Publisher Description

Over a span of eighteen years, Lady Bird Johnson recorded forty-seven oral history interviews with Michael Gillette and his colleagues. These conversations, just released in 2011, form the heart of Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History, an intimate story of a shy young country girl's transformation into one of America's most effective and admired First Ladies. Lady Bird Johnson's odyssey is one of personal and intellectual growth,political and financial ambition, and a shared life with Lyndon Baines Johnson, one of the most complicated, volatile, and powerful presidents of the 20th century. The former First Lady recounts how a cautious,conservative young woman succumbed to an ultimatum to marry a man she had known for less than three months, how she ran his congressional office during World War II, and how she transformed a struggling Austin radio station into the foundation of a communications empire. As a keen observer of the Washington scene during the eventful decades from the 1930s through the 1960s, Lady Bird Johnson shares dramatic accounts of pivotal moments in American history. We attend informal dinners at SamRayburn's apartment and opulent social events at grand mansions from an earlier age. Her rich verbal portraits bring to life scores of personalities, including First Ladies Edith Bolling Wilson, EleanorRoosevelt, Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Pat Nixon. An informal, candid narrative by one of America's most admired First Ladies, this volume reveals how instrumental Lady Bird Johnson's support and guidance were at each stage of her husband's political ascent and how she herself emerged as a significant political force.

Author Biography

Michael L. Gillette directed the LBJ Library's Oral History Program from 1976 to 1991. He later served as director of the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives and is currently the executive director of Humanities Texas in Austin. He is the author of Launching the War on Poverty: An Oral History.

Table of Contents

IntroductionChapter 1: Childhood MemoriesChapter 2: Education, 1924-1934Chapter 3: A Whirlwind CourtshipChapter 4: 1934-1937, A Future in Politics?Chapter 5: In Congress, 1937-1940Chapter 6: 1941, "A Learning Experience"Chapter 7: 1942, Managing the Congressional OfficeChapter 8: Nesting and Investing, 1942-1943Chapter 9: War Years, 1943-1945Chapter 10: "A Grinding Occupation," 1946-1947Chapter 11: "The Hardest Years of Our Lives," 1948Chapter 12: LBJ in the SenateChapter 13: A Senate WifeChapter 14: The LBJ RanchChapter 15: The Loyal Opposition, 1953-1955Chapter 16: "Toward the Liberal Side", 1956-1959Chapter 17: 1960, The Point of No ReturnChapter 18: Vice Presidency: "A Pebble in a Shoe"Chapter 19: The White House YearsAfterwordAppendix: Lady Bird Johnson's Oral History InterviewsBibliographical NoteIndex

Review

"A crisp and absurdly endearing book....What's so uniquely winning about Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History, and what makes me grateful to have picked it up, are the old-fashioned and now threadbare virtues it evokes and relentlessly champions. You will find yourself ennobled by Johnson's example and may wield this book like a sunlit talisman against your post-holiday depression."--Dwight Garner, New York Times"Gillette, former director of the LBJ Library's oral history program, has selected and edited these interviews, but the book belongs to Lady Bird Johnson. It captures her celebrated warmth, independence, pride in her own and her husband's achievements, and her ability to stand back and honestly assess her own and his motives, successes, and failures....Anyone interested in LBJ's election to Congress and his leadership of the Senate, Texas politics, theJohnsons's radio station, the crisis of Kennedy's assassination, and the Vietnam War will find Mrs. Johnson's reflections, from intimate knowledge, informative, delightful, and often riveting."--PublishersWeekly, starred review"[I]t is clear that Gillette is a master interviewer who is familiar and comfortable with his interviewee....The depth and detail of Johnson's memories are truly amazing, and her journalistic education shines through in her vivid descriptions of places, events, and emotions....[Gillette's] ability to seamlessly intertwine Lady Bird's recollections with those of others is one of the most impressive aspects of this book."--Sound Historian: Journal of theTexas Oral History Association"Here's history at its best--as seen firsthand by a charming, clever, and canny woman. Lady Bird Johnson's voice, often funny and always elegant, rings out through these pages. A wonderfully readable book filled with unique insights about some of the most powerful people of the 20th century."--Cokie Roberts, political journalist and author of Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty

Promotional

Marking the centennial of Lady Bird Johnson's birth--an intimate, first-person narrative based on extensive, newly released conversations with the former First Lady

Long Description

Over a span of eighteen years, Lady Bird Johnson recorded forty-seven oral history interviews with Michael Gillette and his colleagues. These conversations, just released in 2011, form the heart of Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History, an intimate story of a shy young country girl's transformation into one of America's most effective and admired First Ladies. Lady Bird Johnson's odyssey is one of personal and intellectual growth,
political and financial ambition, and a shared life with Lyndon Baines Johnson, one of the most complicated, volatile, and powerful presidents of the 20th century. The former First Lady recounts how a cautious,
conservative young woman succumbed to an ultimatum to marry a man she had known for less than three months, how she ran his congressional office during World War II, and how she transformed a struggling Austin radio station into the foundation of a communications empire. As a keen observer of the Washington scene during the eventful decades from the 1930s through the 1960s, Lady Bird Johnson shares dramatic accounts of pivotal moments in American history. We attend informal dinners at Sam
Rayburn's apartment and opulent social events at grand mansions from an earlier age. Her rich verbal portraits bring to life scores of personalities, including First Ladies Edith Bolling Wilson, Eleanor
Roosevelt, Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Pat Nixon. An informal, candid narrative by one of America's most admired First Ladies, this volume reveals how instrumental Lady Bird Johnson's support and guidance were at each stage of her husband's political ascent and how she herself emerged as a significant political force.

Review Text

"A crisp and absurdly endearing book... What's so uniquely winning about Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History, and what makes me grateful to have picked it up, are the old-fashioned and now threadbare virtues it evokes and relentlessly champions. You will find yourself ennobled by Johnson's example and may wield this book like a sunlit talisman against your post-holiday depression." --Dwight Garner, New York Times
"Gillette, former director of the LBJ Library's oral history program, has selected and edited these interviews, but the book belongs to Lady Bird Johnson. It captures her celebrated warmth, independence, pride in her own and her husband's achievements, and her ability to stand back and honestly assess her own and his motives, successes, and failures.... Anyone interested in LBJ's election to Congress and his leadership of the Senate, Texas politics, the
Johnsons's radio station, the crisis of Kennedy's assassination, and the Vietnam War will find Mrs. Johnson's reflections, from intimate knowledge, informative, delightful, and often riveting." --Publishers
Weekly, starred review
"[I]t is clear that Gillette is a master interviewer who is familiar and comfortable with his interviewee. ... The depth and detail of Johnson's memories are truly amazing, and her journalistic education shines through in her vivid descriptions of places, events, and emotions. ... [Gillette's] ability to seamlessly intertwine Lady Bird's recollections with those of others is one of the most impressive aspects of this book." --Sound Historian: Journal of the
Texas Oral History Association
"Here's history at its best-as seen firsthand by a charming, clever, and canny woman. Lady Bird Johnson's voice, often funny and always elegant, rings out through these pages. A wonderfully readable book filled with unique insights about some of the most powerful people of the 20th century." --Cokie Roberts, political journalist and author of Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty

Review Quote

"A crisp and absurdly endearing book....What's so uniquely winning about Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History, and what makes me grateful to have picked it up, are the old-fashioned and now threadbare virtues it evokes and relentlessly champions. You will find yourself ennobled by Johnson's example and may wield this book like a sunlit talisman against your post-holiday depression."--Dwight Garner, New York Times "Gillette, former director of the LBJ Library's oral history program, has selected and edited these interviews, but the book belongs to Lady Bird Johnson. It captures her celebrated warmth, independence, pride in her own and her husband's achievements, and her ability to stand back and honestly assess her own and his motives, successes, and failures....Anyone interested in LBJ's election to Congress and his leadership of the Senate, Texas politics, the Johnsons's radio station, the crisis of Kennedy's assassination, and the Vietnam War will find Mrs. Johnson's reflections, from intimate knowledge, informative, delightful, and often riveting."--Publishers Weekly, starred review "[I]t is clear that Gillette is a master interviewer who is familiar and comfortable with his interviewee....The depth and detail of Johnson's memories are truly amazing, and her journalistic education shines through in her vivid descriptions of places, events, and emotions....[Gillette's] ability to seamlessly intertwine Lady Bird's recollections with those of others is one of the most impressive aspects of this book."--Sound Historian: Journal of the Texas Oral History Association "Here's history at its best--as seen firsthand by a charming, clever, and canny woman. Lady Bird Johnson's voice, often funny and always elegant, rings out through these pages. A wonderfully readable book filled with unique insights about some of the most powerful people of the 20th century."--Cokie Roberts, political journalist and author of Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty

Feature

conferences: OAH, AHA, Oral History Association, APSA, NCSS, events at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin

Ask author about his speaking engagements.
Selling point: The first book to use Lady Bird Johnson's newly-released oral history interviews
Selling point: An informal, intimate narrative of one of America's most admired First Ladies
Selling point: New insights into the power behind LBJ's throne, giving a fresh, behind-the-scenes view of his career

Details