Jackie: Her Transformation from First Lady to Jackie O

Jackie - The Incredible Five Years Between Her Marriages

Non-Fiction - Biography
240 Pages
Reviewed on 07/29/2022
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Author Biography

A speaker at seven presidential libraries and the author of five books, Paul Brandus has been a member of the White House press corps and White House Correspondents Association since 2008. He founded the widely-followed West Wing Reports ® (Twitter: @WestWingReport) news service, is a columnist for  Dow Jones/MarketWatch, and Washington bureau chief for Evergreen Podcasts. His latest book, Jackie—a colorful biography of Jacqueline Kennedy between her two marriages—was an Amazon best seller in three different categories, and the accompanying podcast has gotten over 100,000 downloads. Prior books include the acclaimed Under This Roof: A History of the White House and Presidency, This Day in Presidential History and This Day in Military History. He has spoken at schools such as the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, served as Executive-in-Residence at Washington & Lee University, and has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CNN, PBS, CSPAN, the British Broadcasting Corp., Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and others.

Brandus served on the Board of Governors of the Overseas Press Club of America, serving as its Washington, D.C. representative. He previously worked at NBC News and CNBC and worked five years in Moscow. He is also an early stage venture capital investor and as an entrepreneur once purchased the Russian rights to the Super Bowl from the National Football League – becoming the first person to show the game in Russia.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Gordon D. Durich for Readers' Favorite

There were effectively two Jacquelines - the much admired First Lady Jackie Kennedy (nee Bouvier), and the free-spirited, glamorous globetrotting Mrs. Onassis. As one of the most famous, revered, stylish, and talked about women in the world, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had it all. Paul Brandus’ captivating book, Jackie: Her Transformation from First Lady to Jackie O: and sub-titled Jackie - The Incredible Five Years Between Her Marriages, profiles this famous figure during an interim period in her life. Focusing on the handful of years between her rocky marriage to US President John F. Kennedy and Greek tycoon and millionaire Aristotle Onassis, this brilliant biography was written by seasoned White House correspondent and political commentator Paul Brandus. The hitherto largely unknown and interesting events that took place between Jackie’s high-profile marriages in America and Europe are examined by Brandus, including her reliance on drinking to deal with the grief after JFK’s assassination, her torrid romances, and what ultimately led her to marry her second and most unlikely spouse. The mid to late 1960s was a colorful time historically, and this biography chronicles that period thoroughly.

Having always been aware of, and like many others, intrigued by this mysterious woman, a biography on an important part of Jackie's life captured my interest. I love biographies, so this story of such a fascinating figure, with all her enigmatic qualities, was hard to resist or stop reading. Jackie: Her Transformation from First Lady to Jackie O satisfied my thirst for knowledge and new revelations. The most resonant voice of biographer Paul Brandus was palpable from page to page, chapter to chapter. I especially liked the inclusion of the influence “Jackie O” had on style, pop art, and fashion. She still does.