An influential legislator discusses her early childhood exposure to politics, her participation in her husband's career, her experiences as a mother to three prominent children, and her life since her husband's disappearance. 40,000 first printing. Tour. When Boggs decided to run for her husband's congressional seat after he disappeared in a small plane over Alaska, her friend Lady Bird Johnson wondered whether she could do the job without a wife. Representative Boggs proved that she could do the job extremely well without a wife, but her 30 years' experience behind the scenes helping her husband, Hale, by raising money, running campaigns, and managing his Capitol Hill office was an excellent apprenticeship for her own 18 years in Congress. Her memoirs describe in a familiar and upbeat style the contributions that both Boggses made to the country, Congress, and the Democratic party. Although she originally intended to serve only long enough to complete her husband's agenda, Boggs went on to establish her own legislative record, especially benefiting women and children during the early days of the feminist movement. While offering a warm and sometimes funny look at the ways congressional wives must balance family, political, and personal responsibilities, her book is also a valuable portrait of how women used their influence in those "pre-empowerment" days. Recommended for women's studies and nonscholarly political science collections. Jill Ortner, SILS, SUNY at Buffalo Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. Growing up in a family of politicians in the privileged South set the stage for the Washington career of Lindy Boggs, who, taking over for her husband upon his death, represented New Orleans in the House of Representatives for 17 years. This intimate diary traces the experiences of a remarkable woman whose life was touched by the most notable people of our time. Lindy was inspired not only by her family, but also by the man she met in college and would later marry, Hale Boggs. She ran his congressional campaigns and stood by his side as both a wife and a political confidante. They had three children, all of whom made careers out of politics (the most famous is Cokie Roberts, correspondent with ABC and NPR). When Hale died in a helicopter crash in 1972, Lindy was the natural successor to his congressional seat. In spite of her political aspirations, she never softened her liberal views of the world or her support of the underprivileged, often alienating herself from her southern constituency. Although it is sometimes haughty in tone, this memoir nonetheless imparts a sense of Lindy's well-bred southern charm and natural intelligence; this is an engaging story many people will ask for in their public libraries. Mary Frances Wilkens An autobiography of the Louisiana-born congresswoman (written with freelance writer Hatch), whose purple veil unfortunately casts too rosy a glow over 50 years of US history. At 24, Lindy Boggs came to Washington, D.C., from Louisiana with her newly elected husband, Democratic congressman Hale Boggs, in 1941. FDR was starting his third term, Europe was at war, and Pearl Harbor was around the corner. She didn't leave Washington until 1992, as Clinton was preparing to take office. Hale, who became House majority leader, died in a plane crash in Alaska in 1972; Lindy Boggs was elected to his congressional seat and held it for 20 years. Boggs was at the political center through wars (WW II, Korea, Vietnam), domestic revolutions (the civil rights and women's movements), and international upheaval (the opening to China, the breakup of the Soviet Union). As a member of the House Banking and Currency Committee, she fought for and won important protection for women and minorities in the financial markets; she chaired the 1976 Democratic convention. Through it all, she raised three children (Cokie Roberts, congressional correspondent for ABC News and NPR, is the youngest). The purple veil in the title refers to an incident early in her Washington life, when a change of clothes--from casual jacket and skirt to elegant black suit and hat with purple veil--gained her entrance to an important hearing. From that, she says, she learned to play the Washington game ``with confidence and authority and graciousness.'' Regrettably, we see far too much of the gracious lady who emphasizes how nice everyone in the Beltway is, and not enough of the authoritative one. Too discreet to gossip (and she must have been privy to plenty), she is also reticent about discussing people, events, and even her own accomplishments except on the most amiable terms. World leaders are ``dears'' and ``darlings''; a historic dinner with Chou En- lai yields only an anecdote about Peking duck. Clearly a charmer who probably can make the proverbial omelette without breaking eggs, Boggs has that other requisite of southern women, a spine of steel. Too bad the spine isn't more visible. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Ass