BookWoman

Long obscured by her husband's shadow, Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson emerges in this comprehensive biography as a figure of surprising influence and the centering force for LBJ, a man who bordered on manic depression and desperately needed someone to help control his whims.

Expertly researched and written by Jan Jarboe Russell, a Texas native who has covered Texas politics and culture for twenty-five years, Lady Bird draws not only on rare conversations with the former First Lady but also on in-depth interviews that shed new light on the central role Lady Bird played in her husband's life and political careen A vital link to the Kennedys during LBJ's uneasy tenure as vice president, a voice of conscience on civil rights, Lady Bird is depicted here as strikingly different from the somewhat pitiable figure Robert Caro described in his multivolume work on Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Especially fascinating today, in light of the scandals that surround Bill Clinton and the enormous attention we now focus on the private lives of our leaders, are the personal details about her marriage to a man whose extramarital affairs were widely discussed. In this intimate portrait, Jarboe shows us the private Lady Bird -- not only the passionate conservationist but a remarkable woman who greatly influenced her husband and his administration.