Lady Bird Johnson : an oral history / Michael L. Gillette.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gillette, Michael L.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Johnson, Lady Bird, 1912-2007.

Johnson, Lady Bird.

Presidents' spouses--United States--Biography.

Presidents' spouses.

United States.

Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973.

Johnson, Lyndon B.

United States--Politics and government--1945-1989.

Politics and government.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

x, 400 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, [2012]

Summary:

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. The reader attends informal dinners at Sam Rayburn's apartment and opulent social events at grand mansions from an earlier age. Johnson's 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.

Contents:

Childhood memories

Education, 1924-1934

A whirlwind courtship

1935-1937, a future in politics?

In Congress, 1937-1940

1941, "a learning experience"

1942, managing the congressional office

Nesting and investing, 1942-1943

War years, 1943-1945

"A grinding occupation," 1946-1947

"The hardest year of our lives," 1948

LBJ in the Senate

A Senate wife

The LBJ ranch

The loyal opposition, 1953-1955

"Toward the liberal side," 1956-1959

1960, the point of no return

Vice presidency: "a pebble in a shoe"

The White House years.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780199908080

0199908087

OCLC:

782252369