Laura Bush

Jill Abraham Hummer is the author of First Ladies and American Women: In Politics and at Home, also from the University Press of Kansas.

"The University Press of Kansas's series of biographies on US First Ladies of the modern era are an invaluable resource for examining how these women impacted the US presidency while serving in this unique and constantly evolving role in American politics. Jill Hummer's well researched book on Laura Bush reveals her personal evolution over the course of her public life from reticent political spouse to active and popular First Lady who drew on her professional and personal interests and balanced the traditional and modern expectations of the role. Laura Bush was First Lady during one of the most tumultuous and consequential periods in American history. Hummer's book helps readers understand the authenticity Bush brought to her role, and more fully appreciate the breadth of her impact and why she is remembered for serving our country with dignity and grace at home and abroad." - Anita McBride, coauthor of Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America's History-Making Women "This study provides a fresh and exciting assessment of Laura Bush's years as first lady. Engaging, balanced, insightful and well-researched, it effectively underlines her significance domestically and internationally, highlighting especially Bush's evolution in the post. Presenting a fully dimensional and dynamic perspective on a first lady and former librarian whose passion for education, civil rights, and women's rights stretched from Austin to Afghanistan, Hummer's study will remain a go-to source for years to come." - Katherine A. S. Sibley, author of Southern First Ladies: Culture and Place in White House History "Hummer offers a balanced, scholarly analysis of Laura Bush's role as US first lady, situating her husband's presidency of 'compassionate conservatism' during historically challenging times. Marrying into the Bush family business of politics, Laura became George W.'s political partner at first modestly with a limited portfolio, later as his full-fledged emissary with a global reach. Hummer documents her insights with original primary material gathered from personal interviews - a key strength of her book both for scholars and general readers." - Molly Meijer Wertheimer, editor of Inventing a Voice: The Rhetoric of American First Ladies of the Twentieth Century "Laura Bush does not fit into neat categories and other biographers attempted to pigeonhole her into a category of traditional or activist. Hummer shows that a first lady can possess traits of both and in Laura Bush's case, it was far more of the latter. In a meticulously researched biography, Hummer shows that nearly everything Bush did in eight years and as Texas first lady was intended to complement her husband's policy agenda while also striking on her own drawing from her background in education and her sincere interest in the needs of average citizens in the U.S. and globally." - Diana B. Carlin, co-author of Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America's History-Making Women