| Front Cover |
Book Details |
|
| Genre |
Non-Fiction; Biography |
| Subject |
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973; United States. Congress. Senate - Elections, 1948; Presidents - United States - Biography; Elections - Texas - History - 20th Century; Texas - Politics And Government - 1865-1950 |
| Publication Date |
10/29/1990 |
| Format |
Hardcover (9.4
mm)
|
| Publisher |
Bodley Head Limited |
| Language |
English |
| Extras |
Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover |
|
| Personal Details |
| Store |
2nd & Charles |
| Purchase Price |
$2.00 |
| Acquire Date |
4/13/2019 |
| Condition |
Very Good/Good |
| Rating |
0 |
| Links |
Library of Congress
|
|
| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
E847 |
| Dewey |
973.923092 |
| ISBN |
9780370314907 |
| Series |
The Years of Lyndon Johnson |
| Cover Price |
$20.00 |
| No. of Pages |
506 |
| First Edition |
No |
| Rare |
No |
|
| Notes/Review |
This second volume of Caro's biography of LBJ covers the years 1941-1948 and is the shortest of the books. The main subjects here are his service in the war and his campaign for Senate in 1948.
Having gotten through two of the books, I'll admit that upon starting the first one I was a bit intimidated. By the time the last book comes out (and hopefully it will come out), the work will weigh in at something like 4,000 pages. Even spreading the reading out over several months, that's a lot to read about Johnson. Surely there's a shorter biography I could read. And, yet, here I am.
A critique I often have about some presidential whole-life biographies is that they don't do enough to place their subject in his time. There is no such shortfall (so far) in this one. Caro spends a lot of time on context, and I appreciate it. In the first book, there was an entire chapter on doing laundry before electricity. I loved it. Another chapter was a biography of Sam Rayburn. Great stuff. That continues here, with some nice writing about Johnson's Democratic primary opponent for Senate in 1948, Coke Stevenson.
These books may be long, but I find them quite readable, entertaining, enlightening, and enjoyable. Long, yes, but not long and boring.
I strive to make these reviews about the books and not the subjects. But it's sometimes hard to avoid. Before starting this series, I had an impression of Johnson. A prejudice, if you will. It was my feeling that if it hadn't been for the Vietnam War, it could be argued that LBJ was the best president of my lifetime. That may still be the case. But I'm finding it harder to think that way. If you made me give an opinion of Johnson, it might boil down to "Christ, what an asshole!" |
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