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Michael Gillette on Lady Bird Johnson and oral history

By Troy Reeves

Lady Bird Johnson recording her White House diary. Image courtesy of the LBJ Library.
This episode of the OHR on OUPblog, I take the opportunity to interview Michael Gillette, author of Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History. In this podcast, Gillette discusses the book, the research behind and process of interviewing “Mrs. Johnson,” and his current role as executive director of Humanities Texas. Our host, Oxford University Press, published Lady Bird Johnson at the end of last year.

Among Gillete’s excellent stories and insight, I get to use one of my favorite mantras: prior preparation prevents piss poor performance. I also avoid asking if Gillette is related to one half of the Penn & Teller magical, comedic duo. Caitlin nixed that idea in advance, noting that no one under 30 (probably over 30, too) would understand my humor. Your loss. [You’re welcome. –Caitlin]

[audio:https://oupblog.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/audio/Gillette_LadyBird_February2013.mp3]

Or download the podcast directly.

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 Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History and Launching the War on Poverty: An Oral History.

The Oral History Review, published by the Oral History Association, is the U.S. journal of record for the theory and practice of oral history. Its primary mission is to explore the nature and significance of oral history and advance understanding of the field among scholars, educators, practitioners, and the general public. Follow them on Twitter at @oralhistreview and like them on Facebook to preview the latest from the Review, learn about other oral history projects, connect with oral history centers across the world, and discover topics that you may have thought were even remotely connected to the study of oral history. Keep an eye out for upcoming posts on the OUPblog for addendum to past articles, interviews with scholars in oral history and related fields, and fieldnotes on conferences, workshops, etc.

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Recent Comments

  1. […] blog of Oxford University Press, which published the book in November of last year, just posted an interesting online interview with Gillette, executive director of Humanities Texas and former director of the LBJ Library’s Oral History […]

  2. […] published Lady Bird Johnson at the end of last year. For full story, including podcast, click here. Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Lady Bird Johnson, Michael Gillette, oral history, Oral […]

  3. […] the Oral History Review podcast, which features interviews with leading oral historians including Michael Gillette, Jason Steinhauer, Roger Davis Gatchet, and Stephen Sloan. In our last post, managing editor Troy […]

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