Let the people in : the life and times of Ann Richards

Resource Information

The work Let the people in : the life and times of Ann Richards represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Austin Public Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

This resource has been enriched with EBSCO NoveList data.

Label

Let the people in : the life and times of Ann Richards

Title remainder

the life and times of Ann Richards

Statement of responsibility

by Jan Reid ; research assistance by Shawn Morris

Creator

• trueReid, Jan

Subject

• Democratic Party (U.S.) -- Biography
• Democratic Party (U.S.)
• trueTexas -- Politics and government -- 1951-
• Biography
• trueDemocratic Party (U.S.)
• Politics and government
• trueGovernors -- Texas -- Biography
• Texas
• Politicians
• Biographies
• trueWomen governors -- Texas -- Biography
• trueRichards, Ann, 1933-2006
• Since 1951
• Richards, Ann, 1933-2006
• trueLife stories -- Politics | Politicians
• United States
• trueBiographies
• truePoliticians -- United States -- Biography
• Governors
• trueWomen politicians -- United States -- Biography
• trueHistory Writing -- Women's History

Genre

• trueBiographies
• trueBiography
• trueHistory Writing
• trueLife stories

Language

eng

Summary

When Ann Richards delivered the keynote of the 1988 Democratic National Convention and mocked President George H.W. Bush--"Poor George, he can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth"--She instantly became a media celebrity and triggered a rivalry that would alter the course of American history. In 1990, Richards won the governorship of Texas, upsetting the GOP's colorful rancher and oilman Clayton Williams. The first ardent feminist elected to high office in America, she opened up public service to women, blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans, gays, and the disabled. Her progressive achievements and the force of her personality created a lasting legacy that far transcends her rise and fall as governor of Texas. In Let the People In, Jan Reid draws on his long friendship with Richards, interviews with her family and many of her closest associates, her unpublished correspondence with longtime companion Bud Shrake, and extensive research to tell a very personal, human story of Ann Richards's remarkable rise to power as a liberal Democrat in a conservative Republican state. Reid traces the whole arc of Richards's life, beginning with her youth in Waco, her marriage to attorney David Richards, her frustration and boredom with being a young housewife and mother in Dallas, and her shocking encounters with Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter. He follows Richards to Austin and the wild 1970s scene and describes her painful but successful struggle against alcoholism. He tells the full, inside story of Richards's rise from county office and the state treasurer's office to the governorship, where she championed gun control, prison reform, environmental protection, and school finance reform, and he explains why she lost her reelection bid to George W. Bush, which evened his family's score and launched him toward the presidency. Reid describes Richards's final years as a world traveler, lobbyist, public speaker, and mentor and inspiration to office holders, including Hillary Clinton. His nuanced portrait reveals a complex woman who battled her own frailties and a good-old-boy establishment to claim a place on the national political stage and prove "what can happen in government if we simply open the doors and let the people in."

Writing style

• trueThoughtful
• trueEngaging
• trueComprehensive

Biography type

individual biography

Cataloging source

XOJ

Dewey number

• 976.4063092
• 920

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography

Target audience

adult