American Womanhood is Complicated. This Book Shows How Through the Media’s Intense Focus on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Book review by Stephanie K. Bohnak

The media descends on former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis after the death of her husband, Aristotle Onassis, in Paris, France on March 18, 1975 as she leaves the mortuary of the American hospital. (Photo by Gilbert Uzan/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

In May 2023, the National First Ladies Library & Museum at the First Ladies National Historic Site in Canton, Ohio opened a new exhibit, “Beyond Camelot: The Life and Legacy of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.” Set to run through April 2024, the exhibit not only exceeded community expectations, but far exceeded even the staff’s expectations, making the featured exhibit a smash success for the organization. As the only site in the world dedicated to first ladies history, we saw over a 50% increase in visitation, much of this due to a first lady of the United States who remains as popular, as imitated and as fascinating as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Love her or hate her, JKO remains a worthy subject of investigation. Thus, Dr. Karen Duna…