Lady Bird: A Biography of Mrs. Johnson - Hardcover

Russell, Jan Jarboe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786223596 ISBN 13: 9780786223596

Publisher: Thorndike Pr, 2000

Synopsis

A portrait of the first lady reveals new evidence of Lady Bird Johnson's strength and influence, revealing a passionate conservationist and civil rights supporter.

About this title

Review:

After three years of cooperation with author Jan Jarboe Russell, Lady Bird Johnson ended her participation in this biography when she got a look at an essay Russell published about LBJ's infidelities in 1997. Russell paints a fascinating portrait of Johnson--a far tougher and shrewder woman than the dutiful image she presented as first lady in the 1960s--but she also unsparingly depicts LBJ as a mighty poor husband, something his intensely loyal spouse could never countenance. When she met Lyndon Johnson in 1934, friends couldn't imagine what smart, rich, 21-year-old Lady Bird (a nickname acquired in childhood) saw in a crude, impoverished young politician whose ego far outstripped his achievements. But she was used to overbearing men--her father was one--and the pragmatic young woman walked into marriage with her eyes wide open. She supported LBJ unquestioningly, not just emotionally but with the income from her business dealings, and quietly relished the exciting life into which he swept her. While making clear her distaste for aspects of the Johnsons' marital bargain, Russell nonetheless offers a nuanced account of a complex relationship in which Lady Bird played a more forceful, equal role than many realized. This revisionist biography has purpose and bite. --Wendy Smith

About the Author:

Jan Jarboe Russell is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Train to Crystal City: FDR’s Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America’s Only Family Internment Camp During World War II, winner of the Texas Institute of Letters Prize for Best Book of Nonfiction. She is a Neiman Fellow, a contributing editor for Texas Monthly, and has written for the San Antonio Express-News, The New York Times, Slate, and other magazines. She also compiled and edited They Lived to Tell the Tale. She lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, Dr. Lewis F. Russell, Jr.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thorndike Pr
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0786223596
• ISBN 13: 9780786223596
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 725