Robert Caro’s biography of US President Lyndon Johnson is a riveting and revelatory account of power, political genius and the shaping of twentieth-century America.
The Passage of Power spans the years 1958 to 1964, arguably the most crucial years in the life of Johnson and pivotal years for American history. This era saw some of the most frustrating moments of Johnson’s career, but also some of his most triumphant.
His battle with the Kennedy brothers over the 1960 Democratic nomination for president was a bitter one, and the ensuing years of Johnson’s vice-presidency were marked with humiliation. But, thrust into power following the assassination of J. F. Kennedy, Johnson grasped the presidential role with unprecedented skill.
Caro also provides a fresh perspective on Kennedy’s assassination from Johnson’s viewpoint, and penetrates deep into what it was like for him to assume a position of such power at a time of national crisis.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Dad and Me
In the end, it was no surprise that I turned to books in the aftermath of my father’s death; as much as anything else, a love of reading, and a confidence in the calming power of the written word,...
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