Jackie Kennedy Oral History Released On Tape

Former First Lady, wife and widow of John F. Kennedy, and American icon Jackie Kennedy is in the public eye again, over 17 years after her death at the age of 64.

Now audio tapes are being released that reveal casual conversations Jackie conducted with historian and former White House aide Arthur M. Schlesinger, and they trace out an oral history of her time as the First Lady of the United States. Schlesinger sat with her at her house in Washington in the spring and summer of 1964, shortly after the assassination of her husband. These meetings resulted in eight hours of recordings through which Jackie candidly talks about the personal and political matters that shaped her and President Kennedy's existence in the White House.

The tapes weren't meant to go public until 50 years after Jackie's death, but her daugher, Caroline Kennedy, (pictured) chose to release them now. In the tapes, Jackie talks about her and President Kennedy's reactions during the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, during which she begged to stay by her husband's side. "I said, 'Please don't send me away to Camp David, me and the children. Please don't send me anywhere. If anything happens we're all just going to stay right here with you,'" reports CBC News.

The tapes are being released alongside a new book entitled Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy on Wednesday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's first year in office. A two-hour Diane Sawyer special about the tapes, entitled Jacqueline Kennedy: In Her Own Words, will air Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.