Texas Bluebonnet: Lady Bird Johnson

Front Cover
Nova Publishers, 2005 - Biography & Autobiography - 96 pages
Christened Claudia Alta Taylor when she was born in a country mansion near Karnack, Texas, she received her nickname 'Lady Bird' as a small child; and as Lady Bird she is known and loved throughout America today. Perhaps that name was prophetic, as there has seldom been a First Lady so attuned to nature and the importance of conserving the environment. 'Bird' was President Lyndon Johnson's partner, confidante, and helpmate. She helped keep his Congressional office open during World War II when he volunteered for naval service; and in 1955, when he had a severe heart attack, she helped his staff keep things running smoothly until he could return to his post as Majority Leader of the Senate. He once remarked that voters: "would happily have elected her over me". She created a First Lady's Committee for a More Beautiful Capital, then expanded her program to include the entire nation. She took a highly active part in her husband's war-on-poverty program, especially the Head Start project for pre-school children. This new book traces Lady Bird's life in a lively, informative and entertaining manner.
 

Selected pages

Contents

The Brick House
1
Starting School
4
Endnotes
5
The First Date
7
A Chance Meeting
9
Endnotes
13
The Congresswoman from Texas
15
Congresswoman and Businesswoman Johnson
17
I Cannot Return to the White House
60
Leaving All Cares Behind
63
It Dont Hurt to Dream
64
Campaign 1964 Gets Under Way
66
Untold Good and Trouble
67
All Necessary Means
69
Decision Time
70
A Journey of the Heart
71

Endnotes
18
The Great Adventure
19
The Great Adventure
23
Lady Bird Carried Texas
25
Endnotes
26
Texas Tragedy
35
Entering Camelots Shadow
37
Moving In and Going On
39
Endnotes
41
Carving Her Niche into the Nation
43
The Kennedy Legacy
47
The South has Hitched its Wagon to the Stars
50
Endnote
56
The Last Campaign
57
Endnotes
76
Beautifying America
77
Great Adventures
80
Lady Birds Bill
82
Endnotes
86
Searching for a Way Out
87
Guess Who Came to Lunch
89
The Only Way Out
90
The Last Hurrah
91
President of the Ranch
93
On Her Own
94
Endnotes
96
Copyright

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Page xi - And who knows? Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the President's spouse. I wish him well!

About the author (2005)

David Murphy is an editorial assistant at the Royal Irish Academy's Dictionary of Irish Biography, specializing in political, military, naval and polar figures. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and other prestigious societies and associations. The author of many papers and journal articles, his latest book is the critically acclaimed Ireland and the Crimean War (Dublin 2002).

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