Books like Lady Bird: A Biography of Mrs. Johnson

I don't usually rate books with 1 or 2 stars, because I don't usually finish books I don't like and don't feel it is fair to rate them if I don't finish them. In this case, however, I wanted the information about Lady Bird Johnson in preparation for reading Robert Caro's biography of LBJ. That being said, there were parts of this book that I liked, but overall it was disappointing. I thought she did a good job in telling Lady Bird's experience of the assassination of JFK and her whistle-stop tour through the South in preparation for the 1964 election. However for most of the book, rather than a telling of Lady Bird's story, it seemed to be more of a platform for the author to give her opinion of Lady Bird and LBJ. And the opinions didn't appear at the end of the narrative as a conclusion, but were interspersed throughout resulting in constant repetition of the same ideas - LBJ was a weak, egomaniacal, womanizer, and Lady Bird was a "proper stoic Southern" lady who subjugated herself to the men in her life. While these things may be true, the book is based on interviews with the subject as well as many of her friends and acquaintances, and I would have preferred to hear their opinions more often than those of the author. There was also little historical background given in the book. This wasn't really a problem for me as I've read about this time period and lived through part of it, but it would be for some other readers. I don't restrict my reading of history only to authors with history degrees. I've read some great books written by journalists, in particular, which were very well-researched, but this isn't one of them. Most of her sources appear to be interviews and oral biographies written by others. I think this book would have been better if it also had been written and presented as an oral biography. Although, this might not have been possible since after 3 years of interviews, Lady Bird ended her association with the author and project after the author published an article about LBJ's infidelities. Overall, I would say look elsewhere for information about Lady Bird Johnson. Publisher's Weekly says it was written "in part as a corrective to Robert Caro's multi-volume LBJ bio," but at least two reviews I read said that there was little new information. I'll try to remember to make a note here after I finish The Path to Power.