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Washington's Iron Butterfly : Bess Clements Abell, an oral history / edited by Donald A. Ritchie and Terry L. Birdwhistell ; foreword by Richard Norton Smith.
- Format:
- Book
- Series:
- Kentucky Remembered: an Oral History
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Presidents--United States--Staff--Biography.
- Presidents.
- Kentucky--Biography.
- Kentucky.
- Washington (D.C.)--Social life and customs--1951-.
- Washington (D.C.).
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (266 pages)
- Place of Publication:
- Lexington, Kentucky : 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.
- Contents:
- Cover
- Praise
- Halftitle page
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Dedication page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 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
- Epilogue
- The Interviewees
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Index.
- Notes:
- Description based on print version record.
- Includes index.
- Other Format:
- Print version: Ritchie, Donald A. Washington's Iron Butterfly
- ISBN:
- 9780813182285
- 081318228X
- OCLC:
- 1286947501
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