A Friend in the White House

Laura Bush became a librarian for the same reason many of us did—she loved books. In case you were wondering, and in case you haven’t read her autobiography, Spoken from the Heart, she does have a library science degree (from the University of Texas) and she did work as a librarian, first at a branch of the Houston Public Library and then at an elementary school in Austin. She even had a cat named Dewey. Her library career ended when she married George W. Bush, but she never lost her passion for reading. Despite her busy life as First Lady, Mrs. Bush found time to promote libraries and literature through such events as the National Book Festival (her “pet project”). She started the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries in 2001. Libraries have never had a better friend in the White House.

Indexed. 456p. $30 from Scribner (978-1-4391-5520-2)