With the Bark Off

A Journalist’s Memories of LBJ and a Life in the News Media

By: Neal Spelce, Thomas Zigal

Narrated by: Neal Spelce

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The audiobook comes alive with the author’s conversational narration and the rare inclusion of 40 historical soundbites and actual sounds recorded in real time.

What if you got a call from Lyndon Johnson to be in Washington, DC tomorrow to take a trip around the world? If you are 24-year-old broadcast journalist Neal Spelce, you buckle up. A two-week diplomatic dream trip turned into a lifelong roller coaster ride.

From his live reporting during the University of Texas tower mass school shooting tragedy to his lifelong association with LBJ, Spelce found himself behind the scenes in many of the 20th century’s crucial moments.

He tells never-before-revealed stories about six US presidents, including his rare conversation with father/son presidents George Bush, when just the three of them were crowded together fishing in a small bass boat.

The stories about celebrities, politicians, and a few rascals are enlightening, entertaining, sometimes humorous, and always told as if he is confiding in you, as LBJ liked to say, “with the bark off”.

©2021 Neal Spelce (P)2021 Neal Spelce

Critic reviews

“Neal Spelce’s memoir sparkles with stories, anecdotes, and characters. It’s a heckuva trip.” (Bill Moyers)

Neal spelce narration is amazing!

10/10 book; Neal Spelce's life is the fly on the wall of LBJ history.
A must read if you love history.

Tremendous history with truth & humor

If you are a fan (or not) of President LBJ, Texas history, public relations, broadcast news, or Austin, Texas, this book is for you! This is one of the best audiobooks I’ve enjoyed because of the historic audio recordings included along with the actual author’s own velvety-narration. After listening, I had to go buy the hardback because of the great historic photos included there. Thank you Neal and UT Briscoe Center for this thoughtful and humorous trip down memory lane for me!

#1 bio in my 300-book AudibleBook library

Cover-to-cover With the Bark Off is an extraordinarily insightful, masterly written contemporary biography. But the Auditable book, narrated by the author and including soundbites from gripping events and renowned subjects ranks #1 among the nearly 300 Audible Books in my library.

More important than a book. Real History Heard Here

To hear a voice of history. Neal Spelce takes you there. Because he was there. Wonderful audio recordings emerge that you’d never get in the book. Plus not just more information there’s more life, adventures and excitement on this audio book. Great achievement in audio production and storytelling. You’re going to hear a real story of Texas, Lyndon Johnson and the amazing participation of Neal Spelce.

Well Done

I bought it because I was very young during the Johnson years. I live in Texas but did not get here until the 80s. I vaguely remember my dad talking about Johnson and some high school reachers in Colorado talking mostly about the Vietnam war but I really want to hear about the man. This book gave me that glimpse as well as insight to many of those iconic moments of my youth. I’m going buy a hard copy for a friend who was at UT as a journalism major in those years. I think she’ll love it too.

Great Stories, Lived and Well Told By the Author

Fascinated with the breadth of stories Neal Spelce has to share in this book. What a trip - his decades with the LBJ family, his coverage of the UT tower shootings, the years spent in radio and TV, and much more. He's a master at weaving stories, and he blends his words with actualities of the time, making this one of the better audiobooks I've listened to lately. Really enjoyed it!

One of a Kind

If you don’t know of Neal Spelce, you should. He’s led a life witnessing not just history firsthand but the people who were making it. His ability to recount the personalities and mindsets of some of our country’s most active participants is on full display in this expertly narrated memoir by a lifelong chronicler.

Even for those of us who have had the pleasure to know Neal over the years, “With the Bark Off” inevitably leads to revelations of “I had no idea...” This book is a gift to all of us who were not in the room where it happened, a tool by which we’re reminded that humans - even well known ones - constantly face human situations and make human decisions driven by a whole range of human motivations. Sometimes these decisions are enormously underwhelming and mundane, and sometimes they change the course of history. Neal’s memoir provides a clearer view of all of it.

Wonderful Journey Through History

The inclusion of recorded events from people involved brought the story to life. Very entertaining