography of one of the most famous women of the twentieth century.

A WOMAN NAMED JACKIE is the definitive biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, a woman who shaped her time every bit as much as she symbolized it.

For those who remember well the 1960's, author C. David Heymann does a remarkable job of reporting the memorable moments. And those who do not remember the 60's will be well-informed by this book, not only about the woman who is its focus, but also about her impact on that era of expectation and optimism. As much as any single person, she created the energy of a decade which we now realize in hindsight was a watershed in modern life. The influence of Mrs. Onassis lasted long after that tragic day in 1963.

Today, the very name of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis is symbolic that all that is fine, and her memory reminds us of that very special time that she, herself, referred to as "Camelot."

A WOMAN NAMED JACKIE is her definitive biography.

I liked this bio of jk..ive read many and this seems the most fair. It has alot of commentary from ppl who knew her..which is the only way one could learn about this intensly private person anyway. Alot of people recomend other books on Jackie, like America's Queen (great photos) or The Kennedy Years, but in my opinion most books portray her as too angelic, as to be unrealistic. If I felt that this book was all about "dirt" i wouldve given it 1 star, but on the contrary I think its very balanced: some people say they liked jackie, some thought she was a snob, in reality, they're probably both right, depending on who they were and when they met her (as it is with most of us)

This gives you everything you've ever wanted to know about Jackie Onasis. It also mentions on the first page that Jackie's mother's family were "lace curtain Irish." Many people mistakenly believe that Jackie was all French, but she was actually half French. Her mother's family emigrated from Cork, Ireland, and her grandfather had a rags to riches story. That wealth is the main reason that Jack Bouvier married Jackie's mother, Janet Lee. The whole book is exciting, and I would recommend it to anyone.

As a British reader born after the 1960s I did not really know that much about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. A friend gave me this book and I began to read it out of a sense of duty. By the end of the first chapter I was hooked! I thought this was an exceptionally well written and researched biography that gives a very balanced view of a fascinating personality and period. The background to the Onassis wedding and the sections on JFK are especially good. It has left me wanting to read more about America in the 60s.

Through the author's detailed investigations, Jackie's life unfolds with all its complexities as one of the century's most famous lifestory. Here you can catch a glimpse of the "real" Jackie in excerpts of actual conversations and observations that the author was able to obtain from those who knew her on a personal level and those who watched from the sideline. The conspiracies and the tragedy of the Kennedy White House years can shock the reader. The Onassis years and her life of high society can also entertain the reader. At times, Jackie comes through, remaining unscathed and there is a sense of admiration for her. However, intimate details of Jackie's foibles can also generate criticism. This is a true biography of Jackie Kennedy Onassis and makes for entertaining as well as worthwhile reading in that you gain a proper perspective of who she really was. I highly recommend it.