Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History (Oxford Oral History Series)
Lady Bird Johnson gained her historic place as the nation’s First Lady in the wake of tragedy, the assassination of President Kennedy, and endured unflattering comparisons to Jackie Kennedy. But she left a strong legacy as a pioneer advocate for the environment and unacknowledged supporter of other crucial issues. She also left thousands of pages of diary entries and an oral history comprising 47 interviews recorded from 1977 to 1991, mostly at the LBJ Ranch but also at vacation venues. Gillette, who conducted the oral-history project, offers an intimate look at Lady Bird’s life of contrasts. He organizes the material chronologically, for the most part, from a lonely childhood to a whirlwind courtship and a long marriage, and LBJ’s political career, including their time in the White House. The interviews are sometimes candid and other times guarded; Lady Bird recalls the dynamics between an exhilaratingly charming husband and a shy and modest wife, political campaigns and thorny issues, and the trials of managing a marriage and raising children amid the turbulence of politics. --Vanessa Bush