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Jack and Jackie #2
Jackie After Jack: Portrait of the Lady
Compelling." ---People
"Undeniably a guilty pleasure." ---Newsweek
"Comes closest to making Jackie sparkle." ---New York Times
"Amazing tidbits are offered on every page." ---USA Today
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"Jack was the love of my life. No one will ever know a big part of me died with him."
Jackie Kennedy was only thirty-four when Camelot ended in a blaze of gunfire on November 22, 1963. With JFK, she had captured the world's imagination. Without him, she would hold it until her own death three decades later--and beyond. For all that has been written about her, Jackie guarded her privacy so fiercely that she remains veiled in mystery and mystique.
In this highly-anticipated sequel to his bestselling book Jack and Jackie: Portrait of an American Marriage, Christopher Andersen draws on previously sealed archival material and newly declassified documents--as well as important sources that have agreed to speak here for the first time--to paint a sympathetic yet often startling portrait of Jackie in all her rich complexity. Among the revelations:
*Important new information about Dallas and its aftermath--including Jackie's harrowing battle with suicidal depression.
*Previously unreported romances with world-famous men, including Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra
*Stunning revelations about her stormy marriage to the Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis
*"If you bungle raising your children, whatever else you do doesn't matter very much": How Jackie avoided the Kennedy perils in raising her children.
*Jackie's spiritual quest, and new details about her brave final days.
Alone after Dallas, Jackie summoned the strength, grace, and dignity to go on. Jackie After Jack traces this remarkable woman's personal journey--and captures the drama, humor, glamour, and heartache that have made Jackie an enduring source of fascination and inspiration for millions.
"Undeniably a guilty pleasure." ---Newsweek
"Comes closest to making Jackie sparkle." ---New York Times
"Amazing tidbits are offered on every page." ---USA Today
----
"Jack was the love of my life. No one will ever know a big part of me died with him."
Jackie Kennedy was only thirty-four when Camelot ended in a blaze of gunfire on November 22, 1963. With JFK, she had captured the world's imagination. Without him, she would hold it until her own death three decades later--and beyond. For all that has been written about her, Jackie guarded her privacy so fiercely that she remains veiled in mystery and mystique.
In this highly-anticipated sequel to his bestselling book Jack and Jackie: Portrait of an American Marriage, Christopher Andersen draws on previously sealed archival material and newly declassified documents--as well as important sources that have agreed to speak here for the first time--to paint a sympathetic yet often startling portrait of Jackie in all her rich complexity. Among the revelations:
*Important new information about Dallas and its aftermath--including Jackie's harrowing battle with suicidal depression.
*Previously unreported romances with world-famous men, including Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra
*Stunning revelations about her stormy marriage to the Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis
*"If you bungle raising your children, whatever else you do doesn't matter very much": How Jackie avoided the Kennedy perils in raising her children.
*Jackie's spiritual quest, and new details about her brave final days.
Alone after Dallas, Jackie summoned the strength, grace, and dignity to go on. Jackie After Jack traces this remarkable woman's personal journey--and captures the drama, humor, glamour, and heartache that have made Jackie an enduring source of fascination and inspiration for millions.
526 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1988
546 people are currently reading
776 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Andersen
55 books214 followersLibrarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Christopher Peter Andersen is an American journalist and the author of 32 books, including many bestsellers. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Andersen joined the staff of Time Magazine as a contributing editor in 1969. From 1974 to 1986 Andersen was senior editor of Time Incorporated's People Magazine. He has also written for a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Life, and Vanity Fair.
While his early nonfiction books veered from psychology (The Name Game) to true crime (The Serpent's Tooth) to art collecting ('The Best of Everything', with former Sotheby's chairman John Marion), he is best known for his controversial biographies. Between 1991 and 2011, he published 14 New York Times bestselling biographies. Andersen wrote Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones in July 2012. The book quickly became Andersen's 15th New York Times bestseller.
Christopher Peter Andersen is an American journalist and the author of 32 books, including many bestsellers. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Andersen joined the staff of Time Magazine as a contributing editor in 1969. From 1974 to 1986 Andersen was senior editor of Time Incorporated's People Magazine. He has also written for a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Life, and Vanity Fair.
While his early nonfiction books veered from psychology (The Name Game) to true crime (The Serpent's Tooth) to art collecting ('The Best of Everything', with former Sotheby's chairman John Marion), he is best known for his controversial biographies. Between 1991 and 2011, he published 14 New York Times bestselling biographies. Andersen wrote Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones in July 2012. The book quickly became Andersen's 15th New York Times bestseller.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
May 11, 2019
I finished reading this book a short time ago tonight (10:32 PM). It gave me a better appreciation for the type of life Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was able to make for herself (and her 2 children) from the immediate aftermath of President Kennedy's assassination to her own death 3 decades later.
This is the second book about a Kennedy that I've read from Christopher Anderson, and he is to be commended for the painstaking research and scores of interviews he conducted with people who knew Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis well. My only quibble are a few errors with regard to historical dates that I found lightly sprinkled throughout the book. Otherwise, "Jackie After Jack" was easily readable and made me feel almost as if I were Jackie's shadow.
This is the second book about a Kennedy that I've read from Christopher Anderson, and he is to be commended for the painstaking research and scores of interviews he conducted with people who knew Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis well. My only quibble are a few errors with regard to historical dates that I found lightly sprinkled throughout the book. Otherwise, "Jackie After Jack" was easily readable and made me feel almost as if I were Jackie's shadow.
March 14, 2008
I recently became fascinated with Jacqueline Kennedy and I have to say, the book is interesting but paints (accurately describes?) her as a gold digging, vain and superficial bitch - and by the end of the book I hated her.
January 9, 2017
I gave this 3.5 stars. While it was certainly interesting, it took a long time to slog through it. Some times trashy, and then at other times engaging, it is difficult to know what was true and untrue. Many tattletale "facts" seemed undocumented. Did she really have an affair with Marlin Brando, Bobby Kennedy, some of her husbands cabinet members?
One of the interesting tidbits was that the doctor who repeatedly injected the president, also injected Jackie with the same feel good steroids. Years later, before Jackie's diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, it was discovered that these chemicals were known to cause the illness that Jackie died from.
No doubt, a highly-interesting lady, she brought fashion and class to the White House. The portrayal of the death of her husband while she watched his body parts fly on her and the car, leaves no doubt that she would be emotionally challenged afterward. She was a very strong woman. Like all of us, at times other directed, and other instances self absorbed.
One of the interesting tidbits was that the doctor who repeatedly injected the president, also injected Jackie with the same feel good steroids. Years later, before Jackie's diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, it was discovered that these chemicals were known to cause the illness that Jackie died from.
No doubt, a highly-interesting lady, she brought fashion and class to the White House. The portrayal of the death of her husband while she watched his body parts fly on her and the car, leaves no doubt that she would be emotionally challenged afterward. She was a very strong woman. Like all of us, at times other directed, and other instances self absorbed.
August 5, 2025
Interesting read of the many facets of Jackie’s life. Her resilience through her many hardships is commendable, but you don’t walk away from the book having high regards for her
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October 1, 2011Who was Jackie O? This was not my first biography on the former first lady. A enjoyable portrait of a beautiful and intelligent woman who was not always successful in fighting her demons (are any of us?) Was she calculating, callous and sometimes cruel? It would seem so. But even so, for me her name remains synonymous with courage.
March 13, 2020
In Jackie After Jack, author Christopher Andersen has put together a fairly comprehensive look at Jackie Kennedy Onassis' life after the death of John F. Kennedy, despite the fact that she was one of the most private people in the world. I find the Kennedy family fascinating, yet there was still so much I didn't know about Jackie. This book was well-written, gossipy, and surprising at many turns. I almost feel like if you are a Jackie fan, you might not want to read this book, because it doesn't always present her in the most flattering way. She comes across as strong at times, set in her ways, very protective of her children - but also a compulsive spender, potentially addicted to drugs, and having affair after affair. Honestly, I couldn't believe some of the "previously unreported" stories - including a brief romance that both she and the alleged man kept completely secret. I wanted more of how Jackie cultivated the Camelot myth, which I didn't realize wasn't promulgated until after JFK's death. I did enjoy the parts about Jackie's foray into the publishing world - she seemed to be an exceptional editor and really came into her own in a job she didn't even need. For me, Jackie is always associated with JFK, but she also lived a complete life after him, and this book is a look inside that extraordinary life. 3.5 stars
July 31, 2023
Since I was a kid I've devoured any book I could find on The Kennedys,Jackie especially. This book is probably the first I've read that seems to go out of it's way to cast her in a negative light. I enjoyed it but couldn't help but notice a lot of it was gossip.In a way all history is gossip but it seems like I had already read multiple times a lot of the stories and things supposedly said in here weren't confirmed and couldn't be. It really seemed to be based more on the authors view on things then actual facts.For example regarding Caroline Kennedys wedding:
"In insisting on the wedding date—it was the seventeenth anniversary of Chappaquiddick—the bride and groom showed little regard for the sensitivities of others or the possible political fallout."
Who INSISTED and how do we know it was insisted upon? Were they even aware of what they date was? I don't like when authors of non fiction declare things they can't possibly know for a fact- but I'm weird like that.
Otherwise it was a good read. It definitely made me question the perspective I had of Jackie and shed a different light on things.
"In insisting on the wedding date—it was the seventeenth anniversary of Chappaquiddick—the bride and groom showed little regard for the sensitivities of others or the possible political fallout."
Who INSISTED and how do we know it was insisted upon? Were they even aware of what they date was? I don't like when authors of non fiction declare things they can't possibly know for a fact- but I'm weird like that.
Otherwise it was a good read. It definitely made me question the perspective I had of Jackie and shed a different light on things.
August 23, 2023
Are We Really This Dumb
Although the author does reveal some of the actions of Jackie that are less than admirable, at the end he dumps in enough treacle and sugar to send anyone into diabetic shock. He rambles on and on as though she deserves to be canonized, ignoring not just a few minor faults, but basically the personality of a completely self absorbed, self-centered person. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis never did anything that she first determined would be beneficial to her and her family.
Does this author really think we’re all so clueless about life that we’ll just buy all these platitudes and dribble tears over yet another book about “Americas royalty”? Yech!! After having the example of England’s royal family before us, I feel confident in saying that we certainly don’t need royalty over here. After all we have Donald Trump! LMAO!!
I’m just grateful to Kindle Unlimited so I didn’t have to pay for this piece of tripe.
Although the author does reveal some of the actions of Jackie that are less than admirable, at the end he dumps in enough treacle and sugar to send anyone into diabetic shock. He rambles on and on as though she deserves to be canonized, ignoring not just a few minor faults, but basically the personality of a completely self absorbed, self-centered person. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis never did anything that she first determined would be beneficial to her and her family.
Does this author really think we’re all so clueless about life that we’ll just buy all these platitudes and dribble tears over yet another book about “Americas royalty”? Yech!! After having the example of England’s royal family before us, I feel confident in saying that we certainly don’t need royalty over here. After all we have Donald Trump! LMAO!!
I’m just grateful to Kindle Unlimited so I didn’t have to pay for this piece of tripe.
April 11, 2023
Off the pedestal
I've been fascinated with Jackie Kennedy Onassis for years. Always felt bad for her for all of JFK's indiscretions and kind of admired her. After reading both Jack and Jackie , and Jackie after Jack I wouldn't say I admire her but see a total picture of very flawed privileged people who used their privilege sometimes to help others but more frequently to help themselves. Neither book sugar coats Jack or Jackie but shows their true flawed selves while also showing the things people admired about them.
This book is eye opening, no holds barred honest look at someone the world placed on a pedestal that likely didn't deserve to be on one. She was a truly flawed human, more so than I ever realized, who kept her kids from getting into trouble and became a wonderful grandma for her grandkids.
I've been fascinated with Jackie Kennedy Onassis for years. Always felt bad for her for all of JFK's indiscretions and kind of admired her. After reading both Jack and Jackie , and Jackie after Jack I wouldn't say I admire her but see a total picture of very flawed privileged people who used their privilege sometimes to help others but more frequently to help themselves. Neither book sugar coats Jack or Jackie but shows their true flawed selves while also showing the things people admired about them.
This book is eye opening, no holds barred honest look at someone the world placed on a pedestal that likely didn't deserve to be on one. She was a truly flawed human, more so than I ever realized, who kept her kids from getting into trouble and became a wonderful grandma for her grandkids.
September 7, 2024
Mesmerizing, moving, poignant and powerful in its recounting of her life, Jackie after Jack is a powerhouse of a book.
Filled with hundreds of accounts from those who knew Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis best, Jackie shines brightly as a jewel, with all of her flaws and in her mayhem as well as with her courage and devotion to her family, husband and to the American public.
This is an astonishingly intimate story of her life in its richness and complexity and author Christopher Andersen is a true master storyteller - I was truly mesmerized by Jackie Kennedy.
A fabulous biography, a truly charismatic and complex main character in real life and an absolutely worthwhile reas
Filled with hundreds of accounts from those who knew Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis best, Jackie shines brightly as a jewel, with all of her flaws and in her mayhem as well as with her courage and devotion to her family, husband and to the American public.
This is an astonishingly intimate story of her life in its richness and complexity and author Christopher Andersen is a true master storyteller - I was truly mesmerized by Jackie Kennedy.
A fabulous biography, a truly charismatic and complex main character in real life and an absolutely worthwhile reas
September 12, 2019
The author seems to have no trouble sharing some very unflattering aspects of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and I couldn't help but question how much is fabricated. If I hadn't picked up this copy in a thrift store for .50c, I might feel badly for adding to his success. So, so much trash shared in this book about our former first lady, it caused me to doubt its entire validity. Outside of the Jackie bashing I did enjoy the historical information. Enough said.
March 19, 2022
This book was very interesting, but a bit too salacious for my taste. I knew enough about Jackie to know that she was far from perfect, but this author seemed to delight in painting her in a terrible light. I’m going to look for another bio of Jackie that’s less tabloid-trash & more actual history!
April 5, 2023
A disappointing Wow!
Other than her children’s safety and well being, Jackie O’s goal in life was to spend to excess, and live the life of a wanton woman. Certainly after JFK’s death she could live her life as she pleased, but to such extremes! She was overall a cold and calculating person. No mystique left after this book.
Other than her children’s safety and well being, Jackie O’s goal in life was to spend to excess, and live the life of a wanton woman. Certainly after JFK’s death she could live her life as she pleased, but to such extremes! She was overall a cold and calculating person. No mystique left after this book.
June 27, 2024
I really enjoyed this read. I learned so much about Jackie & surprisingly, I even learned a lot about Aristotle Onassis as well. This book has fueled my desire to read more books about Jackie, John Jr., & of course JFK. I’d recommend this book to anyone fascinated by the Kennedy’s or someone just wanting to learn a bit more about Jackie.
December 24, 2024
A Truly Remarkable Woman was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
I was in the third grade when a young woman teacher burst into my classroom crying that “The President has been killed”. That day and the following four days are burned into my memory. I remember seeing Mrs. Kennedy in this truly great tragedy, as a force that united us as Americans. I greatly enjoyed this book about her.
I was in the third grade when a young woman teacher burst into my classroom crying that “The President has been killed”. That day and the following four days are burned into my memory. I remember seeing Mrs. Kennedy in this truly great tragedy, as a force that united us as Americans. I greatly enjoyed this book about her.
July 22, 2017
An interesting enough read,good on her role in the aftermath of Kennedy's assassination,her relations with the Kennedy family especially Bobby,her marriage to Onassis and her later life.Not always a nice person but an important one.Gossipy in parts.Is she being forgotten now ?
September 30, 2019
A very interesting insight into the life one of the most famous woman in American history. But if you want to always think of her as a perfect example of poise and grace - don’t read it. She was not perfect, and often was not even nice, but she was as interesting a person as there ever was.
June 2, 2023
A very well written, absorbing book
The author has done an excellent job of capturing Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis after Camelot. Very well researched, and written this was an absorbing, informative, and at times, moving read.
The author has done an excellent job of capturing Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis after Camelot. Very well researched, and written this was an absorbing, informative, and at times, moving read.
August 8, 2023
A great follow up to Jack and Jackie, which I read last fall. Along with the American public, I’ve always been enamored by the Kennedy dynasty and their place in both history and pop culture. Jackie O - the original “it girl!”
January 13, 2024
Informative and worth my time to read, but really, she wasn't the saint the world made her to be. She had her reasons though...She lived a life of courage. I would not consider this book one would want to read twice.
May 28, 2024
Fascinating
A real insight into Jackie O. Well written, informative, balanced and thought provoking. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A must read for all women. An amazing touch of life, humanity and history.
A real insight into Jackie O. Well written, informative, balanced and thought provoking. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A must read for all women. An amazing touch of life, humanity and history.
January 6, 2025
I have always been fascinated by the Kennedys. After reading this book, my opinion of Jackie has really changed. She did a lot of things a single mother would for their children, but some of it was just plain greed. Really dimmed my light of her.
January 30, 2025
Captivating
I could not put this book down!
Jack and Jackie were like royalty to all of us. The secrets revealed in detailed. Fast moving story with twist and turns.
I grew up in the 60's and loved them. Like everyone, I could not get enough of them.
I could not put this book down!
Jack and Jackie were like royalty to all of us. The secrets revealed in detailed. Fast moving story with twist and turns.
I grew up in the 60's and loved them. Like everyone, I could not get enough of them.
November 22, 2017
I quit reading before I finished it. It was ok, I just got bored with it.
May 18, 2018
4-1/2*
October 31, 2021
Read in 2000. Anderson reveals many sides of Jackie Kennedy the world has never seen.
July 31, 2022
Great story about Jackie Kennedy, I had no idea the life she lived after JFK and the controversy with marrying a Greek Tycoon.
August 15, 2022
3.5 stars
December 12, 2022
interesting read
Sides of Jackie that I never knew. Her humor, ways of handling people that treated her badly, and her intelligence.
Sides of Jackie that I never knew. Her humor, ways of handling people that treated her badly, and her intelligence.
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March 21, 2023Great book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews