Let the People In

November 12, 2012
Many people remember Ann Richards's 1988 signature line about George W. Bush being "born with a silver foot in his mouth," but there was more to this spunky Texan politician than her gift of gab, as Texas Monthly writer-at-large Reid (Texas Tornado: The Life and Music of Doug Salim) attests. Reid's friendship with Richards (1933â2006) permits her access into the complex, conflicted, larger-than-life personality of the self-made woman from Waco, Tex., who rose through the cutthroat ranks of state politics from county commissioner to governor and media celebrity. Her fascinating journey wasn't a smooth one, cluttered with alcoholism and a divorce, but through it all, her magnetic presence shines forth. Although her appointments of women, homosexuals, and minorities to state posts are huge achievements in a conservative region, her maverick style of pushing educational, prison, and environmental reforms stand out. Reid's revealing portrait of Richards pulls no punches and stands as a tribute to Richards's rare gifts of grit, survival, and grace. Photos.

November 15, 2012
A lucid biography of the Texas politician who briefly mounted the national stage, only to be swept aside by the events of two decades past. Readers who recall when Texas was Democratic will certainly remember Ann Richards (1933-2006), the tough-talking, motorcycle-riding governor who drove the Bush family to distraction. At the 1988 Democratic National Convention, she famously said of Bush's gaffes, "He can't help it--he was born with a silver foot in his mouth." Bush senior laughed it off, but Bush junior swore vengeance, unseating her as governor and effectively retiring her politically. Reid (Comanche Sundown, 2010, etc.), a former Richards staffer, does a solid and evenhanded, if surely partisan job of recounting Richards' rise from a politically interested but unconnected, thoroughly liberal homemaker to chief executive of one of the nation's most important states. The road was rocky, complicated by Richards' drinking and drug use--a little marijuana here, a few prescription pills there ("But Ann was an alcoholic," said one intimate. "She had a vodka problem, she didn't have a drug problem"). Texans generally had no problem with Richards' habits or friendships with the likes of Lily Tomlin and Willie Nelson, though one particularly ugly Republican smear campaign accused her of bisexuality--and that was before Karl Rove got into the game. Reid notes the considerable curiosities of Texas politics, in which more real power seems to rest with the lieutenant governor than the governor, and the railroad commissioner seems to answer only to God. Richards was nothing if not colorful, but she made dangerous enemies, one of whom would use her supposed indifference to educational excellence to become The Decider. Politics junkies--particularly students of strange doings in the Lone Star State--will revel in this sturdy life.

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August 1, 2012

It's hard to believe that as recently as the early 1990s, the bright-red state of Texas had a pro-choice female Democrat as its governor. But Ann Richards (1933-2006) was not your typical lib'rul. A shrewd, quick-witted politician, Richards had a natural ability to connect with everyday citizens and political power players alike. Reid (writer-at-large, Texas Monthly; The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock) tells the story of this remarkable woman, writing not only as her biographer but also as her friend over several decades. Despite his closeness to his subject, Reid keeps personal anecdotes to a minimum and assembles a comprehensive narrative of Richards's life, from her humble upbringing in Waco to her time in the governor's office. VERDICT This book, which maintains a brisk pace and is filled with characters found only deep in the heart of Texas politics, is an indispensable addition to any collection specializing in Texas or state politics and feminist political figures. Both scholarly and accessible, it will appeal to almost any reader interested in the lives of American politicians.--Brett Rohlwing, Milwaukee P.L.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2012
Most Americans over 40 remember Richards as the 1988 Democratic convention keynoter who zinged candidate (and vice president) George H. W. Bush: Poor George. He can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth. The tiny state treasurer with the shiny silver halo of hair was on her way to becoming Texas' governor! Richards wrote a campaign biography (Straight from My Heart, 1990) and coauthored I'm Not Slowing Down (2004), advice on living with osteoporosis. But this inclusive biography by family friend Reid, a Texas Monthly reporter-at-large and author of other biographies and books on Texas music, is the first since Richards' 2006 death to provide a full portrait. Raised in Waco, Richards married her college sweetheart, had four children, and hated being a housewife. She volunteered on Democratic political campaigns and soon became a candidate. (In this period, she also divorced and was treated for alcoholism.) Richards won the Texas governorship in 1990 but lost it to George W. Bush four years later. She remained active politically but didn't run for office. Required reading for political junkiesand for women considering a life in politics.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)