You Can’t Catch Us: Lady Bird Johnson’s Trailblazing Campaign Train and the Women Who Rode With Her
Shannon McKenna Schmidt
(Sourcebooks, 2026)

In October of 1964, Lady Bird Johnson and a group of pioneering women made history as Lady Bird became the first spouse to take a lead role on the campaign trail in an all- women-led operation. They embarked on a whistle-stop tour from DC to New Orleans, making 47 visits in four days. Their mission wasn’t just to garner votes for LBJ; as a proud southerner, Mrs. Johnson also wanted to build understanding and ease tensions in the wake of the signing of the Civil Rights Act. This trailblazing journey expanded the role of women in politics and advanced the fight for women’s rights.

Event funded in part by the generous support of the American Association of University Women of Delaware.

About the Author
Shannon McKenna Schmidt is a freelance writer with wanderlust. She spent seven years travelling full-time, first by RV in the US and then globally with her trusty backpack. Her travels have inspired articles and four books: two about first ladies and two about literary history. Her home base is in Hoboken, NJ.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes.

About the Festival
The History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history. With the help of our presenting funding partner —  The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices | PenFed Realty — as well as our program and community partners, volunteers, and donors, the 2026 History Book Festival will be full of great discussions with authors of newly published narrative nonfiction and historical fiction. 

Thanks to all our donors, especially our education and outreach funding partners: Carolyn & Aaron Nayer, Jen Mason & Clare Hancock, the Red Wagon Foundation, and Browseabout Books. HBF authors visit classrooms in Delaware, and HBF provides their books to schools, libraries, and community organizations.

Our Keynote event is presented by Griswold Home Care for Sussex & Kent Counties and Groome Church; our Closing event is presented by the Delaware Community Foundation. The Spirited Discussion, our gathering for attendees and presenters to celebrate and discuss their day, is presented by Dogfish Head Beer & Benevolence.

Special thanks to our Program Partners for their continuing support: the Lewes Public Library for event promotion and production; Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, official bookseller of the History Book Festival; and Historic Lewes for event promotion and author hospitality. Thanks also to the Lewes Chamber of Commerce for event promotion, and the Cape Gazette and Delmarva Public Media, our media partners.