Evening With Jonathan Alter
Friends of the LBJ Library | Jan 16, 2025 6:30PM - 7:30PM
We honored the life and legacy of our 39th President, Jimmy Carter. Jonathan Alter, NBC contributing correspondent and author of His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life, joined Mark Updegrove in conversation.
NPR said of His Very Best, “It’s … bound to fascinate anyone with an interest in American history, and an excellent look at the man whom Alter considers, justifiably, ‘perhaps the most misunderstood president in American history.'”
The Carter Center, the non-profit organization President and Mrs. Carter launched over forty years ago, co-hosted this program.
About the Speaker:
Jonathan Alter is an award-winning author, political analyst, documentary filmmaker, columnist, television producer and radio host.
His most recent book is American Reckoning: Inside Trump’s Trial―and My Own, published in October 2024. His earlier books include three New York Times bestsellers: The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, The Promise: President Obama, Year One, and The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope.
About the Book:
In His Very Best, published in 2020, Jonathan Alter tells the epic story of an enigmatic man of faith and his improbable journey from barefoot boy to global icon. Alter paints an intimate and surprising portrait of the only president since Thomas Jefferson who can fairly be called a Renaissance Man, a complex figure—ridiculed and later revered—with a piercing intelligence, prickly intensity, and biting wit beneath the patented smile. Here is a moral exemplar for our times, a flawed but underrated president of decency and vision who was committed to telling the truth to the American people.
Video & photos
Joining and Renewing Memberships
To join or renew online, please visit LBJFriends.org. If you would prefer to pay by check, simply download and complete the enrollment form and mail it to:
Friends of the LBJ Library
2313 Red River Street
Austin, TX 78705
Yes, individuals purchasing Family, Dual, Sustaining, Fellow, Legacy or Cabinet memberships will receive membership benefits for two. You are noted in our system as the primary member with a “guest” membership card. You can also provide the name of the second membership cardholder.
If you join online, you will receive a confirmation email that can be printed or viewed on a smartphone. Your email confirmation can be used as temporary proof of membership until you are able to download your digital membership card.
Early renewal is a great way to ensure you receive invitations to each and every Friends event. Renewing before your membership expires adds one year to your current expiration date. You can renew your membership anytime.
You will receive a renewal notice by email and mail before your membership is set to expire.
You will receive an email with details for your digital membership card within a week. If you do not have a smart phone and need a physical card, please email your request to friends@lbjfoundation.org.
Of course! Membership is a gift that will be enjoyed for an entire year. You can purchase a gift membership here.
Member Events
Members at the Individual level and above receive invitations to attend Evening With programs in the LBJ Auditorium.
Friends members receive regular email updates and invitations. An up-to-date schedule of programs is also available in the Upcoming Events section of our website.
Invitations are sent by email and will include a link to make your reservation. If a special event requires a ticket or a personal email, the invitation will provide instructions. Please note that reservations left on voicemail may not be valid.
Membership is non-transferable. A membership card may only be used by the person(s) named on the membership. Membership cards cannot be passed on to third parties for use at Friends events. If you would like your friend to enjoy member programming, please consider purchasing a gift membership.
Members at the Cabinet and Legacy level have reserved seating near the front of the auditorium. For all other levels, seating is general. Check your registration confirmation to see when the auditorium doors open and plan to arrive early for the best general seating options.
Please contact our Membership Manager directly to make arrangements. We ask that you make your request 3-4 business days before the program date so that we can discuss how to best meet your needs.
A limited number of extra seats are set aside for members at the Sustaining ($250) level and above. If a program is full but you would like to attend, please contact us about upgrading your membership to access available seats.
Guest tickets are available for purchase to some events. A program invitation will state if guest tickets are available and how you can buy them. In order to accommodate as many Friends members as possible, guest tickets are not available for our most popular speaker events.
Yes, we are so pleased to offer Friends members all over the world the opportunity to attend live events with us here, in Austin, Texas. We will publish that information in the Friends newsletter when details are available.
We appreciate having interested young people in our audience. Programs can last 60-120 minutes and we ask that children attending are patient enough to sit through the event.
As long as we have seats available, we will allow latecomers to enter. We ask that all attendees stop to check in before entering the Auditorium. If you are in the reserved seating section, please let us know that you will be arriving late.
Member Benefits
Members receive a 10 percent discount on all purchases made at The Store at the LBJ.
Your membership card can be used for admission to any of the 13 presidential libraries overseen by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
Members at the Sustaining level and above receive museum guest passes. Each pass provides admission for one guest to the LBJ Library and Museum. Guest passes are not valid for the Evening With programs or other member events.
The Harry Middleton and Tom Johnson lectures are not part of our "Evening With" lecture series. Only Friends members at the Cabinet, Legacy and Fellow levels receive invitations to these events.
Additional Questions
The tax-deductible amount of a Friends membership:
- Individual/Individual Senior: $68/$53
- Dual/Dual Senior: $126/$96
- Sustaining: $181
- Fellow: $431
- Legacy: $792
- Cabinet: $2,153
Authors will sign books purchased at The Store at the LBJ. Receipts from book purchases made prior to the event date should be kept as proof of purchase from The Store at the LBJ. No other items will be signed.
Please email friends@lbjfoundation.org.