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Summary: The Lady Bird you thought you knew
Review: I thought I knew Lady Bird Johnson -- sweet, flat, uninteresting, dominated by her powerful husband -- until I read this outstandingly revelatory book. Bird is every bit as strong as Hillary, and probably even LBJ himself. Author Russell makes a convincing case that Bird is a force to be reckoned with, and I'm not talking about her party-planning skills. Superior biography that brings it subject to life.
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Summary: Lady Bird as Mythmaker
Review: Jan Jarboe Russell has authored an extraordinarily insightful book that reaches beyond a conventional biography of a woman's life. Her book brings together as no other has a close attending to the lived complexity of the very human relationships between Lady Bird and Lyndon. Somehow Jarboe-Russell has given us the other half of the story of what it is to experience life in an auxillary position. Most biographies of spouses of historical figures in the past have focused on the male experience and male vision. In her illuminating venture into the world of a contemporary Hera, Jarboe-Russell raises intriguing questions about the sacrifices a woman often makes to live in a male-dominated culture. This author has succeeded admirably in providing the reader a glimpse of a mythology that continues to to be alive in many marriages. I was spellbound by the narrative. It is a gem of a book.
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Summary: Not enough Lady Bird...
Review: There is too much of the author and not enough Lady Bird in this book. I am fascinated by Mrs. Johnson; she must have been a real Steel Magnolia, having put up with LBJ for so long, but this book seemed to focus too much on him. I would have like to have heard more about Lady Bird's efforts to beautify America, and the other causes that interested her. The author did not serve herself well when she asked Mrs. Johnson too many personal questions which led to Lady Bird's withdrawl of participation in the book.At the same time, I think this book is a good overview of Mrs. Johnson's life and times. I just wish that the author could have gone deeper than LBJ's manic personality and infidelities.
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Summary: A Must Read for American History Lovers
Review: Well edited,well researched. For lovers of strong women and American History. Lady Bird, like her husband, has suffered mischaracterizatons for decades; she is a truly amazing woman who was always classified as dowdy, and a throwback to Bess Truman, while in reality was as smart and savvy as Hillary Clinton.She has been ahead of her time since the 1930's and is someone career woman and independent thinkers should respect and admire.
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