Straight from the Heart: My Life in Politics and Other Places [Hardcover]

Ann Richards (Author), Peter Knobler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1989

Ann Richards--keynote speaker of the 1988 Democratic convention and front-runner in the 1990 Texas gubernatorial race--offers a smart, candid look at her life in politics and the struggles she has won.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A rising star in the Democratic Party leadership, Texas state treasurer Richards was propelled into national prominence by her performance as keynote speaker of the 1988 Democratic Convention, and is current frontrunner in the 1990 Texas race for governor. Writing with freelancer Knobler, she projects a folksy image flavored here with self-deprecating humor, which does not conceal an astute, disciplined mind, a resourceful politician. This anecdote-filled account of Richards's childhood in rural Texas and of her life as a wife, mother of four and grandmother, is so beguilingly candid, even about her divorce and bout with alcoholism, that readers will likely forget that this is also campaign literature intended to appeal to feminists, blacks and other minorities, as well as to Texas voters at large.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First edition (September 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671680730
• ISBN-13: 978-0671680732
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #525,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fascinating Life of Ann Richards, September 14, 2001

By 

LEON L CZIKOWSKY (Harrisburg, Pa USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Straight from the Heart: My Life in Politics and Other Places (Hardcover)

This autobiography of former Texas Governor Ann Richards allows us to follow the political transformation of Texas and of our nation in the eyes of someone who participated in the changes. She grew up amidst segregation. She notes how racial prejudice arises from ignorance and unfamiliarity.
It was in college that one class changed the direction of Ann Richards's life: Speech class. It would mold the woman who decades later would utter the famous line before the Democratic Natioanl Convention that "Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaore did. She just did it backwards and in high heels."
Readers follow Ann Richards through her days with the Young Democrats in alliance with Lyndon Johnson. We learn how she led the North Dallas Democratic Women and how the FBI infiltrated its section that advocated integration. We feel the sadness of what it was like to be at the luncheon towards which John F. Kennedy was headed yet never reached due to his assassination.

Ann Richards show readers her personal side and struggles. She describes what it is like being epileptic. What it is like to fight alcoholism. What it is like to be a woman running for office in Texas. This is a great book from a former Governor.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Must read for Texas lovers, March 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Straight from the Heart: My Life in Politics and Other Places (Paperback)

Mrs. Richards tells her story up through her two terms as Treasuerer of Texas with candor, common-sense and a clear love of Texas. The writing is not the best - she is prone to introducing people and then not saying why she introduced them - but her tale of accomplishing amazing things simply building on her love of politics, family and Texas is inspiring. I was left with the feeling that I too could be a player wherever I hung my hat. While the book may have been written in part to help her to the Governorship, Mrs. Richards is candid about her motivations, weaknesses and political evolution. This book made me glad I live in Texas and sorry that Mrs. Richards is no longer our Governor.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An honest, funny, this-is-me bio., February 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Straight from the Heart: My Life in Politics and Other Places (Hardcover)

Our beloved Ann Richards gives us an idea of where she came from, and how she got where she's going. Written for comprehension at any reading level, she is her usual witty self. Some of the text is slightly disjointed, sometimes jumping topics or leaving stories unfinished. She writes of obviously painful phases in her life with grace and humility, while still preserving her privacy and diginty. An enjoyable read, leaving me wishing to know the continuation of the story, and hopeful that she will consider extending her political career.