Book Launch Event with author Shannon McKenna Schmidt
When: March 14, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Location: The Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum,
4079 Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park, NY 12538
Tickets: This event is free to attend! A donation of $10 is appreciated.
In honor of Women’s History Month, join us for an exciting book talk event with author Shannon McKenna Schmidt for her new book You Can’t Catch Us: Lady Bird Johnson’s Trailblazing 1964 Campaign Train and the Women Who Rode with Her. The event will include a presentation by Shannon, followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing.
Preorder a copy of You Can’t Catch Us:
If you preorder the book while registering, we’ll have a copy for you to pick up at the event!
Lady Bird Johnson prepares to make a film for Eleanor Roosevelt’s birthday at the White House.
Credit: “32703-20a,” LBJ Library Photos
About the Book
In her meticulously researched new book, You Can’t Catch Us: Lady Bird Johnson’s Trailblazing 1964 Campaign Train and the Women Who Rode with Her (Sourcebooks; March 2026), acclaimed author Shannon McKenna Schmidt brings to vivid life one of the most dramatic—and underappreciated—chapters of American political history.
In October 1964, as the South simmered under the tensions following the signing of the Civil Rights Act three months earlier, First Lady Lady Bird Johnson boarded a specially outfitted nineteen-car train—the “Lady Bird Special”—and traversed eight Southern states. With forty-seven stops over four electrifying
days and 1,682 miles behind her, she shattered the expectations of a presidential spouse with speeches, diplomacy, and palpable compassion.
Schmidt’s narrative shines a spotlight not just on Lady Bird’s trailblazing role, but on the pioneering women who stood by her: Liz Carpenter, a trailblazing press secretary and the first East Wing staff director; Dr. Janet Travell, the first female White House physician; and legendary journalist Helen Thomas.
You Can’t Catch Us is more than political history—it’s a powerful testament to women-led leadership, resilience, and the pursuit of civility during turbulent times. As Schmidt deftly illustrates, this journey—”the four most dramatic days in my political life,” as Lady Bird herself called it—helped redefine the role of presidential spouses and advanced the cause of women in politics. This authoritative book, published at the start of Women’s History Month, brilliantly captures a journey of courage, strategy, and uncharted political terrain.
Preorder a copy of “You Can’t Catch Us”!
At checkout, you’ll be able to add a copy of the book to your cart. Your book will be available to pickup at the event! In the event that you preordered a book and can no longer attend the event, please email us at admin@ervk.org and we will ship your book to you instead.
“Important, compelling, profoundly researched. Shannon McKenna Schmidt has gifted us with a reconsideration of our ongoing activist struggles for civil rights and feminism. A powerful book most needed now!”
—BLANCHE WIESEN COOK, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Eleanor Roosevelt: the definitive three-volume biography
About the Author
SHANNON MCKENNA SCHMIDT
Shannon McKenna Schmidt is the author of You Can’t Catch Us: Lady Bird Johnson’s Trailblazing 1964 Campaign Train and the Women Who Rode with Her and The First Lady of World War II: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Daring Journey to the Frontlines and Back. She is also the coauthor of two literary-themed historical books, Novel Destinations and Writers Between the Covers.
In addition, Shannon has written for National Geographic Traveler, History.com, and other publications and websites, and she has been a guest on radio and television programs including MSNBC’s Morning Joe. She has previously spoken at the FDR Presidential Library’s “Roosevelt Reading Festival” and the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, as well as at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, the National World War II Museum, and many other venues. Shannon lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Location
Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum
4079 Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park, NY 12538
For parking information and direction, click the link below: fdrlibrary.org/directions
