Lyndon B. Johnson: The American Presidents Series: The 36th President, 1963-1969
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Price: $15.64
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A useful, brief biography of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. This is one in a series, called "The American Presidents." They are all rather short, designed to be accessible to lots of people who might not want to wade through a 600 page biography. That is both the strength and the weakness of this series. One gets a "quick and dirty" introduction to the presidents, but at the cost of depth.
Each reader must determine if the tradeoff is worth it.
At that, this is an interesting addition to the series. The author takes a rather sharp-eyed view of Johnson, discussing both his strengths and his more problematic elements. It attempts to make sense of his life and is honest in its view of Johnson. The volume discusses Johnson's womanizing, his hardball politics (including a key disputed election), his deviousness, his sometimes excessively hard as nails relationship with his staff. The book also notes the impressive litany of legislative successes--whether in his role as Senate Majority Leader or as President. Indeed, his legacy is quite impressive. But the book also notes the issue that dogged him and ended his presidency--Vietnam.
All in all, a useful work, despite its brevity.
The 36th
Charles Peters' `Lyndon Johnson' is a short (161 page) book in a series on the American presidents. It is not always a very flattering assessment of him as a person, but always as a top politician; perhaps that and the legislation passed during his term is why he is given the appraisal that he will be ranked high in the evaluation of American leaders.
There are a few pages devoted to Lyndon`s background and what life was like in rural Texas in the early 1900`s. His interest in politics seems to begin with his father and in his college years. The move to Washington and the building of an almost unmatched political network are well accounted for.
There are many unflattering incidents described, from the time he was awarded a silver star for just being a passenger in a B-26 that was attacked in the Pacific during WWII and none of the crew acknowledged, his syncopating brashness when needed or his ultimate humility ("there could be no such thing as too much sucking up") to reach his goals even the size of office he deemed he deserved, to his treatment of friends and political acquaintances.
One of the best descriptions in the book occurs in summing up the atmosphere of returning WWII veterans who just wanted a' Father's Knows Best' - white picket fence life after the drama and danger of the war and the political climate that created.. The time of Kennedy's assassination and the many incidents and conflicts with the Kennedy`s are included..
Of course the guilt and horror of the Kennedy assassination contributed to some of Johnson's success in getting legislation passed; but the legacy of the many bills and programs such as The War on Poverty, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Medicare cannot be forgotten. The escalation of the war in Vietnam, the events and effect that that war had on this country is also his legacy. All of Lyndon Johnson's life is touched upon, including his depression and failing health after he left office.
This is a book that gives a helpful biography in a simplified form for those interested in American history and the American presidents.
Lyndon Johnson in the American Presidents Series
For aging American baby boomers, the presidency of Lyndon Johnson brings back painful memories. Johnson (1908 -- 1973) became the 36th president on November 22, 1963, following the assassination of President John Kennedy. He is known for his escalation of the War in Vietnam and for the tumultuous period of unrest in the United States which followed in its wake.
Charles Peters offers a portrayal of Johnson, in all his complexity, in his recent short biography in the American Presidents Series edited by the late Arthur Schelsinger Jr. and by Sean Willentz. The books in this series give valuable short introductions and assessments to each of our presidents. Several of the volumes, including this biography of Johnson, are not mere summaries but rather offer and informed and challenging perspective in their own right. A political insider. Peters edited the "Washington Monthly" for 32 years, and he has written a book about "How Washington Really Works" and a book about the Republican nomination of Wendell Wilkie for president in 1940.
Peters gives much space to Johnson's life before he became president. The background he offers is essential to understanding the man. Born to poverty in rural Texas, Johnson struggled to afford and to graduate from Southwest Texas State Teachers College. His ambition and domineering personality showed as a young man, and Johnson early proved adept in learning to network. In 1931, Johnson became a staff assistant to Representative Richard Kleberg and, with a short two-year interlude, he would remain in Washington, D.C. until the conclusion of his presidency.
After an intense courtship, Johnson married the well to do Lady Bird Taylor. During their long marriage, he was frequently unfaithful to her. Many of his affairs were known to Washington insiders if not to the larger public. Johnson was elected to the House of Representatives in 1937, was narrowly defeated for the U.S. Senate in 1941, and in turn won a disputed and highly controversial election to the Senate in 1948. During his early teunure in Washington, Johnson ingratiated himself with powerful and important individuals including President Roosevelt and Sam Rayburn.
With his legislative skills, Johnson rose quickly, becoming Senate majority whip in
1951, and majority leader in 1955. In 1955, likely as a result of stress, smoking, and heavy drinking, he suffered a major heart attack. Johnson unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1956. In 1957, he was instrumental in securing the passage of the first major Civil Rights legislation in 100 years. He sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1960, and accepted the Vice-presidential nomination offered by a reluctant John Kennedy in order to secure Southern support for the ticket. The southerner Johnson and the patrician Kennedys never got along well. Johnson became president when Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas and in 1964 was elected to the presidency in his own right in a landslide against Barry Goldwater.
Johnson's domineering personality, shrewdness, and knowledge of the legislative process helped him secure an ambitious domestic program upon Kennedy's death. Johnson also had a commitment to Civil Rights which was probably more deeply felt than his predecessor's. He secured the enactment of landmark Civil Rights legislation in 1964 and voting rights legislation in 1965. In 1965, Johnson secured the passage of Medicare as well as of a sweeping Immigration Reform Bill the consequences of which remain with the United States today. Johnson also initiated a series of programs known as the War on Poverty with at best mixed results. His domestic vision was known as the "Great Society".
Johnson will forever be remembered for escalating the War in Vietnam. Peters' book focuses on how this escalation came about. He argues that Johnson felt pressured by many politicians he viewed as hawkish, including Robert Kennedy. Robert Kennedy had, apparently unknown to Johnson, offered a softer line some three years earlier in the Cuban Missle Crisis. Against some doubts on his part, Johnson emeshed himself in Vietnam by sending ground troops. Oddly enough, most of his critics challenged his use of air raids and did not place enough emphasis on the ground war. With the tragedy of the Vietnam war, came the student protests, rioting, the year 1968, and massive changes that remain with the United States, for good and bad. Much of subsequent United States history, unhappily, can be viewed as a reaction to both the War in Vietnam and to the unrest which followed it, culminating in 1968 with the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Johnson declined to run for the presidency in 1968. Richard Nixon eked out a narrow victory over Hubert Humphrey.
Peters emphasiszes both Johnson's virtues and skills together with his weak points -- his bullying, philandering, crudeness, and, sometimes, tendency to deceive. It is the mark of many other changes in American life that Johnson engaged, with the knowledge of the media, in sexual and other forms of conduct (forcing male staff to swim nude with him so that Johnson could belittle the size of their members) that would not be tolerated in a president today. In his assessment of Johnson, Peters writes that "it seems likely that history will rank Johnson in the group of presidents just below the top tier of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt." ( p. 159) Given his account of Johnson's presidency and character, Peters' estimate seems to me far too generous.
Peters has written an excellent short account of an important American president. Many Americans, including me, are old enough to remember Johnson. His presidency still remains relatively recent and highly charged. Its consequences still remain with the United States.
Robin Friedman
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Price: $15.64
You Save: $7.36 (32%)
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Description
The towering figure who sought to transform America into a "Great Society" but whose ambitions and presidency collapsed in the tragedy of the Vietnam War
Few figures in American history are as compelling and complex as Lyndon Baines Johnson, who established himself as the master of the U.S. Senate in the 1950s and succeeded John F. Kennedy in the White House after Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963.
Charles Peters, a keen observer of Washington politics for more than five decades, tells the story of Johnson's presidency as the tale of an immensely talented politician driven by ambition and desire. As part of the Kennedy-Johnson administration from 1961 to 1968, Peters knew key players, including Johnson's aides, giving him inside knowledge of the legislative wizardry that led to historic triumphs like the Voting Rights Act and the personal insecurities that led to the tragedy of Vietnam.
Peters's experiences have given him unique insight into the poisonous rivalry between Johnson and Robert F. Kennedy, showing how their misunderstanding of each other exacerbated Johnson's self-doubt and led him into the morass of Vietnam, which crippled his presidency and finally drove this larger-than-life man from the office that was his lifelong ambition.
Charles Peters is the author of Five Days in Philadelphia and How Washington Really Works, among other books. He is the founder of The Washington Monthly, that he edited for thirty-two years, following a career in politics and government which included serving in the West Virginia legislature, working on John F. Kennedy's 1960 campaign, and helping to launch the Peace Corps. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Few figures in American history are as compelling and complex as Lyndon Baines Johnson, who established himself as the master of the U.S. Senate in the 1950s and succeeded John F. Kennedy in the White House after Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963.
Charles Peters, a keen observer of Washington politics for more than five decades, tells the story of Johnson's presidency as the tale of an immensely talented politician driven by ambition and desire. As part of the Kennedy-Johnson administration from 1961 to 1968, Peters knew key players, including Johnson's aides, giving him inside knowledge of the legislative wizardry that led to historic triumphs like the Voting Rights Act and the personal insecurities that led to the tragedy of Vietnam.
Peters's experiences have given him unique insight into the poisonous rivalry between Johnson and Robert F. Kennedy, showing how their misunderstanding of each other exacerbated Johnson's self-doubt and led him into the morass of Vietnam, which crippled his presidency and finally drove this larger-than-life man from the office that was his lifelong ambition.
This book is a rare gem of cogency and insight by one of America’s most original thinkers on politics and government. In one slender volume, Charles Peters captures every relevant part of LBJ’s life, breaks important new ground with fresh reporting, and offers peerless historical context. It’s hard to believe for a book so short, but this is the finest one-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson yet written.”Jonathan Alter, author of The Promise: President Obama, Year One and The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope
"Tired of waiting for Robert Caro to wrap up his mammoth, multivolume biography of Lyndon Johnson? If so, Charles Peters's sleek little number on the 36th president may ease your restlessness. Peters knows this material both as an insider (he worked on the 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy, who picked Johnson as his running mate) and as a longtime observer (he went on to found and edit the Washington Monthly)."Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post
"A slim but penetrating biography of Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973). Washington Monthly founder Peters . . . paints a mostly unpleasant portrait of a fiercely ambitious climber who lacked any inhibition when it came to lying, cheating, bribing and betrayal. Though he doesn't conceal the 36th president's ugly traits or his role in the fiasco in Vietnam, the author also stresses that, along with Franklin Roosevelt, Johnson produced the greatest reform legislation of the 20th century. The son of a Texas legislator, Johnson grew up fascinated with politics. He learned the ropes in FDR's Washington before winning election to the House in 1937. He lost the 1941 Senate election due to his opponent's cheating, but he learned enough to cheat his way to victory in 1948. Although an enthusiastic New Dealer, he joined the nation's move to the right after World War II and became an equally enthusiastic Southern conservative. Accepting the obscure job of majority leader, Johnson fashioned it into a powerful office that streamlined the Senate's moribund procedures and gave him national fame as a political wizard. Young senator John F. Kennedy rejected his staff's opposition to choose him as running mate in 1960, believing correctly that Southern votes would determine a very close race. As president after Kennedy's assassination, Johnson displayed his genuine concern with poverty and injustice and, unlike later presidents, the political skill to do something about it. Before delivering a painful account of Johnson's disastrous involvement in Vietnam, Peters makes it clear that the 1964-65 civil-rights, voting-rights and Medicare legislation represent dazzling humanitarian achievements. With the final volume yet to appear, Robert Caro's magnificent biography is the standard-bearer, but Peters delivers a splendid short version." Kirkus Reviews
"In the only hostile entry thus far in the American Presidents series, Elizabeth Drew questioned Nixon’s moral fitness to be president. Given Lyndon Johnson’s early election-stealing and sycophancy in New Deal Washington, later boorish and cruel treatment of subordinates, constant womanizing, and sense of inferiority that made him unreasonable about Vietnamall of which Peters admits without hesitationmany may ask the same about Nixon’s immediate predecessor. Not Peters, who cuts Johnson so much slack for being a consummately skilled political maneuvererthe majority leader’s majority leader, as it werethat he is wont to think that, but for Vietnam, Johnson would be considered one of the greatest presidents. After all, Peters points out, LBJ’s domestic legislative achievement is second only to FDR’s. And there, for critics, is the rub. They feel that, while LBJ’s domestic goals were laudable, the laws he bullied through to meet them were deeply flawed and sowed the seeds of entitlement politics. Peters doesn’t acknowledge that such a critique exists. He convinces us, however, that the challenges Johnson faced required a great president."Ray Olson, Booklist
"[Peters] draws on his experiences to provide insight as he sketches the life and times of Lyndon Johnson (190873), relying mostly on standard Johnson biographies. Peters describes Johnson's Texas childhood, his years in Congress, his frustrating years as Kennedy's vice president, and the triumphs and failures of his presidency (196368). The author identifies LBJ's successes (civil rights legislation and his Great Society domestic programs) as well as his failures (an abusive temper and escalating the Vietnam War) and concludes that Johnson's mixed legacy will be a subject for ongoing historical interpretation . . . This book is aimed at general readers who want a brief account of this controversial President but don't want to delve into such excellent biographies as Robert Caro's three-volume (and counting) The Years of Lyndon Johnson and Robert Dallek's two-volume Lyndon Johnson and His Times. Its intended audience will not be disappointed with this fast-moving story."Karl Helicher, Library Journal
Customer Reviews
Useful--but brief--biographyA useful, brief biography of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. This is one in a series, called "The American Presidents." They are all rather short, designed to be accessible to lots of people who might not want to wade through a 600 page biography. That is both the strength and the weakness of this series. One gets a "quick and dirty" introduction to the presidents, but at the cost of depth.
Each reader must determine if the tradeoff is worth it.
At that, this is an interesting addition to the series. The author takes a rather sharp-eyed view of Johnson, discussing both his strengths and his more problematic elements. It attempts to make sense of his life and is honest in its view of Johnson. The volume discusses Johnson's womanizing, his hardball politics (including a key disputed election), his deviousness, his sometimes excessively hard as nails relationship with his staff. The book also notes the impressive litany of legislative successes--whether in his role as Senate Majority Leader or as President. Indeed, his legacy is quite impressive. But the book also notes the issue that dogged him and ended his presidency--Vietnam.
All in all, a useful work, despite its brevity.
The 36th
Charles Peters' `Lyndon Johnson' is a short (161 page) book in a series on the American presidents. It is not always a very flattering assessment of him as a person, but always as a top politician; perhaps that and the legislation passed during his term is why he is given the appraisal that he will be ranked high in the evaluation of American leaders.
There are a few pages devoted to Lyndon`s background and what life was like in rural Texas in the early 1900`s. His interest in politics seems to begin with his father and in his college years. The move to Washington and the building of an almost unmatched political network are well accounted for.
There are many unflattering incidents described, from the time he was awarded a silver star for just being a passenger in a B-26 that was attacked in the Pacific during WWII and none of the crew acknowledged, his syncopating brashness when needed or his ultimate humility ("there could be no such thing as too much sucking up") to reach his goals even the size of office he deemed he deserved, to his treatment of friends and political acquaintances.
One of the best descriptions in the book occurs in summing up the atmosphere of returning WWII veterans who just wanted a' Father's Knows Best' - white picket fence life after the drama and danger of the war and the political climate that created.. The time of Kennedy's assassination and the many incidents and conflicts with the Kennedy`s are included..
Of course the guilt and horror of the Kennedy assassination contributed to some of Johnson's success in getting legislation passed; but the legacy of the many bills and programs such as The War on Poverty, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Medicare cannot be forgotten. The escalation of the war in Vietnam, the events and effect that that war had on this country is also his legacy. All of Lyndon Johnson's life is touched upon, including his depression and failing health after he left office.
This is a book that gives a helpful biography in a simplified form for those interested in American history and the American presidents.
Lyndon Johnson in the American Presidents Series
For aging American baby boomers, the presidency of Lyndon Johnson brings back painful memories. Johnson (1908 -- 1973) became the 36th president on November 22, 1963, following the assassination of President John Kennedy. He is known for his escalation of the War in Vietnam and for the tumultuous period of unrest in the United States which followed in its wake.
Charles Peters offers a portrayal of Johnson, in all his complexity, in his recent short biography in the American Presidents Series edited by the late Arthur Schelsinger Jr. and by Sean Willentz. The books in this series give valuable short introductions and assessments to each of our presidents. Several of the volumes, including this biography of Johnson, are not mere summaries but rather offer and informed and challenging perspective in their own right. A political insider. Peters edited the "Washington Monthly" for 32 years, and he has written a book about "How Washington Really Works" and a book about the Republican nomination of Wendell Wilkie for president in 1940.
Peters gives much space to Johnson's life before he became president. The background he offers is essential to understanding the man. Born to poverty in rural Texas, Johnson struggled to afford and to graduate from Southwest Texas State Teachers College. His ambition and domineering personality showed as a young man, and Johnson early proved adept in learning to network. In 1931, Johnson became a staff assistant to Representative Richard Kleberg and, with a short two-year interlude, he would remain in Washington, D.C. until the conclusion of his presidency.
After an intense courtship, Johnson married the well to do Lady Bird Taylor. During their long marriage, he was frequently unfaithful to her. Many of his affairs were known to Washington insiders if not to the larger public. Johnson was elected to the House of Representatives in 1937, was narrowly defeated for the U.S. Senate in 1941, and in turn won a disputed and highly controversial election to the Senate in 1948. During his early teunure in Washington, Johnson ingratiated himself with powerful and important individuals including President Roosevelt and Sam Rayburn.
With his legislative skills, Johnson rose quickly, becoming Senate majority whip in
1951, and majority leader in 1955. In 1955, likely as a result of stress, smoking, and heavy drinking, he suffered a major heart attack. Johnson unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1956. In 1957, he was instrumental in securing the passage of the first major Civil Rights legislation in 100 years. He sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1960, and accepted the Vice-presidential nomination offered by a reluctant John Kennedy in order to secure Southern support for the ticket. The southerner Johnson and the patrician Kennedys never got along well. Johnson became president when Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas and in 1964 was elected to the presidency in his own right in a landslide against Barry Goldwater.
Johnson's domineering personality, shrewdness, and knowledge of the legislative process helped him secure an ambitious domestic program upon Kennedy's death. Johnson also had a commitment to Civil Rights which was probably more deeply felt than his predecessor's. He secured the enactment of landmark Civil Rights legislation in 1964 and voting rights legislation in 1965. In 1965, Johnson secured the passage of Medicare as well as of a sweeping Immigration Reform Bill the consequences of which remain with the United States today. Johnson also initiated a series of programs known as the War on Poverty with at best mixed results. His domestic vision was known as the "Great Society".
Johnson will forever be remembered for escalating the War in Vietnam. Peters' book focuses on how this escalation came about. He argues that Johnson felt pressured by many politicians he viewed as hawkish, including Robert Kennedy. Robert Kennedy had, apparently unknown to Johnson, offered a softer line some three years earlier in the Cuban Missle Crisis. Against some doubts on his part, Johnson emeshed himself in Vietnam by sending ground troops. Oddly enough, most of his critics challenged his use of air raids and did not place enough emphasis on the ground war. With the tragedy of the Vietnam war, came the student protests, rioting, the year 1968, and massive changes that remain with the United States, for good and bad. Much of subsequent United States history, unhappily, can be viewed as a reaction to both the War in Vietnam and to the unrest which followed it, culminating in 1968 with the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Johnson declined to run for the presidency in 1968. Richard Nixon eked out a narrow victory over Hubert Humphrey.
Peters emphasiszes both Johnson's virtues and skills together with his weak points -- his bullying, philandering, crudeness, and, sometimes, tendency to deceive. It is the mark of many other changes in American life that Johnson engaged, with the knowledge of the media, in sexual and other forms of conduct (forcing male staff to swim nude with him so that Johnson could belittle the size of their members) that would not be tolerated in a president today. In his assessment of Johnson, Peters writes that "it seems likely that history will rank Johnson in the group of presidents just below the top tier of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt." ( p. 159) Given his account of Johnson's presidency and character, Peters' estimate seems to me far too generous.
Peters has written an excellent short account of an important American president. Many Americans, including me, are old enough to remember Johnson. His presidency still remains relatively recent and highly charged. Its consequences still remain with the United States.
Robin Friedman
Los Angeles TimesGOP rides on the 'Daisy ad' storm. Really?Last week the Republican National Committee released a Web-only spot opposing the closing of the Guantanamo detention center that sampled the infamous "Daisy ad" from Lyndon Johnson's 1964 campaign against Barry Goldwater.
guardian.co.ukJudicial and life experiences make Sotomayor a good choice for In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson did something no other president had ever done; he nominated Thurgood Marshall, an African American, to the Supreme Court. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan made a decision as bold as Johnson's by nominating Sandra Video: Who is Sotomayor? Sotomayor: Good Choice, Obama! Barring surprises, Sotomayor likely to get gentle scrutiny by Congress -
guardian.co.ukFalling Hook, Line, and Sinker for LeBron James and the CavaliersThis season would see LBJ, (the player, not the former President of course, for I doubt Lyndon Baines Johnson had much of a dunk to begin with), stand side-by-side with Michael Jordan as the most exciting, thrilling, captivating, stupendous, (wait, Cleveland: Heartbreak city again?