Lady Bird Johnson

An Oral History

Michael Gillette

Oxford Oral History Series

The first book to use Lady Bird Johnson's newly-released oral history interviews
An informal, intimate narrative of one of America's most admired First Ladies
New insights into the power behind LBJ's throne, giving a fresh, behind-the-scenes view of his career

Lady Bird Johnson

An Oral History

Michael Gillette

Description

Over a span of eighteen years, Lady Bird Johnson recorded forty-seven oral history interviews with Michael Gillette and his colleagues. These conversations, just released in 2011, form the heart of Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History, an intimate story of a shy young country girl's transformation into one of America's most effective and admired First Ladies.

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. We attend informal dinners at Sam Rayburn's apartment and opulent social events at grand mansions from an earlier age. Her 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.

An informal, candid narrative by one of America's most admired First Ladies, this volume reveals how instrumental Lady Bird Johnson's support and guidance were at each stage of her husband's political ascent and how she herself emerged as a significant political force.

Lady Bird Johnson

An Oral History

Michael Gillette

Oxford Oral History Series

Introduction
Chapter 1: Childhood Memories
Chapter 2: Education, 1924-1934
Chapter 3: A Whirlwind Courtship
Chapter 4: 1934-1937, A Future in Politics?
Chapter 5: In Congress, 1937-1940
Chapter 6: 1941, "A Learning Experience"
Chapter 7: 1942, Managing the Congressional Office
Chapter 8: Nesting and Investing, 1942-1943
Chapter 9: War Years, 1943-1945
Chapter 10: "A Grinding Occupation," 1946-1947
Chapter 11: "The Hardest Years of Our Lives," 1948
Chapter 12: LBJ in the Senate
Chapter 13: A Senate Wife
Chapter 14: The LBJ Ranch
Chapter 15: The Loyal Opposition, 1953-1955
Chapter 16: "Toward the Liberal Side", 1956-1959
Chapter 17: 1960, The Point of No Return
Chapter 18: Vice Presidency: "A Pebble in a Shoe"
Chapter 19: The White House Years
Afterword
Appendix: Lady Bird Johnson's Oral History Interviews
Bibliographical Note
Index

Lady Bird Johnson

An Oral History

Michael Gillette

Oxford Oral History Series

Author Information

Michael Gillette

Michael L. Gillette directed the LBJ Library's Oral History Program from 1976 to 1991. He later served as director of the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives and is currently the executive director of Humanities Texas in Austin. He is the author of Launching the War on Poverty: An Oral History.

Lady Bird Johnson

An Oral History

Michael Gillette

Oxford Oral History Series

Reviews and Awards

"Readers will find this book a source of insights not just into the life of this remarkable first lady, but also into many disparate aspects of twentieth-century life: education for women, early days of broadcasting, segregation, hired help, medical care, social customs in Washington, Texas politics, the evolution of a first ladys role, early environmental issues, and days when law-making relied on a healthy dose of personal relationships not dictated by political affiliation. The book is a treasure trove precisely because it represents the best of oral history process and stands as an example others should follow." - Mary Kay Quinlan, Oral History Review

"A crisp and absurdly endearing book... What's so uniquely winning about Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History, and what makes me grateful to have picked it up, are the old-fashioned and now threadbare virtues it evokes and relentlessly champions. You will find yourself ennobled by Johnson's example and may wield this book like a sunlit talisman against your post-holiday depression." - Dwight Garner, New York Times

"Gillette, former director of the LBJ Library's oral history program, has selected and edited these interviews, but the book belongs to Lady Bird Johnson. It captures her celebrated warmth, independence, pride in her own and her husband's achievements, and her ability to stand back and honestly assess her own and his motives, successes, and failures . . . Anyone interested in LBJ's election to Congress and his leadership of the Senate, Texas politics, the Johnsons's radio station, the crisis of Kennedy's assassination, and the Vietnam War will find Mrs. Johnson's reflections, from intimate knowledge, informative, delightful, and often riveting."" - Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Here's history at its best-as seen firsthand by a charming, clever, and canny woman. Lady Bird Johnson's voice, often funny and always elegant, rings out through these pages. A wonderfully readable book filled with unique insights about some of the most powerful people of the 20th century." - Cokie Roberts, political journalist and author of Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty

Lady Bird Johnson

An Oral History

Michael Gillette

Oxford Oral History Series

From Our Blog

Christmas at the White House

Today would have been Lady Bird Johnson's 100th birthday. In honor of her and the season, we wanted to share one of Lady Bird's Christmas recollections, as told to Michael Gillette in Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History.

Posted on December 22, 2012

Read the blog post