1 option
Washington's Iron Butterfly : Bess Clements Abell, an oral history / Donald A. Ritchie and Terry L. Birdwhistell ; foreword by Richard Norton Smith.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Ritchie, Donald A., 1945- editor.
- Series:
- Kentucky remembered
- Kentucky remembered : an oral history series
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Abell, Bess Clements, 1933-2020--Interviews.
- Abell, Bess Clements.
- Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973.
- Johnson, Lady Bird, 1912-2007.
- United States. White House Office.
- Presidents--United States--Staff--Biography.
- Presidents.
- Friends and associates.
- Social secretaries.
- Vice-presidents.
- United States.
- Washington (D.C.).
- Vice-presidents--United States--Staff--Biography.
- Social secretaries--Washington (D.C.)--Biography.
- United States. White House Office--Officials and employees.
- Johnson, Lady Bird, 1912-2007--Friends and associates.
- Johnson, Lady Bird.
- Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973--Friends and associates.
- Johnson, Lyndon B.
- Washington (D.C.)--Social life and customs--1951-.
- Manners and customs.
- Kentucky--Biography.
- Kentucky.
- Employees.
- Friendship.
- Presidents--Staff.
- Genre:
- Biographies.
- Interviews.
- Physical Description:
- x, 233 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm.
- Other Title:
- Bess Clements Abell, an oral history
- Place of Publication:
- Lexington : University Press of Kentucky, [2022]
- Summary:
- "Had Elizabeth "Bess" Clements Abell (1933-2020) been a boy, she would likely have become a politician like her father, Earle C. Clements. Effectively barred from office because of her gender, she forged her own path by helping family friends Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson. Abell's Secret Service code name, "Iron Butterfly," exemplified her graceful but firm management of social life in the Johnson White House. After Johnson's administration ended, she maintained her importance in Washington, DC, serving as chief of staff to Joan Mondale and cofounding a public relations company. Donald A. Ritchie and Terry L. Birdwhistell draw on Abell's own words and those of others known to her to tell her remarkable story. Focusing on her years working for the Johnson campaign and her time in the White House, this engaging oral history provides a window into Abell's life as well as an insider's view of the nation's capital during the tumultuous 1960s"-- Provided by publisher.
- Contents:
- Machine generated contents note: 1. The Governor's Daughter
- 2. The Johnson Orbit
- 3. A Part-Time Job
- 4. White House Social Secretary
- 5. White House Impresario
- 6. The Lady Bird Special
- 7. White House Weddings
- 8. In Time of War and Protest
- 9. Part of the Family
- 10. Joan of Art
- 11. Life after the White House.
- Notes:
- Includes index.
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Local Notes:
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Charles D. Dickey, Jr., Fund.
- ISBN:
- 9780813182261
- 0813182263
- OCLC:
- 1245345921
- Publisher Number:
- 99989416991
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.