Jacqueline Kennedy [antikvár]

A VERY SPECIAL EIRST LADYPerhaps no American public figure has captivated the world so much as Jacqueline Kennedy. She brought grace, wit, vitality, cosmopolitan glamour and savoir faire into the political arena during her "thousand days" as First Lady.Who but Jackie could have enthralled crowds in virtually every major city from New York to New Delhi and charmed sudi diverse world leaders as Khrushchev and De Gaulle? These glittering yet strenuous years are recalled by her lifelong friend, Mary Van Rensselaer Thayer.The book was prepared with the full cooperation of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and is the first and only authentic narrative told from the viewpoint of the former First Lady.Forewonl^About a year and a half after the death of President Kennedy, an Arab ambassador who was my friend wished to make a contribution to the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library. He had never met the widow of the President and as he was anxious to make the gift personally, in the name of the Ruler of his state, the ambassador asked if I could arrange the presentation. Mrs. Kennedy had never accepted contributions for the library directly from the donors. But because she had known me a long time and was aware of my interest in Arab countries, and perhaps because I had written the biography of her youthful years, she agreed to receive the ambassador.The brief and mutually satisfactory ceremony took place in her New York apartment. After the ambassador had taken his leave, I remained with Mrs. Kennedy. We talked for a long time in a relaxed way, mostly about the White House and Washington. I listened delightedly as she switched casually from highlights to amusing inconsequentials. Though she had left Washington months before, obviously forever, the sharpness of her impressions had not dimmed and it seemed as though we were viewing this private drama with exceptional clarity through the small end of a telescope. I became aware that in her own way she was spinning an absorbing story of her days in the White House.Until this pleasant meeting I had never realized or even imagined the scope and extraordinary variety of events which had crowded her brief span as First Lady. Nor had I really comprehended the skillful organizational ability and unceasing behind-the-scenes work which had made Mrs. Kennedy's White House tenure so memorable. I recalled that, of the thirty First Ladies who preceded Jacqueline Kennedy, many presided over the White House for eight years, yet few had left any lasting impression on history. And only a very few had made any notable contribution to the White House itself.