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Koestenbaum, Wayne (Author) & Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy (Subject) : Jackie Under My Skin: Interpreting An Icon

Farrar Straus & Giroux, New York City, NY, 1995

ISBN 0374284466

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 292 pages. Book-length account on subject. Now considered a contemporary classic. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a regular first print run as a hardcover original only. Presents Wayne Koestenbaum's "Jackie Under My Skin: Interpreting An Icon". A brilliant "deconstruction" of an American icon, and as such, an expansion by its author of the meaning and pathos of being a fan. "The same kind of serious play that distinguished Koestenbaum's 'The Queen's Throat' shapes his scrutiny of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: The highly charged gap between the private woman and the public icon she became. Her signature sunglasses and scarf, her coiffure ('battle gear of a woman of means'), even the 'O' of her name occasion manic, inventive, and wildly funny ruminations from Koestenbaum. In 'Silent Jackie', Maria Callas is quoted as saying that she 'spoke like Marilyn Monroe playing Ophelia'; in 'Jackie As Housewife', she is at once the devoted help-mate of powerful men and the star whose allure overshadowed them. Though some will undoubtedly find the book irreverent, those fascinated by the Cult of Celebrity will find Koestenbaum's analysis of an enduring icon a compelling contribution in cultural studies" (Publishers Weekly). Partly through the benefit of generational, not just chronological, distance, Koestenbaum is more illuminating about the True Meaning of Jackie than the accounts by the writers who actually knew her well - public figures themselves like Truman Capote, Gore Vidal (who was related to her), Pete Hamill, and Sir Stephen Spender, among innumerable other writers she befriended, who all succumbed to the centripetal force of her allure. The book originated as a series of essays in The New York Times Magazine (rather than say, Antaeus or New York Review), itself an indication of its subject's immense and enduring, perhaps eternal, appeal. An absolute "must-have" title for Wayne Koestenbaum collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed, dated (two weeks before publication), and inscribed in blue pen on the front free endpaper by the author: "For Alfred and Chris - with love and gratitude - Wayne 14 April 1995". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. The recipients, who are (or were) probably a couple, are (or were) unmistakably close to, not just known to, the author. This title is a contemporary classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed, pre-publication dated, and inscribed copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the most brilliant culture critics of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER WAYNE KOESTENBAUM TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0374284466.

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