When we last left Jackie, she was about to set off for a political appearance with her husband to Texas in 1963. This episode covers what happened on that trip, and how she handled her grief and lived her life until her death on May 19, 1994. We really saw three different versions of Jackie in this episode: The Widow, The Mrs. Onassis, The Happy Jackie… and we cover all of them.

The most tragically iconic suit. Dallas, Texas November 22, 1963

Jackie and her children had to establish a new life.

We had such a long list of media, our book stacks (and subsequent library late fines) were larger than we’ve ever had before, so we’re just going to focus on all of our recommendations and links here.

Websites!

The National First Ladies Library and Museum in Canton, OH (someone should go and report back to us) has both a physical and a cyber presence, as does the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

JFK Presidential Library and Museum, Boston MA

Audio of Boston Symphony conductor informing audience of assassination on VIMEO and then symphony playing the funeral march from Beethoven’s Third Symphony on November 22, 1963.

Jackie addressed the nation not long after her husband’s assassination, this is the raw footage from that television appearance:

 

We both think that watching this, listening to part of the hours and hours of recordings that she made shortly after the President’s death is a really important element of understanding her. Settle back for an hour and listen to Jackie in her own words.

(You’ll need to search YouTube for “Diane Sawyer, Jackie Kennedy In Her Own Words” to find the documentary.)

Want a peek into Jackie’s New York apartment and a video about her time there? Check out this Untapped Cities article and this Vanity Fair video.

Our friends, The Bowery Boys, recently covered the rescue of Grand Central Station and not only talk about Jackie’s involvement but interview someone who worked with her on the project! The Bowery Boys New York History #255

Books!

We had a lot of books that we liked and we pared those down to our favorites listed here, but if you are only going to read a couple we strongly recommend these two:

Collection of 250 letters selected from the over 1.5 million received during the first year after JFK’s death. It’s not only very touching but it gives good insight into the way the public felt about Jackie.

 

We both had this as our favorite biography–that rarely happens!

Bonus one we both liked for the kids:

And we both loved this kids’ book!

More biographies:

By Donald Spoto

 

This is the very thick, very detailed one by C. David Heyman

Coffee table books:

Susan liked this one about Jackie’s life as an equestrian

 

If you happen to be digging through old People Magazines, you might like to read this one. John Kennedy, Jr, Sexiest Man 1988

Movies!

There have been several movies with and about Jackie, but the only one we really care about is this one:

Jackie starring Natalie Portman

And there are many documentaries. This one is on Netflix now (February, 2018) and is a good look at both Jackie and her sister, Lee who is still living an interesting life.

Currently on Netflix