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Author: Robert A. Caro Publisher: Vintage ISBN: 0307960463 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 785
Book Description
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE, THE MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE, THE AMERICAN HISTORY BOOK PRIZE Book Four of Robert A. Caro’s monumental The Years of Lyndon Johnson displays all the narrative energy and illuminating insight that led the Times of London to acclaim it as “one of the truly great political biographies of the modern age. A masterpiece.” The Passage of Power follows Lyndon Johnson through both the most frustrating and the most triumphant periods of his career—1958 to1964. It is a time that would see him trade the extraordinary power he had created for himself as Senate Majority Leader for what became the wretched powerlessness of a Vice President in an administration that disdained and distrusted him. Yet it was, as well, the time in which the presidency, the goal he had always pursued, would be thrust upon him in the moment it took an assassin’s bullet to reach its mark. By 1958, as Johnson began to maneuver for the presidency, he was known as one of the most brilliant politicians of his time, the greatest Senate Leader in our history. But the 1960 nomination would go to the young senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy. Caro gives us an unparalleled account of the machinations behind both the nomination and Kennedy’s decision to offer Johnson the vice presidency, revealing the extent of Robert Kennedy’s efforts to force Johnson off the ticket. With the consummate skill of a master storyteller, he exposes the savage animosity between Johnson and Kennedy’s younger brother, portraying one of America’s great political feuds. Yet Robert Kennedy’s overt contempt for Johnson was only part of the burden of humiliation and isolation he bore as Vice President. With a singular understanding of Johnson’s heart and mind, Caro describes what it was like for this mighty politician to find himself altogether powerless in a world in which power is the crucial commodity. For the first time, in Caro’s breathtakingly vivid narrative, we see the Kennedy assassination through Lyndon Johnson’s eyes. We watch Johnson step into the presidency, inheriting a staff fiercely loyal to his slain predecessor; a Congress determined to retain its power over the executive branch; and a nation in shock and mourning. We see how within weeks—grasping the reins of the presidency with supreme mastery—he propels through Congress essential legislation that at the time of Kennedy’s death seemed hopelessly logjammed and seizes on a dormant Kennedy program to create the revolutionary War on Poverty. Caro makes clear how the political genius with which Johnson had ruled the Senate now enabled him to make the presidency wholly his own. This was without doubt Johnson’s finest hour, before his aspirations and accomplishments were overshadowed and eroded by the trap of Vietnam. In its exploration of this pivotal period in Johnson’s life—and in the life of the nation—The Passage of Power is not only the story of how he surmounted unprecedented obstacles in order to fulfill the highest purpose of the presidency but is, as well, a revelation of both the pragmatic potential in the presidency and what can be accomplished when the chief executive has the vision and determination to move beyond the pragmatic and initiate programs designed to transform a nation. It is an epic story told with a depth of detail possible only through the peerless research that forms the foundation of Robert Caro’s work, confirming Nicholas von Hoffman’s verdict that “Caro has changed the art of political biography.”
Author: Robert A. Caro Publisher: Vintage ISBN: 0307960463 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 785
Book Description
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE, THE MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE, THE AMERICAN HISTORY BOOK PRIZE Book Four of Robert A. Caro’s monumental The Years of Lyndon Johnson displays all the narrative energy and illuminating insight that led the Times of London to acclaim it as “one of the truly great political biographies of the modern age. A masterpiece.” The Passage of Power follows Lyndon Johnson through both the most frustrating and the most triumphant periods of his career—1958 to1964. It is a time that would see him trade the extraordinary power he had created for himself as Senate Majority Leader for what became the wretched powerlessness of a Vice President in an administration that disdained and distrusted him. Yet it was, as well, the time in which the presidency, the goal he had always pursued, would be thrust upon him in the moment it took an assassin’s bullet to reach its mark. By 1958, as Johnson began to maneuver for the presidency, he was known as one of the most brilliant politicians of his time, the greatest Senate Leader in our history. But the 1960 nomination would go to the young senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy. Caro gives us an unparalleled account of the machinations behind both the nomination and Kennedy’s decision to offer Johnson the vice presidency, revealing the extent of Robert Kennedy’s efforts to force Johnson off the ticket. With the consummate skill of a master storyteller, he exposes the savage animosity between Johnson and Kennedy’s younger brother, portraying one of America’s great political feuds. Yet Robert Kennedy’s overt contempt for Johnson was only part of the burden of humiliation and isolation he bore as Vice President. With a singular understanding of Johnson’s heart and mind, Caro describes what it was like for this mighty politician to find himself altogether powerless in a world in which power is the crucial commodity. For the first time, in Caro’s breathtakingly vivid narrative, we see the Kennedy assassination through Lyndon Johnson’s eyes. We watch Johnson step into the presidency, inheriting a staff fiercely loyal to his slain predecessor; a Congress determined to retain its power over the executive branch; and a nation in shock and mourning. We see how within weeks—grasping the reins of the presidency with supreme mastery—he propels through Congress essential legislation that at the time of Kennedy’s death seemed hopelessly logjammed and seizes on a dormant Kennedy program to create the revolutionary War on Poverty. Caro makes clear how the political genius with which Johnson had ruled the Senate now enabled him to make the presidency wholly his own. This was without doubt Johnson’s finest hour, before his aspirations and accomplishments were overshadowed and eroded by the trap of Vietnam. In its exploration of this pivotal period in Johnson’s life—and in the life of the nation—The Passage of Power is not only the story of how he surmounted unprecedented obstacles in order to fulfill the highest purpose of the presidency but is, as well, a revelation of both the pragmatic potential in the presidency and what can be accomplished when the chief executive has the vision and determination to move beyond the pragmatic and initiate programs designed to transform a nation. It is an epic story told with a depth of detail possible only through the peerless research that forms the foundation of Robert Caro’s work, confirming Nicholas von Hoffman’s verdict that “Caro has changed the art of political biography.”
Author: Mitchell B. Lerner Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 1444333895 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 617
Book Description
This companion offers an overview of Lyndon B. Johnson's life, presidency, and legacy, as well as a detailed look at the central arguments and scholarly debates from his term in office. Explores the legacy of Johnson and the historical significance of his years as president Covers the full range of topics, from the social and civil rights reforms of the Great Society to the increased American involvement in Vietnam Incorporates the dramatic new evidence that has come to light through the release of around 8,000 phone conversations and meetings that Johnson secretly recorded as President
Author: Jeff Shesol Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company ISBN: 0393345971 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 630
Book Description
"Mutual Contempt is at once a fascinating study in character and an illuminating meditation on the role character can play in shaping history."—Michiko Kakutani, New York Times Lyndon Johnson and Robert Kennedy loathed each other. Their antagonism, propelled by clashing personalities, contrasting views, and a deep, abiding animosity, would drive them to a bitterness so deep that even civil conversation was often impossible. Played out against the backdrop of the turbulent 1960s, theirs was a monumental political battle that would shape federal policy, fracture the Democratic party, and have a lasting effect on the politics of our times. Drawing on previously unexamined recordings and documents, as well as memoirs, biographies, and scores of personal interviews, Jeff Shesol weaves the threads of this epic story into a compelling narrative that reflects the impact of LBJ and RFK's tumultuous relationship on politics, civil rights, the war on poverty, and the war in Vietnam. As Publishers Weekly noted, "This is indispensable reading for both experts on the period and newcomers to the history of that decade." "An exhaustive and fascinating history. . . . Shesol's grasp of the era's history is sure, his tale often entertaining, and his research awesome."—Russell Baker, New York Review of Books "Thorough, provocative. . . . The story assumes the dimensions of a great drama played out on a stage too vast to comprehend."—Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post (1997 Critic's Choice) "This is the most gripping political book of recent years."—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin Publisher: Open Road Media ISBN: 1497683858 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 405
Book Description
With a new foreword: The New York Times–bestselling biography of President Lyndon Johnson from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Team of Rivals. Featuring a 2018 foreword by the Pulitzer Prize–winning political historian that celebrates a reappraisal of Lyndon Johnson’s legacy five decades after his presidency, from the vantage point of our current, profoundly altered political culture and climate, Doris Kearns Goodwin’s extraordinary and insightful biography draws from meticulous research in addition to the author’s time spent working at the White House from 1967 to 1969. After Johnson’s term ended, Goodwin remained his confidante and assisted in the preparation of his memoir. In Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, she traces the 36th president’s life from childhood to his early days in politics, and from his leadership of the Senate to his presidency, analyzing his dramatic years in the White House, including both his historic domestic triumphs and his failures in Vietnam. Drawing on personal anecdotes and candid conversation with Johnson, Goodwin paints a rich and complicated portrait of one of our nation’s most compelling politicians in “the most penetrating, fascinating political biography I have ever read” (The New York Times).
Author: Megan M. Gunderson Publisher: ABDO ISBN: Category : Juvenile Nonfiction Languages : en Pages : 43
Book Description
This biography introduces readers to the life of Lyndon B. Johnson, including his military service, early political career, and key events from Johnson's administration including the Civil Rights Act, the Vietnam War, and the space race. Information about his childhood, family, personal life, and retirement years is included. A timeline, fast facts, and sidebars provide additional information. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Big Buddy Books is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
Author: Jeffrey K. Smith Publisher: AuthorHouse ISBN: 1452084432 Category : Languages : en Pages : 332
Book Description
The tumultuous decade of the 1960s began with promise and hope when John F. Kennedy (JFK) became the youngest elected President in American history. Kennedy's "New Frontier" promised youthful and dynamic leadership, heading into the latter half of the century. A thousand days into the Kennedy presidency, an assassin's bullets shattered the dreams of an idealistic generation. After the Kennedy assassination, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) was catapulted into the Oval Office, much to the chagrin of JFK's younger brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy. His idyllic life disrupted by fate, RFK viewed Johnson as a petty interloper, who had seized JFK's rightful place in history. Ever fearful that Robert Kennedy would attempt to regain the presidential throne, LBJ's paranoia ultimately compromised his judgment and contributed to his downfall. "Bad Blood: Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy, and the Tumultuous 1960s" chronicles the personal and political feud between two powerful and controversial twentieth century icons.
Author: Bruce J. Schulman Publisher: Macmillan Higher Education ISBN: 1319242774 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 460
Book Description
Whether admired or reviled, Lyndon B. Johnson and his tumultuous administration embodied the principles and contradictions of his era. Taking advantage of newly released evidence, this second edition incorporates a selection of fresh documents, including transcripts of Johnsons phone conversations and conservative reactions to his leadership, to examine the issues and controversies that grew out of Johnsons presidency and have renewed importance today. The voices of Johnson, his aides, his opponents, and his interpreters address the topics of affirmative action, the United States role in world affairs, civil rights, Vietnam, the Great Society, and the fate of liberal reform. Additional photographs of Johnson in action complement Bruce J. Schulmans rich biographical narrative, and a chronology, an updated bibliographical essay, and new questions for consideration provide pedagogical support.
Author: Luke A. Nichter Publisher: Nova Science Publishers ISBN: 9781626186248 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Over the decades, histories of Lyndon Johnson have continued to evolve. There remain many debated questions even more than 40 years after his death. The 37th president is, even today -- and more so than others who have attained the nations highest elected office -- such a larger than life figure that no single biographical work fully captures or contains him. Johnson dominated government and American public life for a relatively brief time, only a half-decade. Yet, his personality and his policies have resonated for far longer. While topics such as the Great Society and Vietnam continue to capture the attention of many scholars, later rounds of revisionism also brought into focus other aspects of the Johnson presidency. Historians and thinkers continue to wrestle with questions as relevant to today as they were during the Johnson administration. These include debates over the proper role of government in its citizens lives, the conduct of elected officials and the credibility gap during wartime, the extent to which the federal government is capable of transforming society, and the limits of social welfare policies.He continues to be ranked very high on domestic policy, even while he is criticised for escalating American involvement in the Vietnam War. His stock has been much slower to rise than other presidents following their deaths, perhaps because many of the controversial issues of his presidency remain controversial and unresolved today. For that reason, his legacy remains unresolved, yet he continues to inspire and fascinate. For as long as additional records continue to be declassified and released at the Johnson Presidential Library on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, new studies continue to be written, creating opportunities for fresh perspectives on both familiar and emerging discussions. His long rehabilitation continues.
Author: Robert Dallek Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0195054652 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 785
Book Description
Lone Star Rising, the first volume in Robert Dallek's biography of LBJ, was hailed as "a triumphant portrait of Lyndon Johnson as rich and oversized and complex as the nation that shaped him." Now, in the final volume, Dallek takes us through Johnson's tumultuous years in the White House, hisunprecedented accomplishments there, and the tragic war that would be his downfall. In these pages Johnson emerges as a character of almost Shakespearean dimensions, a man riddled with contradictions, a man of towering intensity and anguished insecurity, of grandiose ambition and grave self-doubt, a man who was brilliant, crude, intimidating, compassionate, overbearing,driven: "A tornado in pants." Drawing on hundreds of newly released tapes and extensive interviews with those closest to LBJ--including fresh insights from Ladybird and his press secretary Bill Moyers--Dallek takes us behind the scenes to give us a portrait of Johnson that is at once even-handedand completely engrossing. We see Johnson as the visionary leader who worked his will on Congress like no president before or since, enacting a range of crucial legislation, from Medicare, environmental protection, and the establishment of the National Endowment of the Arts and Humanities to themost significant advances in civil rights for black Americans ever achieved. And we see for the first time the depth of Johnson's private anguish as he became increasingly ensnared in Vietnam, a war he did not want to expand and which destroyed his hopes for The Great Society and a second term. Exhaustively researched and gracefully written, Flawed Giant reveals both the greatness and the tangled complexities of one of the most extravagant characters ever to step onto the presidential stage.
Author: Garth E. Pauley Publisher: Texas A&M University Press ISBN: 1585445819 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 191
Book Description
Though Lyndon Johnson developed a reputation as a rough-hewn, arm-twisting deal-maker with a drawl, at a crucial moment in history he delivered an address to Congress that moved Martin Luther King Jr. to tears and earned praise from the media as the best presidential speech in American history. Even today, his voting rights address of 1965 ranks high not only in political significance, but also as an example of leadership through oratory. Garth E. Pauley carefully analyzes both the content and the context of this historic speech. He begins with an analysis of the less-than-linear path of voting rights in the United States, and highlights the failures and limited successes of previous legislation. Many commentators have seen Johnson’s voting rights speech as a response to the escalating protests in Selma, and Pauley explores that connection. Did Johnson wait too long to address the issue? Would he have championed voting rights without the protests? Pauley traces the development of the speech and the policy with these questions in mind. He situates the speech not only within its immediate context but also within Johnson’s ideology and value system, tracing the influences on Johnson’s racial attitudes and describing the complex of policies he developed to address issues of inequality. Having set the stage for the address, Pauley then carefully analyzes the text itself. He charts the “authorship” of the speech through several drafts by aides, traces the purposefulness of the allusions, and recounts the extemporizing Johnson introduced when he actually delivered the address. He notes the idealistic, even mythic dimensions of the speech, which contrast with its plainspoken style. Finally, Pauley gauges the effectiveness of the speech. He reports the response to the address in the media, among civil rights leaders, and in the general population. Pauley concludes with some reservations about the effectiveness not only of this address but also of the Johnson program for racial justice. Nonetheless, he believes that “Lyndon Johnson’s ‘We Shall Overcome’ speech remains a remarkable achievement,” combining principle with rhetorical leadership.
Author: Robert A. Caro
Author: Robert A. Caro
Author: Mitchell B. Lerner
Author: Jeff Shesol
Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Author: Megan M. Gunderson
Author: Jeffrey K. Smith
Author: Bruce J. Schulman
Author: Luke A. Nichter
Author: Robert Dallek
Author: Garth E. Pauley