Jackie Takes a Walk
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/C /Z minutes — does have problems. They start even before the narrative begins. The top name on the acknowledgment list, spelled as "Barry" McPherson, special counsel to President Johnson, should be "Harry." The geography of the White House is loused up, with the Oval Office in the East Jackie Takes Wing and the press secretary's'office over- looking the Rose Garden. There are a few political errors of judge- 1 ment. Sen. Birch Bayh, one of the men a Walk who helped save Edward Kennedy when his plane crashed in the early '60s and a Jane Perlez Viking, since promoted to editor, Rebecca longtime Kennedy ally, is depicted as a Singleton, sees it. "Quitting the way she possible conspirator in the assassination Jackie Onassis, the publishing in- did wasn't a particularly classy thing to plot. So is Sen. Robert Byrd. Hubert dustry's most famous editor, seems to do. Humphrey is described as being a have a problem with books she doesn't "She never said anything about the Democratic kingmaker in 1981. read. book. From the time she came, Tom was First there was the William Manchester Shall We Tell . spans seven days of so consistently protective of her special plot action. In addition, there is the affair 10 years ago, when, the former First situation. She didn't tell Tom herself she Lady decided that a finely-researched ac- Inauguration chapter in which President was going to do it [quit]. There was no Ted Kennedy, wrapped in a bathtowel on count of JFK to which she had contributed personal discussion of the incident itself. Inauguration night, tells his chambermaid: was not fit for publication. You do have the right as an employee to "I don't care for the aroma of President leave. But there are ways and ways to do Now there's the flap about Jeffrey Carter's aftershave, but other than that, Archer, author of it." Shall We Tell the it's all in great shape." President? and the novel's publisher, Vik- John Leonard, the villain of the piece in Kennedy is the book's throw-away Viking's eyes — "an unconscionable ing Press, who until last Thursday was figure. He has the first chapter, two pages Jackie's employer. cheap shot," bellows Codies Smith of that Continued on Page 20 It's now media ancient history that precisely chosen female pronoun — lumps Jackie beat a hasty exit over the Archer both Viking and Jackie together. Both, he piece, a slim volume about the would-be says, could have let the matter ride. Ted Kennedy is the assassination of America's President in "What makes people in the publishing 1983, Ted Kennedy. houses think they're not accountable for book's throw-away Viking consulting editor, Girlies Smith, what they publish? I spend half my life figure. He has the first who edited the Archer novel, blames the arguing about New York Times stories, tempest on a "series of misunderstand- wrong assignments. Suddenly it's not fair chapter, two pages at ings." if they publish a sleazy book. They could the end, and doesn't get As Smith explains it, Viking President have chosen to ignore a blind reference. Tom Guinzberg told his friend Jackie Now they've had their fun." killed. about the Archer acquisition in the early Leonard's "herself" refers not only to summer: "Tom advised her not to read it Jackie, but also to the book's agent. and as I understand it, she did not read it Deborah Schabert Owen — an American . " Jackie expressed distress but didn't married to the British Foreign Minister, say "stop the presses." She thought David Owen — and two of the re- publication of the manuscript was "in- Th evitable" — if not by Viking, by some S e other publishing house. searchers, Cynthia Farrer and Natalie oh After all, says Smith, Viking won the Wexler, American students acknowledged W o auction on the book ($225,000 for in the frontpiece. hardcover alone) over five or six other bid- eekl Of Jackie, Leonard says: "I think she ders. behaved badly. When she was advised of N y Pronoun Power the book [in the summer] she could have at Enter New York Times critic John least read it, Why didn't she bother to ex- ew Leonard, who denounced the novel as ercise a little bit of responsibility at a O s "trash" and put the icing on the cake with publishing house?" the line: "Anybody associated with its ct publication should be ashamed of Underlying all the statements, non- ob statements, clamming-ups, silences and herself." 20 er Jackie's splendid retreat to horseback- Sharp eyes at The Boston Globe re- riding in New Jersey at the weekend, was cognized the unusual pronoun, associated a sudden uneasiness over the nature of , it with Jackie and ran a front page news Shall We Tell . "Mainlining on the '0 story with Guinzberg saying editor Jackie cesspool of the American mind," says "didn't indicate any distress or anger Leonard. "A cheap way for Viking to get when I told her we bought the book." into the bigtime commercial market.," Guinzberg now says he was misquoted. says one agent. But Jackie' felt she had to quit and sent A in her handpenned letter. Thin Read This thin read of a book — it takes 90 That's not how Jackie's first assistant at .